Fails the Bechdel test

Godzilla

Name: Godzilla
Released: 2014

2014. Directed by Gareth Edwards, written by Dave Callaham and Max Borenstein.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

No 1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 2 out of 3.

The film

In 1999, the Janjira nuclear plant was mysteriously destroyed with most hands lost including supervisor Joe Brody's colleague and wife, Sandra. Years later, Joe's son, Ford, a US Navy ordnance disposal officer, must go to Japan to help his estranged father who obsessively searches for the truth of the incident. In doing so, father and son discover the disaster's secret cause on the wreck's very grounds. This enables them to witness the reawakening of a terrible threat to all of Humanity, which is made all the worse with a second secret revival elsewhere. Against this cataclysm, the only hope for the world may be Godzilla, but the challenge for the King of the Monsters will be great even as Humanity struggles to understand the destructive ally they have.

Released: 16 May 2014
Genres: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 6.4 / 10
Metascore: 62 / 100
Awards: 7 wins & 31 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Ford 77 lines, man
Elle 52 lines, woman
Honda 51 lines, man
Brody 42 lines, man
Adm Stenz 38 lines, man
Bayer 30 lines
Lt Cmdr Hamm 21 lines
Linda 19 lines
Superimpose 15 lines
Reggie 11 lines

Full cast, 98 people

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ford Brody
Elizabeth Olsen as Elle Brody
Juliette Binoche as Sandra Brody
Bryan Cranston as Joe Brody
Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Sally Hawkins as Dr. Vivienne Graham
Al Sapienza as Huddleston
David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz
James Pizzinato as HALO Jumper
CJ Adams as Young Ford
Richard T. Jones as Captain Russell Hampton
Victor Rasuk as Tre Morales
Patrick Sabongui as Master Sargeant Marcus Waltz
Carson Bolde as Sam Brody
Jared Keeso as Jump Master
Luc Roderique as Bomb Tracker
Eric Keenleyside as Boyd
Primo Allon as Mine Team Member
George Allen Gumapac Jr. as Lead Guerrilla Fighter
Ken Yamamura as Takashi
Garry Chalk as Stan Walsh
Hiro Kanagawa as Hayato
Kevan Ohtsji as Nervous Engineer
Kasey Ryne Mazak as Team Member #1
Terry Chen as Team Member #2
Mas Morimoto as Team Member #3
James D. Dever as Captain Freeman
Akira Takarada as Immigration Officer
Yuko Kiyama as Mom in Japanese Jail Waiting Room
Takeshi Kurokawa as Dad in Japanese Jail Waiting Room
James Yoshizawa as Goth Dressed Boy
Jason Furukawa as Gruff Smuggler
Brian Markinson as Whelan
Ty Olsson as Jainway
Gardiner Millar as Fitzgerald
Kurt Max Runte as Crow's Nest Tech
Peter Shinkoda as Muto Crow's Nest Tech #1
Christian Tessier as Muto Crow's Nest Tech #3
Bill Marchant as Muto Crow's Nest Tech #2
Derrick Yamanaka as Muto Base Camp Guard
Peter Kawasaki as Muto Crane Operator
Jason Riki Kosuge as Muto Base Camp Security #1
Hiroyoshi Kajiyama as Muto Base Camp Security #2
Tetsuro Shigematsu as Muto Base Camp Security #3
Dean Redman as National Guard #1
Taylor Nichols as Military Analyst
Anthony Konechny as Thach
Jake Cunanan as Akio
Yuki Morita as Akio's Mother
Jill Teed as Head Nurse
Eli Goree as PO #3
Warren Takeuchi as Akio's father
Chuck Church as Survivor
Dalias Blake as Missile Tech #1
Lane Edwards as Missile Tech #2
Todd Scott as Transport Vessel Soldier
Zoe Krivatsy as Young Girl on Beach
Serge M. Krivatsy as Father on Beach
Lise Krivatsy as Mother on Beach
Josh Cowdery as Pilot
Steven M. Murdzia as Beret Leader
Keo Woolford as Airport Worker
Lynne Halevi as Older Woman at Beach Bar
Martin Kogan as Older Man at Beach Bar
Sandy Ritz as FEMA Worker
Kyle Riefsnyder as SFPD Cop
Eric Breker as Army Soldier
Jesse Reid as Ordinance Tech
Melody B. Choi as SF School Bus Kid #1
Catherine Lough Haggquist as PO Martinez
Amy Fox as Evacuation Worker #2
Rich Paul as Officer
Aaron Pearl as Evacuation Worker #1
Dee Jay Jackson as Bus Driver
Erika Forest as SF School Bus Kid #3
Michael Denis as Golden Gate Navy Man on Deck
Toby Levins as Lead Fighting Pilot
Taya Clyne as SF School Bus Kid #2
Grayson Maxwell Gurnsey as SF School Bus Kid #5
Justin Blayne Lowery as Praying Soldier
Marci T. House as Government Spokesperson
Chris Shields as Dispatch Officer
Zach Martin as Airman
Darren Dolynski as Civilian Analyst #1
P. Lynn Johnson as Civilian Analyst #2
Antonio Anagaran as Airforce Loadmaster
Kevin O'Grady as Bucket Brigadier
Leif Havdale as SF Ground Troop #3
Zachary Choe as Akio Photo Double
T.J. Storm as Godzilla Performance Capture (uncredited)
Michael Rowe as Air Force #1 (uncredited)
Michael Leone as (additional voices)
Bill Blair as Las Vegas Gambler (uncredited)
Michael Love Toliver as Special Forces Soldier (uncredited)
Curtis Bush as FEMA Agent
Ed Heavey as Medic #2 (uncredited)
Jack Barnes as Godzilla Stuntman
Tahkyah Brings Plenty as Ground troop #9

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 35% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 206

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 5	0	2
6 to 10	0	1
11 to 15	0	6
16 to 20	6	15
21 to 25	4	10
26 to 30	0	6
31 to 35	2	7
36 to 40	12	29
41 to 45	0	0
46 to 50	0	0
51 to 55	0	12
56 to 60	0	2
61 to 65	0	17
66 to 70	3	9
71 to 75	0	5
76 to 80	0	4
81 to 85	0	0
86 to 90	1	1
91 to 95	4	6
96 to 100	0	10
101 to 105	1	6
106 to 110	1	20
111 to 115	0	18
116 to 120	0	4
121 to 125	0	1
126 to 130	6	16
131 to 135	0	4
136 to 140	0	1
141 to 145	1	5
146 to 150	0	10
151 to 155	2	6
156 to 160	2	5
161 to 165	2	1
166 to 170	4	20
171 to 175	0	5
176 to 180	0	0
181 to 185	0	2
186 to 190	0	2
191 to 195	0	3
196 to 200	0	0
201 to 205	2	0
206 to 206	0	0

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, 16 are women's.

53 lines from women, 271 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

18 women and 76 men in the cast. 1 women and 29 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 32 of 500. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 73 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 9% of the words (285), men 91% (2,784). Women have 16% of the lines, so their lines run shorter 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

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

6 of the 16 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Gareth Edwards (man)
Written by: Max Borenstein (man)
Story by: David Callaham (man)
Produced by: Brian Rogers (man), Jon Jashni (man), Thomas Tull (man), Mary Parent (woman)
Shot by: Seamus McGarvey (man)
Edited by: Bob Ducsay (man)
Music by: Alexandre Desplat (man)
Production design by: Owen Paterson (man)
Costumes by: Sharen Davis (woman)
Cast by: Katie Doyle (woman), Coreen Mayrs (woman), Sarah Halley Finn (woman), Heike Brandstatter (woman)