Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 American monster film directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Produced by Centropolis Entertainment, Fried Films, and Independent Pictures, and distributed by TriStar Pictures, it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla franchise.[6] It is also the 23rd film in the franchise and the first Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio.[a] The film stars Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, and Harry Shearer. The film is dedicated to Tomoyuki Tanaka, the co-creator and producer of various Godzilla films, who died in April 1997. In the film, authorities investigate and battle a giant monster who migrates to New York City to nest its young.
This article is about the 1998 film. For other media with the same title, see Godzilla (disambiguation).Godzilla
- Dean Devlin
- Roland Emmerich
- Ted Elliott
- Terry Rossio
- Dean Devlin
- Roland Emmerich
Dean Devlin
- Peter Amundson
- David J. Siegel
- Centropolis Entertainment[1]
- Fried Films[1]
- Independent Pictures[1]
- TriStar Pictures[1][2] (Worldwide)
- Toho (Japan)
- May 20, 1998 (United States)
139 minutes[3]
United States
English
$379 million[4]
In October 1992, TriStar announced plans to produce a trilogy of Godzilla films. In May 1993, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were hired to write the script. In July 1994, Jan de Bont was announced as the director but left the project that December due to budget disputes. Emmerich was hired in May 1996 to direct and co-write a new script with producer Dean Devlin. Principal photography began in May 1997 and ended in September 1997.
Godzilla was theatrically released on May 20, 1998, to negative reviews and grossed $379 million worldwide against a production budget between $130–150 million and marketing costs of $80 million, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1998. Despite turning a profit, it was considered a box office disappointment.[10][11] Planned sequels were cancelled and an animated series was produced instead. TriStar let their remake/sequel rights expire on May 20, 2003. In 2004, Toho began trademarking new iterations of TriStar's Godzilla as "Zilla", with only the incarnations from the 1998 film and animated show retaining the Godzilla copyright/trademark.[12][13]
Plot[edit]
An iguana nest is exposed to the fallout of a military nuclear test in French Polynesia. In the South Pacific Ocean, a Japanese cannery vessel is suddenly attacked by a giant creature, with only one fisherman surviving. Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos, an NRC scientist, is in the Chernobyl exclusion zone researching the effects of radiation on wildlife, but is interrupted by an official from the U.S. State Department who has come to pick him up for a special assignment. Meanwhile, in Tahiti, a mysterious Frenchman questions the traumatized survivor over what he witnessed, who repeatedly replies "Gojira". Nick is sent to Panama and Jamaica to study a trail of wreckage leading to another cannery ship with massive claw marks on it. Nick identifies skin samples he discovered in the shipwreck as belonging to an unknown species. He dismisses the military's theory of the creature being a living dinosaur, instead deducing it is a mutant created by nuclear testing.
The creature travels to New York City, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. The city is evacuated before the U.S. military, on Nick's advice, lure the creature into revealing itself with a large pile of fish. Their attempt to kill it fails, however, and only causes further damage before it escapes. Nick collects a blood sample, and by performing a pregnancy test, discovers the creature reproduces asexually and so is collecting food for its offspring. Nick also meets up with his ex-girlfriend, Audrey Timmonds, a young aspiring news reporter. While she visits him, she uncovers a classified tape in his provisional military tent concerning the monster's origins and turns it over to the media. She hopes to have her report put on TV to launch her career, but her boss, Charles Caiman, uses the tape in his report, declaring it his own discovery, and dubs the creature "Godzilla".
As a result of the tape's disclosure, Nick is removed from the operation and he disowns Audrey, before being kidnapped by the mysterious Frenchman Philippe Roaché. Revealing himself as an agent of the French secret service, Philippe explains that he and his colleagues have been closely watching the events to cover up their country's role in the nuclear testing that created Godzilla. Suspecting a nest somewhere in the city, they cooperate with Nick to trace and destroy it. Meanwhile, Godzilla resurfaces and dives into the Hudson River to evade a second attempt by the military to kill it, where it is attacked by Navy submarines. After colliding with torpedoes, Godzilla sinks, believed to be dead by the authorities.
Nick and Philippe's team, followed by Audrey and her cameraman Victor "Animal" Palotti, find the nest inside Madison Square Garden, with over 200 eggs. Before long, the eggs begin to hatch and the strike team are attacked by the offsprings. Nick, Animal, Audrey and Philippe take refuge in the Garden's broadcast booth and successfully send out a live news-report to alert the military. A prompt response involving an airstrike is initiated as the four escape moments before the Air Force bomb the arena.
Audrey and Nick reconcile, before the adult Godzilla, having survived, emerges from the Garden's ruins. Enraged by the deaths of its brood, it takes its rage out on the four, chasing them across Manhattan in a taxi. They manage to trap Godzilla within the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, allowing the returning Air Force to shoot it. Godzilla dies from its mortal wounds, and the remaining citizens and authorities celebrate. Audrey tells Caiman that she quits working for him after what he has done, before leaving with Nick. Philippe, taking a tape Animal was recording and promising to return it after removing certain contents, thanks Nick for his help and parts ways. Meanwhile, in the ruins of Madison Square Garden, a single surviving egg hatches and the hatchling roars to life.
