GODZILLA MINUS ONE Director Talks WWII Setting a Making The Most "Powerful of all the Godzillas"
Director Takashi Yamazaki made a truly incredible Godzilla movie with Godzilla Minus One. From its World War II setting, the strong character development and story, and the terrifying version of Godzilla, this is a must-watch film for fans. Legendary Entertainment wishes they could make a Godzilla movie as good as the one Toho just released. They have no idea how to handle this property.
During a recent interview with /Film, Yamazaki talked about certain aspects of the film that make it different from the other Godzilla movies that have come before. I especially liked how the film was set in the aftermath of World War II. It was a fascinating setting that allowed the story to explore the trauma that people were feeling at that time and the survivor guilt of the main character. When explaining why he set the story during this time, the director said:
“I chose the post-World War II setting because I felt it was really important to examine human perseverance under those circumstances. People had nothing and, despite that, Godzilla comes back to ruin their lives, and what do they do? I thought it'd be a really interesting movie to see how these people without any major weapons or anything can get through a Godzilla attack.”
That really did add an interesting and unique dynamic to the story, which I appreciated. The other thing the filmmaker set out to do when making this movie was give fans the most powerful Godzilla ever. Godzilla’s atomic breath is absolutely insane and when asked about visualization of the atomic breath and the blue glowing spines of the creature, Yamazaki said:
“With the beam, I really wanted to make it the most powerful of all the Godzillas. That's my intent, and that's how we developed the design, but also I wanted to call back to the original "Godzilla." A lot of scholars and stuff, we see that Godzilla represented war and the effects of atomic weapons and things like that, and I also felt that I think it might be around time that the world needs to be reminded that Godzilla did represent those things at one point and, perhaps, we should remember that now in 2023.”
The filmmaker did an awesome job bringing his vision of Godzilla to life, and everyone who watches this film seems to enjoy it. If you haven’t watched it yet… make sure to do that while it’s still in theaters! This is a movie to experience on the big screen!
The movie is set in Japan 1945-1947. “After the war, Japan has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state. Against the most desperate situation in the history of Japan, how — and with whom — will Japan stand up to it?”
Toho President Koji Ueda previously shared the following info: “Set in a post-war Japan, Godzilla Minus One will once again show us a Godzilla that is a terrifying and overwhelming force.” In the film, "After the war, Japan's economic state has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state."