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Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
GIGANTIS: Raging out of the bowels of the earth… a hundred tons of hell and fire to ravage and destroy!
Godzilla Raids Again (ゴジラの逆襲, Gojira no gyakushū lit. “Godzilla’s Counterattack”) is a 1955 Japanese kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, written by Takeo Murata, and Shigeaki Hidaka, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the second film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla and Katsumi Tezuka as Anguirus. In the film, Japan struggles to survive Godzilla’s return, as well as its destructive battle against its ancient foe Anguirus.
Executive producer Iawo Mori instructed producer Tomoyuki Tanaka to immediately commence production on a second Godzilla film, fearing to lose the momentum of the first film’s success. Oda was chosen to direct the film as Ishirō Honda was busy directing Love Makeup.
Godzilla Raids Again was released theatrically in Japan on April 24, 1955. A heavily edited version was released theatrically in the United States on June 2, 1959 by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., under the title Gigantis, the Fire Monster. The film was followed by King Kong vs. Godzilla, released on August 11, 1962.
