Nearly a decade ago, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi unleashed “Shin Godzilla,” Toho’s big reboot that brought Godzilla back for good. It’s not hard to see why the movie was a critical and financial success, as it is more than an entertaining monster flick but an excellent film overall. What makes it work so well, even today, is a culmination of many elements, from its refreshing reimagining of the iconic monster while staying true to its metaphorical roots, some jaw-dropping special effects, to sharp political satire that draws influence from the Japanese government’s mishandling of Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, along with the Fukushima disaster that occurred that same infamous day. In the ongoing trend of black-and-white versions of films originally filmed in color, moviegoers can experience just that with the recent re-release of the renowned feature with the latest “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic.”
Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic is screening at Japan Cuts 2024
The film’s plot and structure remain unchanged from its original release, but the narrative goes like this for clarification. Chaos ensues in Japan when a giant monster emerges from Tokyo Bay and causes devastating destruction. Primarily following Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi, the government rushes to handle this unanticipated crisis yet fails to act accordingly. What follows is a series of complicated international dealings to prevent further casualties and how to deal with this horrific beast, with the USA becoming heavily involved in this insanity. It is believed that disgraced professor Goro Maki, who has disappeared, may have key knowledge of the origins of this animal and how to defeat it. Yet, to make matters worse, the creature constantly evolves, growing larger and more powerful with each evolution, eventually being given the name Godzilla.
As previously stated, the film remains entirely untouched, minus the stylistic color palette. Viewers are still treated to a clever, darkly satirical political thriller with a giant monster, further enhanced by some stunning visuals and stellar performances from a cast that includes Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara, Mikako Ichikawa, and Ren Osugi. Hence, judgment will be solely centered on this version’s selling point: the orthochromatic presentation.
So how does “Shin Godzilla” fare in black and white? Truthfully, feelings are conflicted here. On the one hand, it gives the movie a Showa era vibe on top of the preexisting inclusion of sound effects from that period and recycled music tracks composed by Akira Ifukube. It certainly, at times, channels the feeling of the original “Godzilla” by Ishiro Honda and Kihachi Okamoto‘s “Japan’s Longest Day,” which both served as major influences during this movie’s production. Yet, beyond that novelty, this release doesn’t add anything new besides that mileage, which will vary depending on the viewer.
That isn’t to say there wasn’t effort put into this version, as there clearly was. Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, along with the supervision of associate director Katsuro Onoue, were responsible for conceiving this release. The black-and-white aesthetics are visually nice, and the cinematography and special effects remain just as impressive as they were originally. Yet, it feels as if the filmmakers are riding on the trend of highly acclaimed features originally shot in color getting black-and-white re-releases, a recent pattern that feels a tad gimmicky.
The issue with “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic” also applies to the black-and-white releases of other recent acclaimed films, including Bong Joon-ho‘s “Parasite” and Takashi Yamazaki‘s “Godzilla Minus One.” As nice as the aesthetic style is, these movies were originally filmed in color and thus made with that in mind, the same way “Godzilla” and “Japan’s Longest Day” were shot in black-and-white and made accordingly in that manner. A detriment of this orthochromatic trend is that some visuals pop less, losing some of their original intended impact, including the lighting. “Shin Godzilla” had a very distinct art direction with intended colors in mind, which certainly was very prominent in specific sections, like the contrasting red and black with Godzilla’s design or when the monster uses its atomic breath to destroy Tokyo, with gorgeous use of vibrant purple and fiery orange. Throughout history, plenty of movies have been able to utilize color and black-and-white effectively in the same production; examples include Kinji Fukasaku‘s “Under the Flag of the Rising Sun,” Nobuhiko Obayashi‘s “House,” and Mamoru Oshii‘s “The Red Spectacles.” Yet, the recent trend of films using an opposite color presentation from their original format leads to something feeling slightly off. However, these black-and-white re-releases are far more well-made than some of the terrible colorations of classic films.
Despite the criticism of “Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromatic,” it’s still nice that this version exists. Some fans, particularly of early Showa era tokusatsu and classic Japanese cinema, may even get a major kick out of this release. Ultimately, the movie is still great but more visually pleasing in its original color format.
