On the completion of Godzilla 1954

ついに映画『ゴジラ』完成!

The movie “Godzilla” is finally completed!

特撮班の撮影は円谷英二の陣頭指揮のもと、有川貞昌、富岡素敬、真野田陽一が担当したが、これが思いのほか難渋を極めた。ミニチュアの建物を並べて普通のキャメラで撮影しても、実景の遠近感、ボリューム感が出ず、すぐに作りものとバレてしまうのだ。そこで、手前の建物を大きく、奥を小さく作って遠近感ある風景を演出したり、キャメラのレンズを特殊なものに替えて撮影した。知恵を絞ったのは特撮班の技術者ばかりではない。大気を震わせるかのような、あのゴジラの特徴的な鳴き声は、コントラバスの弦を革手袋で擦り、摩擦音を効果的に共鳴させて長短の咆吼を表現した。加えて、今や世界中の人々が口ずさめるであろう印象的な旋律のテーマ音楽を、民族音楽の泰斗・伊福部昭が書き下ろした。ゴジラの動きに咆哮と音楽が相俟って圧巻の映像となり、観る者に迫る。

The special effects team’s photography was directed by Eiji Tsuburaya, with Sadamasa Arikawa, Mototaka Tomioka, and Yoichi Manoda in charge, but it turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Even if you line up miniature buildings and take a picture with a regular camera, you won’t get the sense of perspective or volume that you’d get in real life, and it will be immediately obvious that it’s a fake. Therefore, they made the buildings in the foreground larger and the ones in the back smaller to create a sense of perspective, and I changed the camera lens to a special one. It wasn’t just the engineers in the special effects team who put their brains to work. Godzilla’s distinctive roar, which seemed to shake the atmosphere, was created by rubbing the strings of a double bass with a leather glove, effectively resonating the frictional sounds to create a long and short roar. In addition, Akira Ifukube, a master of folk music, has written the impressive melodic theme music that people around the world will now be humming. The combination of Godzilla’s movements, roar, and music creates a spectacular image that approaches the viewer.

撮影は予定をオーバーしたものの実質71日間で終了。1954年10月25日に『ゴジラ』は完成した。この日、東宝撮影所の中庭では『ゴジラ』の完成記念とヒットを祈願して「ゴジラ祭り」をのりと開催。神職に扮して祝詞をあげたのは出演者の平田昭彦、巫女の扮装は河内桃子である。映画公開は同年11月3日。東宝は4月公開の黒澤明監督作品『七人の侍』と同等の大規模な繰り広げ『ゴジラ』を空前の大ヒットへと導いていった。

Although filming exceeded schedule, it was actually completed in 71 days. Godzilla was completed on October 25, 1954. On this day, a “Godzilla Festival” was held in the courtyard of Toho Studio to commemorate the completion of “Godzilla” and to pray for it to become a hit. The performer, Akihiko Hirata, dressed as a Shinto priest and gave the blessing, while Momoko Kawachi played the role of a shrine maiden. The movie was released on November 3rd of the same year. Toho made “Godzilla” an unprecedented hit, with a large-scale plot similar to Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai,” which was released in April.

映画『ゴジラ』のフィルム缶
Film cans from the movie “Godzilla”

Original films of “Godzilla” 260xH40mm

Source: 特撮のDNA Fokuoka City Scene Museum, p 5