Godzilla (1954) at Metro Cinema

Japan 1954, 96 min, Dir: Ishirō Honda
Japanese with subtitles

A fire-breathing behemoth terrorizes Japan after an atomic bomb awakens it from its centuries-old sleep.

Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning almost thirty sequels.