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
Bob Levin, chief of marketing for the film, was caught by surprise when Emmerich insisted not to use full body images or head shots of Godzilla during the marketing, Levin stated, "we got indications from them that they really didn't think that the full figure Godzilla should be at all exposed prior to the release of the film. While initially we reacted negatively to that, once we understood their thinking behind it, it became completely acceptable to us."[48] 300 companies signed an agreement not to show the full image of Godzilla before the film's release. Prior to principal photography, Emmerich filmed a teaser trailer, budgeted at $600,000, that featured Godzilla's foot crushing the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex at a museum. The trailer was attached to screenings of Men in Black and received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from audiences. Afterwards, select theaters began advertising that the trailer would be featured before Men in Black.[12] A new trailer later premiered on November 7, 1997, with the release of Starship Troopers.[12]
Taco Bell contributed to the marketing of the film with $20 million in media support.[49] The marketing campaign featured commercials of the Taco Bell chihuahua attempting to trap the monster in a box or riding on the monster's tail and making an order for two.[50] Trendmasters manufactured the toys for the film, including the 11-inch tall "Living Godzilla"[51] and the 21-inch tall "Ultimate Godzilla".[52] However, poor merchandise sales for the film led to a cancellation of a toyline based on the animated series.[53] Robert Fried had estimated that $80 million was spent on marketing worldwide.[5]
Home media[edit]
On November 3, 1998, the film was released on VHS and DVD in the United States. Special features for the DVD include: photo galleries, visual effects and special FX supervisor commentaries, the music video of "Heroes" by The Wallflowers, Behind the Scenes of Godzilla with Charles Caiman, theatrical trailers, a featurette, director/producer and cast biographies, a photo gallery, music video, and Godzilla Takes New York (before and after shots).[54] In 1999, Sony released a Widescreen edition VHS. The VHS earned $8.04 million from rentals during its first week in the United States, at the time making it the biggest video opening since Titanic.[55] The DVD sold over 400,000 units in the United States by the end of 1998.[56] It was also reported that NBC would pay around $25 million for the television broadcast rights in the United States.[11]
On December 13, 2005, the film was released on Universal Media Disc.[57] On March 28, 2006, Sony released a special "monster" edition DVD that retained the previous DVD's special features, as well as an "All-Time Best of Godzilla Fight Scenes" featurette, 3 episodes from Godzilla: The Series, and a "never-before-seen" production art gallery.[58] On November 10, 2009, the film was released on Blu-ray, which retained the special features from the second DVD release, sans the animated series episodes.[59] On July 16, 2013, Sony released a "Mastered in 4K" Blu-ray edition.[60] On May 14, 2019, the film was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray. This release retained the same special features from the initial Blu-ray release, as well as a new Dolby Atmos audio mix.[61]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The Wall Street Journal reported that the film would need to gross $240 million domestically in order to be considered a success.[12] Godzilla was released in the United States and Canada on May 20, 1998, in a record 3,310 theaters.[4][62] Sony expected the film to gross $100 million during the film's opening weekend, which fell on Memorial Day weekend, expecting to set a new record for the holiday. Ultimately, it would only end up earning $12.5 million on opening day and grossing $44 million during its opening weekend.[10] The film grossed $55,726,951 over the four day holiday weekend, and $74.3 million in its first six days, falling below industry expectations.[4][12][63] Its six-day opening gross nevertheless came close to the $74.9 million Memorial Day weekend record previously set by Mission: Impossible in 1996, but fell below the $90 million record set by The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997.[63]
The film's revenue dropped by 59% in its second week of release, earning $18,020,444. For that particular weekend, the film remained in first place as the romantic drama Hope Floats overtook Deep Impact for second place with $14,210,464 in box office business.[64][65] During its final week in North America, the film was in 19th place, grossing $202,157. For that weekend, Lethal Weapon 4 made its debut, opening in first place with $34,048,124 in revenue.[66] The film went on to top out domestically at $136,314,294 in total ticket sales through an eight-week theatrical run[4] (equivalent to $230 million adjusted for ticket inflation in 2013).[63]
Internationally, the film took in an additional $242.7 million in business, for a combined worldwide total of $379,014,294[4] (equivalent to $633 million adjusted for ticket inflation in 2013).[63] For 1998 as a whole, the film was the ninth highest-grossing film domestically[67] and the third highest-grossing film worldwide.[68] Despite performing below expectations domestically, Godzilla was a profitable worldwide success, grossing nearly three times its budget.[63] Sony stated that retail sales of consumer products generated $400 million; not only from the 1998 film but from the animated series and the Heisei Godzilla films that Sony acquired at the time.[69]
Critical response[edit]
