Godzilla Minus One: A historic Oscar for an impressive Japanese film that mocked American blockbusters

A true phenomenon since its theatrical release, Godzilla Minus One has set many international records. Acclaimed by the public and critics alike, the monster movie directed by Takashi Yamazaki managed to bring the famous kaiju back to its glory.

In this new iteration, shortly after World War II, Japan struggles to recover from the trauma and damage. Now a giant kaiju appears near the coast of Tokyo and terrorizes the residents. Koichi, a suicidal terrorist deserter traumatized by his first encounter with Godzilla, sees this as an opportunity to atone for his actions during the war.

Historic Oscar for Godzilla Minus One!

Godzilla Minus One just won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, and it’s a historic award. It is the first Japanese film to be awarded in this category.

But that’s not all, because the visual effects of the film, which earned more than 100 million dollars, were partly carefully controlled by its own director Takashi Yamazaki and a “small” team of 35 artists who performed colossal works with great precision. Over 600 plans!

• 56 years after Stanley Kubrick, Godzilla Minus One could win a historic Oscar! do you know which one

By winning this Oscar for Best Visual Effects, Takashi Yamazaki is the first director to win the award since Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, A Space Odyssey in 1968.

Aware of this huge and historic victory, the Japanese filmmaker gave a moving speech as he and his team accepted the statue, including a tribute to producer Shuji Abe, who passed away on December 11, 2023:

“My career started 40 years ago, after watching Star Wars and Encounters of the Third Kind, and we were so far from Hollywood. But now here we are on this stage tonight, and it seemed completely unattainable. From the moment we were named, it was like Rocky Balboa was bigger than the ring. He entered against a fighter and it was already a miracle.

But here we stand on the stage. To all the great artists outside of Hollywood, Hollywood has heard us and it proves that everyone has a chance. Finally, we are proud of the entire cast and crew of Godzilla Minus One. And thank you to producer Shuji Abe, who left us far too soon. We got there. Thank you, thank you very much.”