How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Godzilla.
Quote #1
DISTRESSED WOMAN: You have no idea If there are any survivors?
OFFICER: We won't until morning. A helicopter and two ships are heading there now. We can't say anything until we receive their report.
WORRIED MAN: Why not send more ships? Two aren't enough!
OFFICER: We aren't limiting the search party to two ships. Rest assured that we'll devote all our resources to the search.
The sinking of the Eiko-maru mirrors a tragedy that happened a few months before the film's release, the Daigo Fukuryu Maru incident, in which a Japanese fishing vessel was irradiated by an U.S. H-bomb test in the Pacific.
Once again, the Japanese were the victims of a nuclear bomb, but by this time, the U.S. occupation had ended, and the Japanese were free to protest. Godzilla's anti-nuclear message is the best remembered form that protest took.
Quote #2
WOMAN PASSENGER: You're terrible. I barely escaped the atomic bomb in Nagasaki—and now this!
MAN PASSENGER: I'll have to find a place to evacuate to.
WOMAN PASSENGER: Find me one, too.
OLDER PASSENGER: Evacuate again? I've had enough!
The film's original audience would've lived through the U.S. bombing campaigns of World War II and the subsequent occupation, making conversations like these feel pertinent and timely for them.
Oh, and pay attention to these commuters—they'll appear later on the party boat Godzilla attacks. Theirs is a short yet tragic story.
Quote #3
TV NEWS: With nearly 20 ships sunk so far, Godzilla, monster of the century, has all of Japan in a panic. The frigate squadron has begun its depth-charge attack. The ten-vessel fleet left port at 10:00 a.m., headed for the west coast of Odo Island. At 10:17 they received orders to commence attack.
Sounds like a wartime newsreel, with images from the Japanese military dropping depth charges. A decade earlier, these images would've been part of a militaristic campaign for Japan's expansionist war effort. But in Godzilla, the nation's reconceptualized its military as a force for defense from an invasive force, not a force for invading and colonial expansion.
Quote #4
Godzilla returns to the sea while fighter jets bombard it with missiles. The missiles irritate Godzilla, but ultimately have no effect as the monster escapes.
In this scene, conventional military weapons and tactics are totally useless at defeating the enemy or defending the populace against the threat of Godzilla—who, let's not forget, is a scaly symbol of nuclear weapons.
Quote #5
SERIZAWA: Ogata…if the Oxygen Destroyer is used even once, the politicians of the world won't stand idly by. They'll inevitably turn it into a weapon. A-bombs against A-bombs, H-bombs against H-bombs. As a scientist—no, as a human being—adding another terrifying weapon to humanity's arsenal is something I can't allow.
Serizawa shows an enlightened approach toward scientific discovery. He takes responsibility for his discovery and protects the world from it. Not just his own nation, but all of humanity. This seems a direct criticism of the U.S., a nation that released the devastation of nuclear weapons on Japan—not once, not twice, but three times if you count the Daigo Fukuryu-Maru incident —yet continues to put the entire world at risk by developing deadlier weapons.
Of course, this movie was made during the Cold War. So Russia, you're not off the hook either.
Quote #6
OGATA: He wished us happiness together.
YAMANE: I can't believe that Godzilla was the last of its species. If nuclear testing continues, then someday, somewhere in the world, another Godzilla may appear.
Godzilla ends on a happy note for Japan. A Japanese scientist saved the world, not only from Godzilla but also his own invention. And Ogata and Emiko can marry, promising a bright future for the couple, and by extension Japan.
But as fans of the Jurassic Park franchise know so well, life will find a way. Godzilla's mate may be lurking just below the waves, waiting for the next A-test to bring it roaring back.