GODZILLA (1954)

This is the classic. Such a good movie. Growing up, all I’d seen was the American cut (GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS) with Raymond Burr, and while it was good, it’s nothing compared to the original Japanese version. Holy crap. If all you know are the kinda campy Godzilla movies where he’s the good guy fighting off various monsters who are threatening to destroy Tokyo, you have to see this. It’s totally serious, and Godzilla is the villain. It’s all about the A-bomb, too, so it’s got a serious message behind it. You all know the story: after nuclear testing, a mutated dinosaur rises from the ocean’s depths to wreak havoc on humankind. And he does. The miniatures are all amazing, the mixture of guy-in-suit and puppetry effects is really convincing (it helps that Godzilla’s not seen that often), and the fear of Japanese people basically running for their lives from nuclear annihilation is so convincing that it’ll move you almost to tears. It’s a must-see.