Fails the Bechdel test
Godzilla
1998. Directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich and Ted Elliott.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
2 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
6 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
Women do talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Every conversation between women that our parser found mentions a man.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3, though someone marked that rating as dubious.
The film
In the wake of extensive nuclear testing in the South Pacific Ocean, the low-profile scientist, Niko Tatopoulos, is summoned by the U.S. Army to shed light on the mysterious attack on a fishing ship, and the ominous sightings of a gargantuan sea-dragon. Before long, a mutated scaly nightmare in the shape of Godzilla--a massive and all-powerful radioactive sauroid--threatens to level the rain-soaked New York City, against the backdrop of a crippling bureaucracy and the military's futile attempts to stop the invincible beast from the ocean. Now, it's up to Niko; the cryptic insurance agent, Philippe; the determined reporter, Audrey, and her brave cameraman, Victor, to put an end to Godzilla's reign of terror before it's too late. Is there a reason why Godzilla has chosen Manhattan for its den?
- Released
- 20 May 1998
- Genres
- Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 5.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 32 / 100
- Awards
- 10 wins & 13 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Nick 140 lines, man
- Audrey 110 lines, woman
- Raymond 74 lines, man
- Major Hicks 53 lines, man
- Animal 50 lines, man
- Caiman 30 lines, man
- Lucy 27 lines, woman
- Mayor 25 lines
- Elsie 16 lines, woman
- Sergeant O'Neal 16 lines, man
Full cast, 95 people
- Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
- Jean Reno as Philippe Roaché
- Maria Pitillo as Audrey Timmonds
- Hank Azaria as Victor 'Animal' Palotti
- Kevin Dunn as Colonel Hicks
- Michael Lerner as Mayor Ebert
- Harry Shearer as Charles Caiman
- Arabella Field as Lucy Palotti
- Vicki Lewis as Dr. Elsie Chapman
- Doug Savant as Sergeant O'Neal
- Malcolm Danare as Dr. Mendel Craven
- Lorry Goldman as Gene, Mayor's Aide
- Christian Aubert as Jean-Luc
- Philippe Bergeron as Jean-Claude
- Frank Bruynbroek as Jean-Pierre
- François Giroday as Jean-Philippe
- Nicholas J. Giangiulio as Ed
- Robert Lesser as Murray
- Ralph Manza as Old Fisherman
- Greg Callahan as the Governor
- Chris Ellis as General Anderson
- Nancy Cartwright as Caiman's Secretary
- Richard Gant as Admiral Phelps
- Jack Moore as Leonard
- Steve Giannelli as Jules
- Brian Farabaugh as Arthur
- Stephen Xavier Lee as Lt. Anderson
- Bodhi Elfman as Freddie
- Rich Grosso as Jimmy
- Lloyd Kino as Japanese Tanker Cook
- Toshi Toda as Japanese Tanker Captain
- Clyde Kusatsu as Japanese Tanker Skipper
- Masaya Katō as Japanese Tanker Crew Member
- Glenn Morshower as Kyle Terrington
- Lola Pashalinski as Pharmacist
- Rob Fukuzaki as WIDF Co-Anchor
- Dale Harimoto as WKXI Anchor
- Gary W. Cruz as WFKK Anchor
- Derek Webster as Utah Captain
- Stuart Fratkin as Utah Ensign
- Frank Cilberg as Utah Sailor
- Jason Edward Jones as Utah Sailor
- Roger McIntyre as Utah Sailor
- David Pressman as Anchorage Captain
- Robert Faltisco as Anchorage Ensign
- Christopher Darius Maleki as Anchorage Ensign
- Scott Lusby as Anchorage Ensign
- Ali Afshar as Anchorage Sailor
- Terence Paul Winter as Apache Pilot
- Kirk Geiger as Apache Pilot
- Pat Mastroianni as Apache Pilot
- Eric Saiet as Apache Pilot
- Burt Bulos as Apache Pilot
- Robert Floyd as Apache Pilot
- Seth Peterson as Apache Pilot
- Jamison Yang as F-18 Pilot
- Nathan Anderson as F-18 Pilot
- Mark Munafo as F-18 Pilot
- Dwight Schmidt as F-18 Pilot
- Dwayne Swingler as Raven Pilot #2
- Lawton Paseka as Officier
- Greg Collins as Soldier on the Bridge
- James Black as Soldier
- Thomas Giuseppe Giantonelli as Soldier
- Paul Ware as Soldier
- Montae Russell as Soldier on Plane
- Christopher Carruthers as Radio Technician
- Daniel Pearce as Radio Technician
- Mark Fite as Radio Operator
- Craig Castaldo as Radio Man
- Eric Paskel as Rodgers
- Lee Weaver as Homeless Guy
- Leonard Termo as Homeless Guy
