Godzilla 2000

Infobox_Film
name =Godzilla 2000: Millennium


caption =Official Japanese Poster
director =Takao Okawara
producer =Shogo Tomiyama
writer =Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Wataru Mimura
(US Version)Michael Schlesinger
starring =Tsutomu Kitagawa
Takehiro Murata
Hiroshi Abe
Naomi Nishida
Mayu Suzuki
Shirô Sano
music =Takayuki Hattori
J. Peter Robinson (additional music, US version)
cinematography =Katsuhiro Kato
editing =Yoshiyuki Okuhara
Michael Mahoney (US version)
distributor =TriStar Pictures (USA)
released =December 11, 1999(Japan)
runtime =107 min. (Japanese Version)
98 min. (US Version)
language =Japanese
budget = US $8,300,000
imdb_id = 0188640
amg_id = 1:196447
preceded_by = "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah| and GODZILLA(1998)
followed_by = "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus|nihongo|"Godzilla 2000: Millennium"|ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム|Gojira Nisen: Mireniamu was the first Godzilla film produced by Toho since the end of the VS Series with 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah". Toho released the film in Japan in 1999, less than two years after the release of TriStar Pictures's "Godzilla", supposedly in response to poor fan output. TriStar released the film in the United States in 2000 under the truncated title "Godzilla 2000", the last in the Godzilla series to make a U.S. theatrical run. This film effectively begins and sets the tone for the Millennium Series: It ignores continuity established by any previous films, instead preserving only the original "Godzilla" (1954) and working other appearances into the intervening years. It is the 23rd installment in the "Godzilla" series of films

Synopsis

The year is 2000 and Godzilla has become an almost literal force of nature to the nation of Japan. A loosely-knit organization, the Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) functions independently to study the monster and predict his landfalls. Meanwhile, the scientists of the Crisis Control Institute (CCI) find a 60,000,000 year old structure deep in the Japan Trench. As CCI attempts to raise the object to study its internal power source, it takes off into the sky on its own. Godzilla arrives and battles the JSDF, now equipped with powerful Full Metal Missiles, but the strange UFO appears, searching for some sort of genetic information that apparently only Godzilla possesses. It fights Godzilla to a standstill, driving the monster underwater, and then lands to replenish its solar power.

Yuji Shinoda, founder of GPN, discovers the secret to Godzilla's regenerative properties (named Regenerator G1, or Organizer G1 in the Japanese version), but so has the UFO. It frees itself from the JSDF's attempts to contain it, and heads for Shinjuku. After landing atop City Tower, it begins to drain all the files about Godzilla from Tokyo's master computers. CCI attempts to destroy the UFO using explosive charges, but Shinoda, attempting to find out more about the aliens, is nearly caught in the blast. He survives, and joins the rest of the cast on a rooftop, watching the UFO. Almost in response, the ship broadcasts its message of invasion and a Millenium Kingdom on Earth, and Shinoda reveals that the aliens are after Godzilla's DNA so that they may re-form their bodies.

Godzilla arrives and again battles the alien invader. However, he is subdued by the ship's assault, and it absorbs the G1 cells, creating an octopus-like alien, presumably the true form of the Millenians. However, the alien is unable to control Godzilla's DNA and further mutates into a hideous monster. Godzilla recovers and fights the monstrous creature, but Orga eventually gains the upper hand, and drains more of Godzilla's Regenerator G1, trying to convert himself into a Godzilla clone. Finally, Orga opens his maw, intending to swallow Godzilla whole, but the King of the Monsters tricks the alien by shoving his head into its throat willingly. While Orga begins to mutate into a more Godzilla-like form, the true Godzilla unleashes his Nuclear Pulse inside Orga's throat, destroying it from within. His primary foe defeated, Godzilla turns on the Secretary of CCI, Katagiri (and the film's human antagonist) and kills him dramatically. Godzilla begins rampaging through Tokyo, with Shinoda (referencing how the G1 cells are what the first life forms on Earth used in order to evolve into what we are today) saying "Godzilla is inside each one of us."

