Godzilla Triple Feature

Info About The Three Godzilla Movies:

1) Invasion of the Astro-Monsters:

Invasion of Astro-Monster (known in Japan as Great Monster War (怪獣大戦争, Kaijū Daisensō^?); is a Japanese/American Science Fiction kaiju film released in 1965. The film was co-produced between the Japanese company Toho, and Henry G. Saperstein's American company UPA, marking the only time a Godzilla film was co-produced with an American studio. Directed by Ishirō Honda, and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Hollywood actor Nick Adams, alongside Japanese actors Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno and Akira Kubo. The 6th film in the Godzilla series, this was also the first film to feature alien invaders, combining the series with outer space themes, such as civilizations on other planets and interplanetary space travel.
The film was released theatrically in the United States in the summer of 1970 by Maron Films as Monster Zero, where it played nationwide on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas.

Plot

In the late 1960's, a two-man spacecraft, crewed by a Japanese and American (Fuji and Glenn), approaches Jupiter's orbit to explore the newly discovered Planet X. The planet maintains a position directly behind Jupiter, leaving its surface in twilight, with just enough light to make it possible to navigate its surface.
After landing and disembarking, one of the astronauts and the ship vanishes, leaving the other to wonder where they have gone. Suddenly, a flat voice comes over the communications link and instructs the lone astronaut down into subterranean corridors to the office of the Controller of Planet X, where he finds his shipmate.
The spacecraft is safe, the controller assures them and indicates that their location is about to be attacked. The astronauts recognize the attacking monster is King Ghidorah, the three-headed space dragon. The astronauts lose contact with the Controller, but afterwards they are assured that Ghidorah, known to the Xians as Monster Zero, is gone.
The Controller asks for Earth's help: they want to capture Godzilla and Rodan, known to the Xians as Monster Zero-One and Monster Zero-Two. In return, Planet X will gift humanity with a wonder drug that can cure all diseases. The astronauts agree to return home with the proposal. As they lift off, they say on the radio to the Controller, "We're glad we found friends on Planet X."
Meanwhile, Fuji's sister's boyfriend, Tetsuo, has invented a personal alarm he thinks women could use if they're attacked. It creates an extremely loud noise that can be heard for a long distance. Tetsuo wonders, though, why no one is interested in buying it. Eventually, a Miss Namikawa makes an offer to buy the alarm as an educational device, though she keeps putting Tetsuo off on completing the deal. In truth, her boss wants the device and the plans destroyed.
Fuji and Glenn tell their superiors about the offer from Planet X. Scientists begin searching for Godzilla and Rodan. The Controller of Planet X suddenly makes a appearance on Earth, and both Glenn, who is dating Miss Namikawa and Fuji both become suspicious of Planet X. The Controller apologizes for his unannounced presence and offers to help locate the two monsters. Two Planet X spacecraft rapidly deploy to capture the two monsters.
Glenn, Fuji and Dr. Sakurai are invited to accompany the Controller back to Planet X, a trip that takes only a few hours; the Controller says that soon they'll be able to travel at the speed of light. When they reach Planet X, there is an immediate attack by Ghidorah, and the two monsters from Earth are released to battle him. Ghidorah is driven off and the Controller is extremely happy. He presents the astronauts with a box he says contains the formula for the miracle drug. He also gives the three men duplicate of their spaceship so they can fly home.
Back home the box is taken to a special meeting and in it is found a reel-to-reel tape. It is loaded to play, but when the speakers remain silent for a long period, some wonder if the systems are compatible. Finally, after a beep a voice states, "I am the controller of Planet X. To the people of the Earth. I command that you obey the following orders..." It is an ultimatum to surrender to Planet X or be destroyed by all three monsters.
The Xians soon arrive and destroy the gift spacecraft. They also threaten to release King Ghidorah, Godzilla and Rodan. Overly confident, the Xians show the world how they control the monsters through magnetic waves. The Earth scientists know they can exploit this information and work rapidly to find a way to disrupt the waves. Meanwhile, Earth's armies fight the three monsters with conventional weapons as they destroy much of Japan.
Tetsuo, is unhappy his device is not being used, and he is unable to get Miss Namikawa to tell him what's happening. He decides to follow her, but is captured by Planet X soldiers. Glenn eventually discovers Miss Namikawa is from Planet X and all their women are virtually identical. Fearing what he knows, the Xians arrest him and put in the same cell as Tetsuo. However, this proves to be their undoing as he and Tetsuo begin to cooperate. Before she is disintegrated by a soldier, Namikawa gives Glenn a letter in which she told him the weakness of the people of Planet X: the sound from Tetsuo's alarm. Tetsuo, who still has the prototype, sets it off. It paralyzes the Planet X soldiers, enabling Glenn and Tetsuo to escape.
They reach the space center scientists and explain about the alarm. Arrangements are made to broadcast it on all radio and television stations, but only when the magnetic disruption devices are deployed.
The three monsters are no longer under Planet X control, as their spacecraft explode as their crews try to escape the debilitating alarm noise. The invaders withdraw from the Earth. Meanwhile, Godzilla and Rodan attacks Ghidorah, forcing all three to fall into the sea. Ghidorah emerges and retreats to outer space, but Godzilla and Rodan never resurface, leading the humans to wonder whether King Ghidorah defeated them.
Glenn and Fuji are to be sent to Planet X again as ambassadors to seek peaceful relations.

