Godzilla (1954) (Criterion Collection, 2 DVDs)

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Directed by Ishiro Honda, a friend and collaborator of Akira Kurosawa, and starring takashi Shimura as the revered paleontologist who uncovers the horrible secret at the heart okf the monster, the original Godzilla is a fierce indictment of the atomic age. Sold to an American distributor, the film was cut dubbed into English, re-titled Godzilla: King of the Monster! and new scenes were added starring Raimond Burr as an American reporter observing the monsters rampage from the sidelines. All trace of the anti-nuclear message was excised in the American version.