How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Godzilla.
Quote #1
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!
Throughout the film, Director Honda layers in slice-of-life stories referencing World War II. In this almost random scene, three characters directly compare Godzilla to Nagasaki, and the older passenger mentions evacuation, something many Japanese would have experienced during Operation Downfall. In this way, the film directly connects its story to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Quote #2
EMIKO: I'm sure Father will understand.
OGATA: We have nothing to be ashamed of, but when I think about Serizawa, I lose my nerve. If not for the war, he wouldn't have lost his eye.
Like the passengers on the train, Serizawa's backstory includes World War II. He was physically scarred by his experiences, and it seems clear this makes him want to use his research and knowledge to benefit society, not provide it with another weapon.
Quote #3
NEWS REPORTER: This is absolutely unbelievable, yet it's unfolding before our very eyes! Godzilla's leaving a sea of flames in its wake! Owari-cho, Shinbashi, Tamachi, Shiba, Shibaura—all a sea of flames!
The imagery of Godzilla's attack draws from the devastation of the Tokyo Firebombing. During the military operation, over the course of 48 hours, U.S. warplanes dropped 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo in what would become the deadliest air raid of World War II. For a Japanese audience in 1954, the news reporter's description would have called this event to mind.
Quote #4
NURSE: Thank you for your help.
EMIKO [to the crying child]: Your mommy will be back soon.
The field hospital Emiko assists at also calls to mind the devastation of war. And it's not only soldiers. Injured civilians are strewn about without enough doctors to help them or beds to comfort them. The original shows the suffering of the populace as a major argument against war.
The imagery is some of the most powerful in the film and a sharp contrast to anything found in other Godzilla films. Other films in the franchise almost seem to glorify in destruction; the suffering of civilians is noticeably absent. They have giant robots though, so there's that.
Quote #5
SERIZAWA: Bombs versus bombs, missiles versus missiles, and now a new superweapon to throw upon us all! As a scientist—no, as a human being—I can't allow that to happen. Am I right?
Serizawa basically sums it up. Weapons can't be used to end war. Each new weapon we design to protect ourselves just ramps up the arms race. 1954 was smack in the middle of the Cold War between the Soviets and the West, so the film was right on.
Quote #6
CHOIR [singing]: Our hearts are filled / With prayer / This we pray / Hear our song / And have pity on us / O peace! / O light! / Hasten back to us!
The choir sings the wishes of people suffering from Godzilla's attacks; it's a turning point for Serizawa. Although he remains a firm pacifist, the images of destruction and suffering lead him to use his technology to protect the people of Japan.
Quote #7
SERIZAWA: Ogata, it's working. I hope you two will be happy. Farewell.
Lots of anti-war movies end on a somber note. Think of Full Metal Jacket ending, with soldiers singing the Mickey Mouse song as the world burns around them. Or All Quiet on the Western Front's death of Paul Bäumer.
Godzilla, in contrast, ends on a hopeful (if slightly corny) note. Serizawa's weapon works and defeats Godzilla. Ogata and Emiko are now able to be together and be part of the reconstruction of Japan.