Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
“Incredible, unstoppable titan of terror!”
During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Where to watch
Criterion Channel
Stream
Cinemax
Stream
Darkroom
Free
Apple TV Store
Rent · Buy
Your rating
Your review
Part of Americanized Godzilla Collection
4 films
Cast
28 people
Raymond Burr
Steve Martin
Known for
Rear Window
Airplane II: The Sequel
Takashi Shimura
Dr. Yamane
Known for
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Momoko Kôchi
Emiko Yamane
Known for
The Mysterians
Akira Takarada
Ogata
Known for
Godzilla
King Kong Escapes
Akihiko Hirata
Dr. Serizawa
Known for
Godzilla
Rodan
Sachio Sakai
Hagiwara
Known for
Godzilla
Throne of Blood
Fuyuki Murakami
Dr. Tabata
Known for
Godzilla
Floating Clouds
Ren Yamamoto
Seiji
Known for
Godzilla
The War of the Gargantuas
Toyoaki Suzuki
Shinkichi
Known for
Godzilla
Tadashi Okabe
Dr. Tabata's Assistant
Known for
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
The War of the Gargantuas
Toranosuke Ogawa
President of Company
Known for
Godzilla
Seven Samurai
Frank Iwanaga
Security Officer Tomo Iwanaga
Also in
Destination Gobi
Submarine Command
Ishirō Honda Director · Terry O. Morse Director Takeo Murata Screenplay
Director Screenplay
Ishirō Honda
Director Story
Terry O. Morse
Screenplay
Takeo Murata
Screenplay
Al C. Ward
Story
Eiji Tsuburaya
Story
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Author
Shigeru Kayama
Composer
Akira Ifukube
Cinematographer
Masao Tamai
Cinematographer
Guy Roe
Editor
Kazuji Taira
Production designer
Takeo Kita
Production designer
Satoru Chūko
Costume designer
Fuminori Ōhashi
Costume designer
Teizô Toshimitsu
Costume designer
Yoshio Suzuki
Worldwide gross $2M · Budget $25K · United States release April 27, 1956
Box office
Budget
$25,000
Worldwide gross
$2,000,000
Gross vs. budget
80.0×
Production
TOHO
Production
Jewell Enterprises
Production
Japan · United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · Japanese
Release dates
United States · April 27, 1956
Limited theatrical · Loew's State Theatre, New York City, New York
United States · May 5, 1998
Physical · Simitar Entertainment DVD
United States
May 18, 1956 · Theatrical
February 23, 1999 · Physical · as part of Godzilla: 5 Rampaging Movies DVD set
March 1, 2001 · Physical · Goodtimes Entertainment DVD
September 17, 2002 · Physical · Classic Media/Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Wonder DVD
September 5, 2006 · Physical · Classic Media Collector's Edition DVD Digipack
January 24, 2012 · Physical · The Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray Digipack
May 13, 2014 · Physical · Classic Media DVD. Reissue of the 2006 set with the same features, but in a standard DVD keep case and excluding the booklet.
October 29, 2019 · Physical · as part of Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 Blu-ray set
November 5, 2024 · Physical · The Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Australia
September 16, 1957 · Theatrical
Belgium
March 14, 1957 · Theatrical
Brazil
January 1, 1958 · Theatrical · Exact date unknown.
June 22, 2021 · Physical · Obras-Primas do Cinema Blu-ray Digipack set
Canada
August 5, 1956 · Premiere
August 6, 1956 · Theatrical
France
March 14, 1957 · Theatrical
Germany
August 5, 1998 · Theatrical
Iceland
August 30, 1958 · Theatrical
Italy
January 1, 1957 · Theatrical · Exact date unknown
January 1, 1977 · Theatrical · Luigi Cozzi version (aka Cozzilla); Exact date unknown
Japan
May 29, 1957 · Theatrical
October 25, 2023 · Physical · 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray
Sweden
January 28, 1957 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
February 1, 1957 · Theatrical
November 25, 2019 · Physical · as part of Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 Blu-ray set
More from Ishirō Honda
Other films they directed, best known first.
Some details come from TheTVDB.