Atomic Dreams and the Nuclear Nightmare: The Making of Godzilla (1954)

By: Peter Brothers

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

For the first time in English print, the complete story of the making of one of the most significant and influential films of the 20th Century. Originally intended to cash-in on the then current trend of American monster movies, what resulted instead was the cinema's first anti-nuclear treatise to reach an international audience. Gathered from previously unpublished sources, rare photographs, personal interviews and with shot-for-shot descriptions of both the Japanese and American versions, "Atomic Dreams and the Nuclear Nightmare" is a tribute to the greatest monster movie of them all.

A really great, if not mixed story for G-Fans

This book at its core is awesome. Finally there is a good in depth book about the making of the original Godzilla detailed in a way so that even the true purest fans will learn something new. I loved how the author covered not only the film, but the culture of the times and the inspirations behind the film and the filmmakers themselves. As a fan this is definitely for you...

That being said I do have a few "subjective" issues with it. While I can't say with a straight face that the American version is superior to the original Japanese version, but the Author seems to go out of his way to needlessly bash it and nitpick every single imperfection he feels that the US version has. Such as the direction that the beams fall on Steve Martin, and using language such as, "just another blunder" and "another boner" etc. Some critiques are surely warranted, but the tone and word choice suggest that the US version should not exist. Even when discussing its merits, it always seems reluctant.

Additionally, and this is more geared to the Audio version and not the text itself, but the portion dedicated to the many MANY articles and reviews comes off and tedious and takes ages to get through, something made more difficult by the lack of actual chapters. Some are very interesting, but most just repeat themselves and could have been just as effective cut in half.

Overall, if you're a Godzilla fan, there is a lot to love and a lot more to learn. If you dislike the American version, you'll love it even more..... if you DO like the American Version for what it is..... you may have a clenched fist by the end. Overall 7 out of 10