They are based on the same movie, but the American version is told from a different viewpoint. Most movies are easier to follow if the audience has someone to identify with, thus Raymond Burr was cast. He plays a reporter who tells the story in flashbacks a la D.O.A.. This alone makes the story different as audiences see the aftermath of the destruction of Tokyo and are now curious to know what happened, sort of like driving down a road and suddenly seeing a burned-out school.
The performances of the original are muted and put into the background to let Burr narrate the story. American movie audiences for science fiction and horror were (and still are) notoriously impatient. A thirty-second scene of Burr finding out what happened to the first ship that got sunk was all that was necessary for the plot point, leading to the second sinking. In the original, there is a lot of talk that ultimately gets to what could have been said in two sentences.
Other footage from the original turned out to be unnecessary as Western audiences wouldn't understand. For example, passengers on a bus talk about having to go into the shelters again (because of Godzilla). During WWII, Americans had air raid drills but did not have to seek shelter against Japanese bombing.
Plot points had to be rearranged. In the original, slightly more than halfway through the movie, Ogata, Emiko and a reporter confront Serizawa about the Oxygen Destroyer, which is sort of like showing the shark from Jaws at the start. Aside from just who started the rumors of the weapon in the first place, it also takes the air out of the discovery.
The American version makes Serizawa show Emiko his secret, like we all want to do when we have a secret we just can't keep to ourselves, and then swear her to secrecy, too, which is cruel of him since he just wants to try to get his burden off his shoulders, if only for a little while.
The American version has its unintentional funny parts, like the villager on Odo Island who speaks to Burr and Frank Iwanaga as if he just learned Japanese an hour before doing the scene. And, of course, despite the use of doubles to portray Emiko, Ogata and Dr. Yamane (this guy's double is thinner and taller, by the way), Serizawa's double is never seen in any scenes with Burr. Some college friend.
Other parts, I feel, are much better than the original. For example, Burr's stark narration gives the film a darker, creepier feel, reminding American and Western audiences of the live radio reports of journalists like Edward R. Murrow during the blitz of London.
Other parts are subtle. Godzilla's size goes up to 400 feet versus 160 feet because American audiences were used to tall buildings, not the shorter ones Japan's earthquake codes permitted. Thus, the charge of the electrical barrier had to be changed to 300,000 volts, an increase of 250,000 volts.
Another subtle move was the first attack on Tokyo. In the original, Godzilla derails a train, picks up one of the cars and flings it down. In the American version, when Godzilla flings the train down, a human scream is added, to give the scene a chilling brutality, like someone survived the derailment but Godzilla says "not so fast." This does give the movie a nuclear-linked feel, like someone in Hiroshima surviving the blast only to fall prey to the heat or the shock wave.
One of the American's version's best moments, however, is how Burr is edited into the second attack. In the Japanese version, the main characters of Emiko, Ogata, Dr. Yamane and Dr. Serizawa come out without a scratch. They are completely detached from the misery, though Emiko will see the effects on victims later. Burr, by contrast, is badly injured in the attack (as seen in the very beginning), allowing audiences to feel his pain and have some personal involvement in the destruction. Americans wanted their heroes in the thick of the action, not watching from a distance.
This is why these movies are quite different, but both are classics in their own way. Other commenters say the American version is a straight up monster movie, but I disagree. I can't think of a U.S. monster flick where the monster absolutely crushes the military or takes time out of his rampage to burn fleeing citizens to ash. Even the American version conveys the sheer hopelessness and helplessness of society against the monster.
A weapon is discovered, but there is no back-slapping or cheers and happy hour when it's successful, just that feeling of "we won, but why doesn't it feel like we've won?"
Enjoy.
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