Godzilla received generally negative reviews from critics.[12][70][63] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 4.50/10. Its critical consensus states, "Without compelling characters or heart, Godzilla stomps on everything that made the original (or any monster movie worth its salt) a classic."[71] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Godzilla a score of 32 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[72] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B−" on scale of A to F.[73] Criticism highlighted by film critics included the film's script, acting, and directing,[74][75][76] while fans targeted the film's reinvention of Godzilla, which included its redesign and departure from the source material.[b]
Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, noting that "One must carefully repress intelligent thought while watching such a film. The movie makes no sense at all except as a careless pastiche of its betters (and, yes, the Japanese Godzilla movies are, in their way, better—if only because they embrace dreck instead of condescending to it). You have to absorb such a film, not consider it. But my brain rebelled, and insisted on applying logic where it was not welcome." Ebert also pointed out in his review that the characters Mayor Ebert and his assistant Gene were Devlin and Emmerich's jabs at his and Gene Siskel's negative reviews of Stargate and Independence Day.[74] Gene Siskel particularly singled out this aspect, writing "why place us in the movie if you aren't going to have us be eaten or squashed by the monster?" Siskel placed the film on his list of the worst films of 1998. James Berardinelli from ReelViews, called the film "one of the most idiotic blockbuster movies of all time, it's like spitting into the wind. Emmerich and Devlin are master illusionists, waving their wands and mesmerizing audiences with their smoke and mirrors. It's probably too much to hope that some day, movie-goers will wake up and realize that they've been had."[81] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that the film "is so clumsily structured it feels as if it's two different movies stuck together with an absurd stomping finale glued onto the end. The only question worth asking about this $120 million wad of popcorn is a commercial one. How much further will the dumbing down of the event movie have to go before the audience stops buying tickets?"[82]
Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post queried, "The question is this: Are the awe-inspiring creature effects and roaring battle scenes impressive enough to make you forget the stupid story, inaccurate science and basic implausibility?" Thoughtfully disillusioned, he wrote, "The cut-rate cast seems to have been plucked from the pages of TV Guide. There's Doug Savant from Melrose Place as O'Neal, a scaredy-cat military man who looks like Sgt. Rock and acts like Barney Fife. There's Maria Pitillo (House Rules) as Nick's soporific love interest, Audrey; The Simpsons' Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer as a wise-cracking news cameraman and superficial reporter; Vicki Lewis of NewsRadio as a lusty scientist. Shall I continue?"[83] Owen Gleiberman writing for Entertainment Weekly thought "There's no resonance to the new Godzilla, and no built-in cheese value, either. For a while, the filmmakers honor the sentimental paradox that seeped into the later Godzilla films: that this primitive destroyer, like King Kong, doesn't actually mean any harm." He opined that the film contained "some clever and exciting sequences", but ultimately came to the conclusion that, "It says much about today's blockbuster filmmakers that they could spend so much money on Godzilla and still fail to do justice to something that was fairy-tale destructo schlock to begin with."[84]
Post-release[edit]
Cancelled trilogy[edit]
TriStar planned to produce a Godzilla trilogy upon acquiring the Godzilla license in 1992. Emmerich had considered using the Monster Island concept from the Toho films with the intention of creating something wild, as well as including six or seven monsters, stating, "We'll probably come up with other monsters because we don't want to tie ourselves too much to certain things".[115] Prior to the 1998 film's release, Sony felt confident enough with the potential box office success that they paid Toho $5 million for sequel rights, which guaranteed them to produce a sequel within five years following the first film's release, so long as it was in active development.[12] Devlin had confirmed plans for a trilogy, stating, "We have a Godzilla trilogy in mind. The second one is remarkably different from the first one, and if it's embraced, a third one would make a whole lot of sense. I don't see us doing more than three, but I would love to finish out telling the story."[116]
Emmerich and Devlin commissioned a treatment by Tab Murphy titled Godzilla 2. The sequel would have involved the surviving offspring battling a giant insect in Sydney.[117] The studio abandoned sequel plans due to a lack of enthusiasm from fans, audiences, theater owners and licensees,[24] and Emmerich and Devlin left due to budget disputes. Devlin stated, "They wanted to tailor it budget-wise, so it didn't make sense for us creatively."[118] Devlin stated that they left the film with an open-ending in case the success allowed them to return for sequels.[119] Despite Emmerich's comments that Sony was "absolutely ready" to produce a sequel, he later revealed that he advised the studio to not produce a sequel, stating, "It's so strange because people expected it to be the biggest thing ever, then it only did well. They are disappointed, and you have to defend yourself". Sony had considered a reboot with the new series disassociating itself from the 1998 film. However, TriStar let their remake/sequel rights expire on May 20, 2003.[12]