Godzilla Minus One: Godzilla’s Resurrection

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ゴジラの復活は驚きのVFXと未だ観たことのない世界感

Godzilla’s resurrection features amazing VFX and a world feel you’ve never seen before

1954年11月3日に公開された第一作目の『ゴジラ』は日本を、いや世界を代表する怪獣になった。

The first Godzilla, released on November 3, 1954, became a monster that represented Japan, and indeed the world.

その後多数のゴジラ映画が公開された2016年には『シン・ゴジラ』が大ヒットした、その後もアニメ版や海外版が登場。そして今年の11月3日、我々はついに本格的なすべてを容赦なく破壊し尽くす凶暴で恐ろしくも魅力的なゴジラの復活を目にすることになる。

After that, many Godzilla movies were released in 2016, and “Shin Godzilla” was a big hit, and anime versions and overseas versions have also appeared since then. And on November 3rd of this year, we will finally see the full-scale return of Godzilla, the ferocious, frightening, and alluring Godzilla who will destroy everything without mercy.

青井邦夫
Kunio Aoi

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Caption

ゴジラに破壊される街を目の当たりにし、人々は立ち尽くすしかない。

Seeing their city destroyed by Godzilla, the people have no choice but to stand still.

「シン・ゴジラ」以降ハリウッド製ゴジラ映画は何本か公開されたが、純粋な日本製ゴジラ映画はアニメだけで実写版ゴジラ映画が待望されていた。そしてようやく『ゴジラ-1.0」が公開される。

Several Hollywood Godzilla movies have been released since “Shin Godzilla,” but the only pure Japanese Godzilla movie was an anime, and a live-action Godzilla movie was long awaited. Finally, “Godzilla-1.0” will be released.

『ゴジラ-1.0」に関して公開前に公表されているのは監督が山崎貴氏であること、舞台となる時代は1940年代後半の戦後であること、主演は神木隆之介と浜辺美波の『らんまん』コンビであること、助演として佐々木蔵之介、安藤サクラ、山田裕貴、青木崇高、吉岡秀といった人たちが出演していることくらいだ。そして-1.0というタイトルの由来、太平洋戦争の敗戦ですべてを失い〇の状態にある日本がゴジラの出現により-1.0の状態になることもわかっているし、その片鱗は発表されている映像からもある程度想像することができるだろう。

What was announced before the release of “Godzilla-1.0” is that it will be directed by Takashi Yamazaki, that it will be set in the late 1940s after the war, and that it will star Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe in the movie “Ranman.” The only thing that matters is that they are a duo, and that Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, Yuki Yamada, Takataka Aoki, and Hide Yoshioka appear in supporting roles. We also know that the origin of the title -1.0 is that Japan, which lost everything due to its defeat in the Pacific War and is in a state of 〇, will become -1.0 with the appearance of Godzilla, and a glimpse of this can be seen from the released video. You can imagine it to some extent.

実は幸運にも公開前に本編映像をひと足早く鑑賞させていただいた。だからもちろん発表されていることが同組合わさるのかはすでにわかっている。しかしそれをここに書くことはできない、いや書きたくない。

In fact, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the main movie a little early before it was released. So, of course, we already know whether what has been announced will affect the union. But I can’t write it here, or I don’t want to.

なぜかといえばできるだけ何も知らないで見るほうがこの映画をより楽しめると思うからなのだ。幸い私は予告編以外何も知らない状態で鑑賞することができ、そしてとても面白かった。何人かのうるさがたの編集者やライターも同時に見たのだが、見終わってから彼らと30分以上立ち話をしてしまい、その後喫茶店に場を変えて更に話し込んでしまうという展開からも、どれだけ見た人間が面白く感じたかはわかっていただけるのではないかと思う。

Seeing their city destroyed by Godzilla, the people have no choice but to stand still.

Several Hollywood Godzilla movies have been released since “Shin Godzilla,” but the only pure Japanese Godzilla movie was an anime, and a live-action Godzilla movie was long awaited. Finally, “Godzilla-1.0” will be released.

What was announced before the release of “Godzilla-1.0” is that it will be directed by Takashi Yamazaki, that it will be set in the late 1940s after the war, and that it will star Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe in the movie “Ranman.” The only thing that matters is that they are a duo, and that Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, Yuki Yamada, Takataka Aoki, and Hide Yoshioka appear in supporting roles. We also know that the origin of the title -1.0 is that Japan, which lost everything due to its defeat in the Pacific War and is in a state of 〇, will become -1.0 with the appearance of Godzilla, and a glimpse of this can be seen from the released video. You can imagine it to some extent.

In fact, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the main movie a little early before it was released. So, of course, we already know whether what has been announced will affect the union. But I can’t write it here, or I don’t want to.

This is because I think you can enjoy this movie more if you watch it knowing as little as possible about it. Fortunately, I was able to watch it without knowing anything other than the trailer, and it was very interesting. Several noisy editors and writers also watched it at the same time, and I ended up standing there talking with them for over 30 minutes after watching it, and then moved to a coffee shop to talk further. I think you can understand whether people who just watched it found it interesting.

確かに過去のゴジラ映画でも大抵鑑賞後にファン仲間と喫茶店で話し込む問展開はあった。

It’s true that in past Godzilla movies, most of the movies involved discussions with fellow fans at a coffee shop after watching the movie.

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しかしそれがいつも無条件で面白かったからとは限らない。ツッコミどころ満載の映画でも長い時間話し続けられるのがディープなファンというものだろう。

But that doesn’t mean it’s always unconditionally interesting. Deep fans are the ones who can talk for a long time even if the movie is full of jokes.

