Godzilla premieres in Nagoya, Japan in 1954. Directed by kaiju master Ishiro Honda. The first film in the longest-running franchise in film history is also the first film to feature a performer in a monster suit interacting with miniature scenery. The Japanese version is a dark, gritty meditation about the lessons of World War II. The American version is a heavily-edited 1950s monster movie starring Raymond Burr.
This Day in Halloween: The original Japanese version of "Godzilla" premieres in Nagoya, Japan in 1954. / Illustration by Justin Pakneshan.