Godzilla 2000

Godzilla 2000: Millennium
File:Godzilla 2000 Poster.jpg Official Japanese poster
Directed by	Takao Okawara
Written by	Hiroshi Kashiwabara Wataru Mimura Mike Schlesinger (English version)
Produced by	Shogo Tomiyama
Starring	Takehiro Murata Hiroshi Abe Naomi Nishida Mayu Suzuki Shiro Sano
Cinematography	Katsuhiro Kato
Edited by	Yoshiyuki Okuhara Michael Mahoney (English version)
Music by	Takayuki Hattori Akira Ifukube (Godzilla theme) J. Peter Robinson (English version)
Distributed by	Toho (Japan) TriStar Pictures (USA)
Release dates	December 11, 1999 (Japan) August 18, 2000 (North America)
Running time	107 min. (Japanese Version) 98 min. (English version)
Language	Japanese
Budget	US $8,300,000

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム, Gojira Nisen: Mireniamu) is a 1999 kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura. It was the twenty-third film released in the Godzilla series. It is the only film to feature [[Orga}}. Toho released the film in Japan in 1999, a year after the release of TriStar's Godzilla. TriStar launched the film in the United States in 2000 as Godzilla 2000, the last in the Godzilla series to make a North American 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 and working other appearances into the intervening years.

Plot

Godzilla is a literal force of nature to Japan. The Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) functions independently to study the mutant dinosaur and predict his landfalls. Meanwhile, the scientists of Crisis Control Intelligence (CCI) find a sixty million year old UFO deep in the Japan Trench. As CCI attempts to raise the UFO to study it, it takes off into the sky on its own. Godzilla arrives and battles the Japan Self Defense Forces, now equipped with powerful Full Metal Missiles, but the UFO appears, searching for genetic information that only Godzilla possesses. It fights Godzilla to a standstill, driving the monster underwater, and then lands to replenish its solar power.

Yuji Shinoda, the founder of the GPN, discovers the secret to Godzilla's regenerative properties (named Organizer G1 in the Japanese version, but Regenerator G1 in the American release), 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 UFO broadcasts its message of invasion and a new empire 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 UFO. However, he is subdued by the UFO's assault, and it absorbs some of his Organizer G1, growing into a squid-like creature called the Millennian. However, the Millennian is unable to control Godzilla's DNA and further mutates into a horrible monster named Orga. Godzilla recovers and fights Orga, but it eventually gains the upper hand, and drains more of Godzilla's DNA, trying to convert itself into a Godzilla clone. Finally, Orga opens its maw, intending to swallow Godzilla whole, but Godzilla tricks it by shoving his head into its throat willingly. While Orga begins to transform, Godzilla unleashes his nuclear pulse, killing Orga. Godzilla then kills Mitsuo Katagiri, head of CCI, before beginning a rampage through Tokyo.

Cast

• Takehiro Murata as Yuji Shinoda
• Naomi Nishida as Yuki Ichinose
• Shiro Sano as Shiro Miyasaka
• Hiroshi Abe as Mitsuo Katagiri
• Mayu Suzuki as Io Shinoda
• Tsutomu Kitagawa as Godzilla
• Makoto Ito - Orga (オルガ, Oruga) is a Millenian that mutates after absorbing Godzilla's Regenerator G-1. Orga is a grotesque, hunch-backed monster with thick, rubbery gray hide. Most prominent are Orga's massive three-clawed hands, which it uses to walk like a gorilla. It has a short, thick tail and a short neck as well. Its face has a square jaw with a prominent chin, lined with rows of serrated teeth. It can fire an energy wave from the hole in its left shoulder, and it is able to leap vast distances and heights. Finally, Orga is able to absorb an opponent's DNA through its bite to gain their abilities and appearance; and can even detach its upper and lower jaws to unfold a hidden membrane in order to swallow an opponent whole.

English cast

• Francois Chau as Yuji Shinoda
• Denise Iketani as Yuki Ichinose
• Jack Ong as Shiro Miyasaka
• Ron Yuan as Mitsuo Katagiri
• Rachel Crane as Io Shinoda

Box office

Godzilla 2000 was produced on a budget of approximately $8,300,000. It opened in Japan on December 11, 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.

English version

Tristar, a division of Sony Pictures, picked up Godzilla 2000 for theatrical distribution in North America. It would be the first and only Japanese Godzilla movie since Godzilla 1985 to be released in North American theatres. Mike 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." Sony spent approximately $1 million to re-edit and dub the movie, and an addition $10–12 million to market.

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. Future Millennium Godzilla films would be released direct-to-DVD in North America.

Alterations

Godzilla 2000 was edited in the process of Americanisation. The U.S. version of the film runs 99 minutes - 8 minutes shorter in comparison to 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:

• 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 low-pitched screech, whereas in the original it was a higher stock roar.
• The translation team changed "Organizer G1" to "Regenerator G1", on the basis that the word "Organizer" 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 UFO is 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 cartoonish lettering. On the DVD commentary, writer Mike Schlesinger and Toho expressed disapproval of the idea. "The End?" was removed from later home video and television releases. (However, the out of print Spanish-subtitled VHS of the film still contains it.)

Critical reception

The North American release of Godzilla 2000 met with mixed to positive critical reaction. It currently holds a rating of 57% at Rotten Tomatoes among all critics. Among the top critics on the site, it holds a "Certified Fresh" rating of 71%.

Bruce Westbrook of the Houston Chronicle said the film "taps into a now-rare and innocent sense of wonder," and that "its action scenes are well-conceived." 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." Jay Carr of the Boston Globe called Godzilla 2000 "a ton of fun, and then some." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post said "it's great to have the big guy back." James Berardinelli of ReelViews said the film "uses the Godzilla formula effectively" and "represents solid, campy, escapist entertainment." Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide praised the film, saying that "fans won't want to miss this addition to the canon."

Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today said Godzilla 2000 "may be dull, but the familiarity of it all makes it feel ceremonial, a reassuring ritual." 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." Stephen Holden of the New York Times wasn't impressed, saying that "only a die-hard fan of the long-running Japanese Godzilla series could love Godzilla 2000." Similarly, Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post remarked, "Godzilla, go home."

Among kaiju-related websites, Stomp Tokyo said "there are some pretty impressive special effects," and concluded that "Godzilla 2000 delivers fairly well, if not spectacularly." Toho Kingdom criticized the Japanese version, saying "it’s not hard to see why Godzilla 2000 was poorly received in Japan," but added that "the US version ... is infinitely better than its poorly paced Japanese counterpart. In all, the US version make numerous badly needed cuts from the film to tighten it up."

DVD release

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 Mike Schlesinger, Michael Mahoney and Darren Paskal; 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

External links

• Godzilla 2000 at IMDb
• Godzilla 2000 at AllMovie
• Godzilla 2000 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Godzilla 2000 at Box Office Mojo
• "ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム (Gojira Nisen: Mireniamu)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-19.