- Joshua Taylor as Spotter
- Al Sapienza as Taxi Cab Driver
- Stoney Westmoreland as Tunnel Guard
- Gary Warner as Gun Technician
- Ed Wheeler as New York Cop
- Bill Hoag as New Jersey Cop
- Joseph Badalucco Jr. as Forklift Driver
- Jonathan Dienst as Field Reporter
- Benjamin Baird as Reporters
- Madeline McFadden as Reporter
- Julian M. Phillips as Reporter
- Raymond Ramos as Reporter
- Gary A. Hecker as Creature Vocals (voice)
- Frank Welker as Creature Vocals (voice)
- Al Leong as Japanese Fishing Boat Crewman
- Ed Godziszewski as Bridge Onlooker (uncredited)
- Steven Ho as Japanese Fishing Boat Crewman (uncredited)
- George Cheung as Japanese Fishing Boat Crewman (uncredited)
- John Koyama as Japanese Fishing Boat Crewman (uncredited)
- Al Goto as Japanese Fishing Boat Crewman (uncredited)
- Norman Fessler as WIDF News Worker in Elevator (uncredited)
- Kurt Carley as Godzilla (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 7 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 12% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 296
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 7 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 to 14 | 0 | 13 |
| 15 to 21 | 16 | 47 |
| 22 to 28 | 4 | 18 |
| 29 to 35 | 18 | 23 |
| 36 to 42 | 11 | 7 |
| 43 to 49 | 9 | 21 |
| 50 to 56 | 1 | 2 |
| 57 to 63 | 12 | 13 |
| 64 to 70 | 0 | 20 |
| 71 to 77 | 0 | 8 |
| 78 to 84 | 0 | 7 |
| 85 to 91 | 0 | 2 |
| 92 to 98 | 0 | 2 |
| 99 to 105 | 0 | 7 |
| 106 to 112 | 0 | 5 |
| 113 to 119 | 26 | 26 |
| 120 to 126 | 2 | 18 |
| 127 to 133 | 11 | 21 |
| 134 to 140 | 0 | 36 |
| 141 to 147 | 13 | 28 |
| 148 to 154 | 2 | 4 |
| 155 to 161 | 0 | 5 |
| 162 to 168 | 0 | 4 |
| 169 to 175 | 1 | 5 |
| 176 to 182 | 0 | 2 |
| 183 to 189 | 0 | 1 |
| 190 to 196 | 0 | 0 |
| 197 to 203 | 1 | 11 |
| 204 to 210 | 3 | 18 |
| 211 to 217 | 5 | 15 |
| 218 to 224 | 5 | 9 |
| 225 to 231 | 5 | 7 |
| 232 to 238 | 3 | 4 |
| 239 to 245 | 0 | 1 |
| 246 to 252 | 2 | 10 |
| 253 to 259 | 0 | 0 |
| 260 to 266 | 3 | 5 |
| 267 to 273 | 0 | 6 |
| 274 to 280 | 0 | 1 |
| 281 to 287 | 1 | 1 |
| 288 to 294 | 3 | 12 |
| 295 to 296 | 1 | 5 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 26 are women's.
158 lines from women, 454 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
6 women and 72 men in the cast. 5 women and 35 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 62 of 697.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 72 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 27% of the words (1,486), men 73% (3,947). Women have 26% of the lines, so their lines run longer than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
11
Two men
43
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 17 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 16% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Roland Emmerich (man)
- Written by
- Roland Emmerich (man), Dean Devlin (man)
- Story by
- Ted Elliott (man), Terry Rossio (man), Dean Devlin (man), Roland Emmerich (man)
- Produced by
- Dean Devlin (man)
- Shot by
- Ueli Steiger (man)
- Edited by
- Peter Amundson (man), David Siegel (man)
- Music by
- David Arnold (man), Michael Lloyd (man)
- Production design by
- Oliver Scholl (man)
- Costumes by
- Joseph A. Porro (man)
- Cast by
- David Bloch (man), April Webster (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
11 women, 55 men, 15 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 10 men, 19 not listed
-
Production
4 women, 9 men, 14 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 15 men, 10 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 12 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 8 men, 5 not listed
-
Editing
2 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 1 men, 5 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 34 on average. Men: 43 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Maria Pitillo 32, Arabella Field 33, Vicki Lewis 38
Men
Doug Savant 33, Hank Azaria 34, Matthew Broderick 36, Kevin Dunn 41, Jean Reno 49, Harry Shearer 54, Michael Lerner 56
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $130 million
- Box office
- $379 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 296 scenes and 697 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
