MIDNITECAMPZ: Rodan (1956 Film)

sexta-feira, 20 de julho de 2012

Rodan (1956 Film)

Rodan, released in Japan as Sora no Daikaijū Radon (空の大怪獣ラドン^?, lit. "Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky"), is a 1956 Kaiju film produced by Toho Studios. It was the studio's first Kaiju movie filmed in color (though Toho's first color tokusatsu film, Madame White Snake, was released earlier that year). It is one of a series of "giant monster" movies that found an audience outside Japan, especially in the United States, where it was originally released as Rodan! The Flying Monster!

Plot

In a villiage in Kyushu, both miners and other civilians alike are mysteriously slaughtered one by one within the local Mine. Eventually, a species of giant prehistoric insects (Meganulon) is confirmed to be responsible for the murders and appear to the surface. After the main protagonist Shigeru (Kenji Sahara) and a team kills the Meganulon, he is lost in a large earthquake and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a lair with an enormous egg. The egg hatches and a huge flying reptile known as Rodan emerges to feed upon the Meganulons, but not before Shigeru escapes. Once all the Meganulon are devoured, Rodan begins preying on humans, ultimately flies around the world, destroying Fukuoka and it is discovered that a second Rodan exists upon the city's assault. The Japanese military locates the Rodans lurking at Mt. Aso and launches a missile barrage which triggers a volcanic eruption. The Rodans attempt to escape, but one succumbs to the forces of the eruption and plummets to earth. The other, refusing to abandon its mate, joins it in the fiery lava.

U.S. release

The King Brothers' theatrical release of Rodan was quite successful in its first run in the United States. It was the first Japanese movie to receive general release on the West Coast to make a strong showing at the box-office.¹ It later received the biggest TV advertising campaign given to a film to that date on New York's NBC flagship station WRCA-TV, where a series of commercials running 10 to 60 seconds were shown for a week before the film's opening.²
It grossed an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 during its opening weekend at 79 theaters in the New York City metropolitan area. Several theatrical circuits, including RKO, announced that Rodan broke the records for a science-fiction film.³
George Takei, better known as Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, was one of the many voice actors employed for this film. The only other Kaiju film for which he performed voice work was Godzilla Raids Again. The main narration provided by the character of Shigeru was voiced by actor Keye Luke with additional voices provided by veteran voice actor Paul Frees.

Changes to the Japanese version :

Some of Akira Ifukube's music was replaced with stock music.
A prologue showing footage of American nuclear tests was added.
Extensive narration by Shigeru was added throughout the film.
A brief shot showing mine cars traveling up a mine shaft was taken out.
A scene of miners names being called was cut short.
The scene leading up to when Meganulon kills a cop and two miners is shortened.
The scene where the Meganulon attacks the village is cut short. A brief shot showing a Meganulon walking through people's backyards was taken out for the American version. When Shigeru and the soldiers walk up the incline, it shows the setting through Shigeru's eyes. He looks up the incline, and then the camera moves to the left showing the mountain, and then sees the Meganulon. A shot of Meganulon escaping afterwards is also cut.
The scene where Professor Kashiwagi analyzes a photo of the yet-unnamed monster's wing was cut short. Kashiwagi matches the wing in the photo to that of a picture of a Pteranodon, which he truncates to "Radon" to name the monster.
A brief scene showing doctors walking Shigeru into the hospital after he is recovered was taken out.
The scene where the honeymooners are eaten is much shorter, with about 30 seconds of footage removed, including a shot of Rodan's shadow passing overhead.
The American version makes the second Rodan appear more throughout the movie. In the original Japanese version, the second Rodan does not show up until late during the attack on Fukuoka.
A scene of fighter jets taking off was added.
The scene where a helicopter investigates the Rodans' lair was re-arranged. In the Japanese version, the scene appears after the assault on Fukuoka by the Rodans and just before they are killed by the volcanic eruption caused by the JSDF. In the US version, the scene is shown shortly before Rodan first emerges from Mount Aso.
The King Brothers changed the name of the city destroyed by Rodan from Fukuoka to Sasebo because the U.S.A. had a lot of diplomatic facilities there.
The scene of Rodan emerging from his volcanic lair was altered in the American version to make it look as if he was provoked to emerge by the air force. In the original version, he emerged without any sort of provocation.