Titles

*Godzilla 2000: Millennium"

Cast

*Takehiro Murata ......... Yuji Shinoda
*Naomi Nishida ......... Yuki Ichinose
*Mayu Suzuki ......... Io Shinoda
*Hiroshi Abe ......... Mitsuo Katagiri
*Shiro Sano ......... Shiro Miyasaka

*Godzilla ......... Tsutomu Kitagawa
*Orga ......... Makoto Ito

Box Office

"Godzilla 2000" was produced on a budget of approximately $8,300,000. [http://tohokingdom.com/box_office/g2k.htm Godzilla 2000: Millennium - Box Office Report] , Toho Kingdom] It opened in Japan on December 11th, 1999 and grossed roughly $15,000,000 during its box office run, with approximately 2,000,000 admissions. The film was a moderate box office success, and was Japan's highest-grossing domestic release of the 1999 holiday season.

U.S. Release

"Tristar", a division of "Sony Pictures", picked up "Godzilla 2000" for theatrical distribution in North America. It would be the first Japanese Godzilla movie since "Godzilla 1985" to be released in North American theatres. ike Schlesinger, who supervised the North American release, said, "It ["Godzilla 2000"] was such a spectacular success in Japan, we decided it was worth taking a shot, maybe the time was right for Godzilla to come back to theaters." [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188640/news Sony To Give Japanese Godzilla 2000 Big Push This Weekend] , Internet Movie Database, 17 August 2000] Sony spent approximately $1 million to re-edit and dub the movie, and an addition $10-12 million to market. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188640/news Sony To Give Japanese Godzilla 2000 Big Push This Weekend] , Internet Movie Database, 17 August 2000]

Alterations

Godzilla 2000 was changed somewhat in the process of Americanisation. The U.S. version of the film runs 99 minutes - 8 minutes, Shorter in comparison to the the 107-minute Japanese version. Most of these were minor edits done to improve the pacing, and the sound effects and music were also improved and enhanced. The dubbing has a somewhat humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone to it, apparently in homage to Godzilla dubs of the 60s and 70s, with lines such as "Great Caesar's Ghost!", "Bite me!" and "these missiles will go through Godzilla like crap through a goose!". Some fans have criticised the American version of Godzilla 2000 for "camping up" what they perceive as a "serious" movie; however, Toho and Takao Okawara approved all the changes to the film in advance, and various amusing events throughout the story (such as people comically surviving Godzilla's rampage early in the film) make it evident that it wasn't meant to be taken too seriously.

Among the other alterations: [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188640/alternateversions Alternate versions for Gojira ni-sen mireniamu] , Internet Movie Database]

* Some new music and sound effects were added.

* Shortened: the scene where Yuki seeks membership for the Godzilla prediction unit.

* Added: A few more traditional Ifukube themes.

* Shortened: Godzilla's destruction of Tokaimura

* Orga was given more of a high-pitched screech, whereas in the original it was a lower stock roar.

* The translation team changed "Organiser G1" to "Regenerator G1", on the basis that the word "Organiser" made no sense within the context it was being used.

* Shortened: the scene where a bewildered taxi driver sees the UFO.

* Deleted: before escaping the building where the aliens are draining the information (just before the building is detonated), Shinoda sees the word "Millennium" on all the computer screens.

* Re-arranged: The scene where Shinoda goes down the elevator shaft while the building explodes.

In the North American theatrical version, the film ended with the words, "The End?", in very cartoonish lettering. On his DVD commentary, Michael Schlesinger said it looked too goofy, and Toho was equally underwhelmed. "The End?" was deleted from subsequent home video and television releases. (However, the Out of Print Spanish-subtitled VHS of the film still contains it.)

Critical Reception

The American release of "Godzilla 2000" met with mixed to positive critical reaction. It currently has a "Rotten" rating of 57% at Rotten Tomatoes among all critics. However, it also has a "Certified Fresh" of 71% among the top critics on the site [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla_2000/ Godzilla 2000] , Rotten Tomatoes] .

