Cinematography of Shin Godzilla
Shin Godzilla ( シン・ゴジラ) also known as Godzilla: Resurgence in some parts, is the most recent live action Godzilla film from Toho Studios. Directed by acclaimed anime director and creator of the Evangelion series, Hideaki Anno; and co-directed by Shinji Higuchi, who’s work includes directing the two recent Attack on Titan live action films. The film was released on July 29th in Japan and on October 11h in select territories outside of Japan. A monster film and political drama, the film reboots Godzilla’s origin story as if the iconic monster were to re-appear in modern Japan. The plot follows the various government departments of Japan and their attempts to suppress the Godzilla attack, bringing to life a more realistic view of Godzilla. It’s more or less a commentary on the Japanese government and Fukishima disaster. A tribute to its rich history, the film features various music pieces, actor cameos and roars from previous films in the Godzilla franchise.
The film is unique in that it has what I will call “Anno-isms.” It features quickly edited scenes, special effects, rarely any long takes, and use of various camera angles. The cinematographer for this film is Kosuke Yamada. He uses a plethora of cameras to achieve different viewpoints to make Godzilla seem quite larger than life.Let’s take a look at a few scenes form the film below:
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What Lies Below Tokyo Bay
The first scene in the film depicts the various human main characters and sub characters meeting to discuss what appears to be a volcanic eruption in Tokyo Bay near Haneda Airport. From here, we see a lot of close up angles of various government cabinet members. They discuss whether the eruption in Tokyo Bay is either natural or unnatural. From here, we cut to various angles of Tokyo Bay, long shots, close ups and extreme close ups as a tail emerges from the ocean. It’s here that we really get a scale of what is to come.
Godzilla’s Triumphant Return
The beginning of this scene depicts Godzilla returning to mainland Japan via Sagami Bay, Kamakura. The REAL Godzilla theme from Akira Ifukube starts playing and immediately we get a look at Godzilla in all his glory. The colors in this scene are a mix of blues and greens for conference room scenes and warmer yellows and oranges for the outdoor scenes featuring Godzilla. This scene features more of a focus on the human characters as they attempt to suppress Godzilla from advancing into Tokyo proper. The camera cuts between extreme close ups of humans and long shots of Godzilla. That’s what I love about the cinematography in this scene the most. It gives scale to Godzilla and shows just how immense he is standing at 118.5 meters tall.
Tokyo On Fire
Shortly after the previously mentioned scene, Godzilla is setting Tokyo ablaze with its new found atomic breath powers. It suddenly becomes dormant and frozen due to internal nuclear cooling. This scene features some beautiful night shots that are a blend of special effects and practical effects. Parts of Tokyo shown in this scene feature a digital version of Tokyo being destroyed. What I love about this scene are that the blacks are black and the blues are blues.
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