English version

The film was released in North America by UPA in 1970 under the title Monster Zero. It played on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas.
There were several alterations made:

• The opening theme was changed, and some of Akira Ifukube's score was re-arranged. Several sound effects were also added.
• Deleted: Several shots of Godzilla's foot stepping on houses and huts. Some short shots of flying saucers. Rodan blowing away tanks from the top of a hill. Several scenes with the Xians speaking in the language of Planet X.
• Scene where Godzilla does his dance, that scene has stomping noises in the English version, while in the Japanese version there isn't.

The English version runs 93 minutes, three minutes shorter than the Japanese version. In his book Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: An Unauthorized History of 'The Big G', Steve Ryfle says "The Americanization...is respectful to the original Japanese version."
Also, in the original Japanese version of the film, the drug the Xians promised was a cure for all forms of cancer. However, in the English version of the film, the cure was for all forms of disease (perhaps due to a translation mistake).
During production, Nick Adams spoke his lines in English, while the Japanese actors spoke their lines in Japanese, in order to retain his voice for the English language version. For the Japanese language release, Adams' was dubbed by the noted voice actor, Goro Naya. The English language version was prepared by UPA at Glen Glenn Sound in Hollywood, and Marvin Miller provided the English voice for Akira Takarada as Astronaut Fuji. The remaining voice talent is unknown.
This dubbed dialogue was also used by Toho for its official international version, Invasion of the Astro-Monsters, which was released in the United Kingdom. Unlike later Toho international versions, Invasion of the Astro-Monsters is slightly edited from the Japanese version and the dubbing was not commissioned by Toho or produced in Tokyo or Hong Kong.

Titles

• Great Monster War - Translated Japanese title.

• Invasion of Astro-Monster - Toho's official English title and current home video title.

• Invasion of the Astro-Monsters - Title on original international prints.

• Monster Zero - Original U.S. title.

• Invasion of the Astros - Armed forces circuit title.

• Godzilla vs. Monster Zero - Previous home video and TV title.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Astro-Monster


Trailer, Poster & IMDb:

( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059346/ )


2) Ebirah - Horror of the Deep:

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, (released in Japan as Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ　南海の大決闘, Gojira, Ebira, Mosura Nankai no Daikettō^?)) is a 1966 Japanese science fiction kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa (supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya)^[1], the film starred Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, and Eisei Amamoto. The 7th film in the Godzilla series, this was the first of two island themed adventure films starring Godzilla. The film was originally written for the Toho rendition of King Kong, but when the planned co-producers Rankin/Bass rejected the script, it was used with Godzilla instead. Toho would ultimately co-produce King Kong Escapes with Rankin/Bass the following year.
The film was released straight to television in the United States in 1967 by the Walter Reade organization as Godzilla versus The Sea Monster.