Among the positive reviewers, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" grade, saying that "Godzilla 2000" "lands on an imaginative fault line somewhere between tackiness and awe." [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/movie/0,6115,277322_1_0_,00.html Review by Owen Gleiberman] , Entertainment Weekly, August 2000] Jay Carr of the Boston Globe called "Godzilla 2000" "a ton of fun, and then some." [Review by Jay Carr, Boston Globe, August 2000] Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said "it's great to have the big guy back." [Review by Lou Lumenick, New York Post, August 2000] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide praised the film, saying that "fans won't want to miss this addition to the canon." [ [http://www.tvguide.com/movies/godzilla-2000/review/134644 Review by Maitland McDonagh] , TV Guide, 2000]

Average reviews came from Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today, who said "Godzilla 2000" "may be dull, but the familiarity of it all makes it feel ceremonial, a reassuring ritual." [Review by Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today, August 2000] David Edelstein of Slate said that he "periodically tranced out," but added that "it's fun to see" and "it still manages to dispel some of the lingering stink of Roland Emmerich's 1998 remake." [ [http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=88714 Review by David Edelstein] , Slate, August 2000]

Among the negative reviewers, Stephen Holden of the New York Times said that "only a die-hard fan of the long-running Japanese Godzilla series could love "Godzilla 2000"." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0CEFDE143EF93BA2575BC0A9669C8B63 Review by Stephen Holden] , New York Times, August 2000] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film "weakly plotted, woodenly acted, and indifferently dubbed." [ [http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Movies-X!ArticleDetail-3662,00.html?search_area=Movies&channel=Movies Review by Kenneth Turan] , Los Angeles Times, August 2000] Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post remarked, "Godzilla, go home." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/entertainment/movies/reviews/godzilla2000hunter.htm Review by Stephen Hunter] , Washington Post, August 2000]

Box Office

Tristar Pictures released "Godzilla 2000" in 2,111 North American theatres on August 18, 2000. It grossed $4,407,720 ($2,087 per screen) in its opening weekend, on its way to a $10,037,390 final gross [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=godzilla2000.htm] . Future Millennium Godzilla films would be released direct-to-DVD in North America.

Trivia

* The second of the Toho Godzilla films to feature a full CGI Godzilla, particularly in the scene where Godzilla swims underwater (the first being the "death scene" in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah.

* This and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus are the only films where Godzilla's atomic ray is orange instead of blue.

* The first film in which Godzilla is actually green.

* The older monsters Anguirus , King Caesar and Kumonga were all considered as possible foes for the movie. Note:-Kumonga had a new design different from the Showa and Final Wars designs

* Contrary to popular belief, the additional Godzilla roars added in the American version were not reused from the 1998 film; they were newly made roars.

* According to books and press material, the squid-like alien that became Orga is called the "Millennian". However, neither monster was referred to by name in either version.

* On 15 July 1999, Toho broadcast two hours of the film's production on the Internet. The scene being prepared and filmed was where Godzilla smashes his way through Shinjuku (probably in the scene where he prepares to fight the Gigantic UFO).

* The song "Superbeast" by Rob Zombie was played in the trailer for the US release.

* At the 56.30 mark of the DVD it is possible to see the text on the screens of the computers being absorbed by the UFO. The text is the whatsnew file for the seminal arcade machine emulator M.A.M.E, version .35.

* The scene when Orga begins to swallow Godzilla, you can clearly see a wire hanging from Orga's back.

* The English dubbing for the army general's dialogue contains a tribute to American actor George C. Scott's portrayal of different generals in past films. When the general declares "I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I can promise no more than two [or] three hundred, tops", the line is taken almost word-for-word from Scott's character, General Buck Turgidson, in Dr. Strangelove. Moments later, the general declares they also have a weapon that will cut through Godzilla "like crap through a goose", a line uttered by Scott in his Academy Award-winning film portrayal of General George S. Patton.

DVD Releases

"Sony Pictures"

* Released: December 26, 2000

* Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic

* Sound: English (5.1), English (2.0), French (2.0)

* Supplements: Commentary by the U.S. release crew; Biographies; Behind-the-Scenes footage; Liner notes; Theatrical trailers

* Region 1

* Note: Contains the U.S. release version

*MPAA Rating: PG for monster violence and mild language

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0188640|title=Godzilla 2000
*amg movie|id=1:196447|title=Godzilla 2000
*rotten-tomatoes|id=godzilla_2000|title=Godzilla 2000
*mojo title|id=godzilla2000|title=Godzilla 2000
*