When Godzilla or “Gojira” was green-lighted by Toho Studios, the studio was suddenly faced with a bit of a dilemma… how will to create Godzilla and make him look realistic on screen? Not wanting to use stop-motion animation like Godzilla’s predecessors (King Kong, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, other Harryhausen films, etc.), Toho ultimately decided to construct a large suit of latex and rubber to create their monster. Concept designs were quickly drawn up and created in clay by studio artists. Soon, one of Toho sculptor Sadami Toshimitsu’s three models were chosen and the first Godzilla suit ever began to be pieced together (with a few changes to the original design), followed by a second. The final version of the “Shodai-Goji” suit sported tiny ears on the sides of the head and four toes on each foot, features that would later be altered, but then reinstated when the Godzilla series was revived in 1984. Godzilla’s dorsal fins were jagged and irregular and its jaw featured teeth distinguished by visible fangs. Also, the eyes of this version of Godzilla had small, dark irises, giving them a slightly "beady" look. The suits were finally painted brown, a one-time only color as every other suit in the series, except those used in 1999 and 2000, were painted charcoal gray. Now unfortunately for the actor within, first-time kaiju actors and stuntmen Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka, the suit was very heavy and bulky, weighing 220 pounds! Now combine that with the fact that the suit had very little ventilation, and you’ve got a recipe for a bad time! The suit actors couldn’t stand to be in the suit for more than a few minutes before needing to be let out for some much-needed oxygen. Hard work, but it certainly paid off in the end!