Plot

After Yata (Tooru Ibuki) is lost at sea, his brother Ryota (Tooru Watanabe) steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber. The crew runs afoul of the giant lobster Ebirah, and washes up on the shore of an island, where a terrorist organization manufactures heavy water for their purposes, as well as a chemical that keeps Ebirah at bay. The organization, known as the Red Bamboo, has enslaved natives from Infant Island to help them, but the natives hope to awaken Mothra to rescue them.
In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a beautiful native girl, stumble across Godzilla sleeping within a cliffside cavern. The group devises a plan to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape from the island. In the process, they wake Godzilla using a lightning rod. Godzilla fights Ebirah, but the giant lobster escapes. Godzilla is then attacked by a giant condor and a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets, but destroys them.
The humans retrieve the missing Yata, free the enslaved natives and Godzilla begins to destroy the base. Godzilla smashes a tower that has a self destruct button that makes the island unstable. Godzilla fights Ebirah and defeats it, ripping off both Ebirah's claws and causing it to retreat into the sea. The natives summon Mothra to save everyone, however, Godzilla challenges Mothra when she gets to the island. Mothra manages to push Godzilla away and carry the people off. Godzilla escapes the island just before it explodes.

Production

The film was originally written for King Kong, but Toho switched Kong with another popular character at the time, Godzilla. This explains why Godzilla displays uncharacteristic behavior in the film, such as drawing strength from electricity, his curiosity to Kumi Mizuno's character, and the usage of boulders to destroy the Red Bamboo Base. Toho would later use Kong for King Kong Escapes.
The US television version and early video versions have a different opening to the film. The opening scenes of Ryota at the Maritime Safety Agency searching for news of his brother have been replaced with a scene supposedly showing Ebirah destroying Yata's boat. This sequence was created by editing a later scene in the movie. The current DVD version of the film restores the Japanese cut.
In 1991, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was distributed under the Film Ventures International name. The company replaced the opening with a generic credit sequence, using footage from Son of Godzilla. This version was aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

English version

In 1967, the film was released directly to television in North America by the Walter Reade Organization. It was the first Godzilla film to not receive North American theatrical distribution. As with Walter Reade Organizations' next Godzilla release, Son of Godzilla, this movie was dubbed by Titra Studios.
There were several alterations made for this release:

• Dialogue was dubbed to English.
• Captain Ryuui's name was changed to Yamoto.
• Deleted: The opening credits sequence. This version features only the title card, Godzilla versus The Sea Monster.
• Deleted: A scene where Ryoto goes to the Maritime Safety office and sees a poster on the wall for a dance contest.
• Deleted: Rock music that played in the Japanese version during Godzilla and Ebirah's battle.

The English version runs 83 minutes, four minutes shorter than the Japanese version.
In 2005, Sony released the film on DVD. This was the first time the original Japanese version had been officially released on home video in the United States. The original American version, however, was replaced by Toho's international version, which is uncut. The dubbing in this version is often cited as inferior to the original Titra Studios dub.

Titles

• Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Battle in the South Seas - Translated Japanese title.

• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - Toho's official English title.

• Godzilla versus The Sea Monster - Original U.S. dub title. The only English Godzilla title where "versus" is spelled out.

• Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster - U.S. DVD title. This is actually the Ebirah, Horror of the Deep dub with a new title card.