しかし今回の『ゴジラ-1.0」に関しては少し様子が違っていた。もちろん長年の特撮ファンとしてツッコミどころが皆無というわけではなかったが、皆ほぼ絶賛状態だったのだ。今までも鑑賞後に盛り上がった評価の高いゴジラ映画はあったけれど、それはたいてい、今までの基準に照らし合わせてなかなか良くできていたというような、どれだけ過去の名作に近かったかという点が高評価の理由となることが少なくなかった。

However, this time’s “Godzilla-1.0” was a little different. Of course, as a long-time special effects fan, I wasn’t without my share of fun and games, but for the most part everyone was raving about it. In the past, there have been highly rated Godzilla movies that were highly rated after viewing, but they were usually highly praised for how close they were to past masterpieces, such as how well they were made compared to the standards of the past. This was often the reason.

しかし今回は、こんなゴジラ映画は今まで見たことがないという驚きが大きかった。

However, this time, I was surprised that I had never seen a Godzilla movie like this before.

予告編などで紹介されている映像はどちらかというと過去のゴジラ映画、とりわけ1954年の最初の『ゴジラ』を連想させるようなものが多いから今まで見たことがないゴジラ映画という評価に疑問を感じるかもしれない。しかし様々な設定やストーリー展開、映像が旧作に対するリスペクトを表していながら、それでも全体としては見たこともないゴジラ映画になっていたのは間違いない。

Many of the images shown in the trailers are reminiscent of past Godzilla movies, especially the first Godzilla in 1954, so I question whether this is a Godzilla movie you’ve never seen before. You might feel it. However, while the various settings, storylines, and visuals showed respect for the previous work, there is no doubt that overall it was a Godzilla movie that I had never seen before.

ではどこが新しかったのか?そのへんはやはり具体的には書けない。一つ言えるのは設定、物語、映像、特殊効果など色々な階層で新しい試みがなされていた。

So what was new? I can’t really write about that in detail. One thing I can say is that new attempts were made at various levels such as setting, story, visuals, and special effects.

一つ言えるのは、もうこれは古い意味での特撮映画ではないということだ。こう書くと古くからの特撮ファンは反感を持つかもしれないが、もう昔ながらのぬいぐるみ怪獣とミニチュア特撮の映画ではなくなっていた。昔の特撮怪獣映画は時に怪獣がぬいぐるみサイズに見えたり、飛行機を吊るすワイヤーが見えてしまったり、波の大きさで船が模型に見えてしまうことがあった。

One thing I can say is that this is no longer a special effects movie in the old sense of the word. Long-time special effects fans may be offended by this statement, but it was no longer a movie with traditional stuffed animal monsters and miniature special effects. In old special effects monster movies, sometimes the monsters looked like stuffed animals, the wires used to hang airplanes were visible, and the waves were so big that ships looked like models.

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昔から特撮ファンはそれを様式美として許容し、頭の中で補完して見るような「作法」を身につけていた。もちろん私もそういう見方を否定しないし、今でも昔の特撮映画を楽しんで見ている。

For a long time, special effects fans have accepted this style as a form of aesthetic beauty, and have learned the “ethics” of complementing it in their heads. Of course, I don’t deny that view, and I still enjoy watching old special effects movies.

しかし最新のFSXを使ったミッション:インポッシブル・シリーズやワイルド・スピード・シリーズを楽しんでいる現代の観客に昔ながらの「作法」を押し付けるのはいささか無理があるだろう。

However, it would be a bit unreasonable to impose old-fashioned “ethics” on modern audiences who enjoy the Mission: Impossible series and the Fast and Furious series using the latest FSX.

だが『ゴジラ-1.0』を見るのにそんな特撮映画鑑賞の「作法」は全く必要なかった。実写やミニチュア、CGなどの区別など一切考えることなくすぐさま画面に没頭してゴジラが確実に存在する恐ろしくも魅力的な世界にどっぷりと浸ることが出来る、そんな映画だったのだ。

However, watching “Godzilla-1.0” did not require any such “ethics” for watching special effects movies. It was the kind of movie that allowed you to immediately immerse yourself in the terrifying yet fascinating world where Godzilla definitely exists, without thinking about the distinction between live-action, miniature, and CG.

もう少し具体的に書くと海に関する映像が素晴らしかった。山崎監督は『永遠の0』や『海賊と呼ばれた男』、『アルキメデスの大戦』で海や船にまつわるシーンを演出しているがどれも大きな見せ場になっていた。今回もその得意技は大いに発揮されているし以前の映画によって蓄積された技術や知見が見事に活かされている。海洋アクション映画として海外の作品にも決して引けを取らない仕上がりとなっていると思う。

To be more specific, the videos about the ocean were amazing. Director Yamazaki has directed scenes related to the sea and ships in “Eternal Zero,” “A Man Called Pirate,” and “The Great War of Archimedes,” and all of them were great highlights. His special skills are on full display this time as well, and the techniques and knowledge accumulated through previous films are put to good use. As a marine action movie, I think it is on par with overseas works.

これ以上細部を書くことは鑑賞の妨げになってしまう恐れがある。この記事を読んだ方は一刻も早く劇場に駆けつけて『ゴジラ-1.0」を存分に体験してみてほしい。

Writing any more details than this may hinder the viewer’s appreciation. If you read this article, please hurry to the theater as soon as possible and experience “Godzilla-1.0” to the fullest.