But whatever version you watch, the central theme of the film is inescapable. Just as "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" grew out of the blacklist of the McCarthy Era, and "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" and "War of the Worlds" were spawned by Cold War fears of a Soviet attack, "Godzilla" reflects the nuclear nightmare.

But Godzilla isn't just the bomb -- he's hate and anger, war, the poisoned environment -- in short, he is mankind itself, the destruction wrought by the rage within us, an inner ugliness we can never quite seem to shake.