• Frankenstein and the Monster from the Sea - German title (Frankenstein was added to the plot.)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_vs._the_Sea_Monster


Trailer, Poster & IMDb:

( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060464/ )


3) Destroy All Monsters:

Destroy All Monsters, (released in Japan as Charge of the Monsters (怪獣総進撃, Kaijū Sōshingeki^?), is a 1968 Japanese Science fiction Kaiju film produced by Toho. The ninth film in the Godzilla series, it starred Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya. Produced in celebration as Toho's 20th Kaiju film, the film was intended to be the final Godzilla movie in the series, and as such, was given a bigger budget than the past few Godzilla productions. Set in the future, the film featured an all-star cast of monsters from many of Toho's earlier Kaiju films, eleven in all. The film was also the last to be produced by the four "Godzilla fathers", with Ishirō Honda directing, Eiji Tsuburaya supervising the special effects (with Sadamasa Arikawa actually directing), Tomoyuki Tanaka producing, and Akira Ifukube handling the film's score.
The film was released theatrically in the United States in the Spring of 1969 by American International Pictures.

Plot

At the close of the 20th Century, all of the Earth's kaiju have been collected and confined in an area known as Monster Island, by the United Nations Science Committee, in the Ogasawara island chain. A special control center is constructed underneath the island to ensure the monsters stay secure, and serve as a research facility to study them.
When communications with Monster Island are suddenly and mysteriously severed, and all of the monsters begin attacking world capitals, Dr. Yoshida of the UNSC orders Captain Yamabe and the crew of his spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, to investigate Ogasawara. There, they discover that the scientists, led by Dr. Otani, have become mind-controlled slaves of a feminine alien race identifying themselves as the Kilaaks, who reveal that they are in control of the monsters. Their leader demands that the human race surrender, or face total annihilation.
Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan invades Moscow, Mothra lays waste to Beijing, Gorosaurus destroys Paris, and Manda attacks London, which is set in to motion to take attention away from Japan, so the aliens can establish an underground stronghold near Mt. Fuji in Japan. The Kilaaks then turn their next major attack on Tokyo, and without serious opposition, become arrogant in their aims, until the UNSC discover the Kilaaks have switched to broadcasting the control signals from their base under the Moon's surface. In a desperate battle, the crew of the SY-3 destroy the Kilaak's lunar outpost and return the alien control system to Earth.
With all of the monsters under the control of the UNSC, the Kilaaks unleash their hidden weapon, King Ghidorah. The three-headed space monster is dispatched to protect the alien stronghold at Mt. Fuji, and battles Godzilla, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, and Varan. While seemingly invincible, King Ghidorah is eventually overpowered by the combined strength of the Earth monsters and is killed. Refusing to admit defeat, the Kilaaks produce their trump card, a burning monster they call the Fire Dragon, which begins to torch cities and destroys the control center on Ogasawara. Suddenly, Godzilla attacks and destroys the Kilaak's underground base, revealing the Earth's monsters instinctively know who their enemies are. Captain Yamabe then pursues the Fire Dragon in the SY-3, and narrowly achieves victory for the human race. The Fire Dragon is revealed to be a flaming Kilaak saucer and is destroyed. Godzilla and the other monsters are eventually returned to Monster Island to live in peace.

Original screenplay

There was an initial screenplay with the preliminary title All Monsters Attack Directive, which would have many of the same elements used in the final product. The difference, however, was in the monster line-up. This first draft included several monsters that would appear in the final film, such as Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Rodan, Baragon, Varan, Kumonga, and Manda. The final two monsters were Maguma (from 1962's Gorath) and Ebirah (from 1966's Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster). Maguma was to be one of the guardians of the Kilaak base with Baragon, who would have been the ones to fend off the SDF. Ebirah's role is unknown. The film’s title was later changed to Kaiju Soshingeki (Charge of the Monsters), and Ebirah and Maguma were replaced with Anguirus, Minilla (Godzilla's son) and Gorosaurus.

U.S. version

American International Pictures released the film theatrically in North America in 1969. The Americanization was handled by Titan Productions (formerly Titra Studios).
Among the changes for the U.S. release:

• Dialogue was dubbed to English (featuring the voices of actors such as Hal Linden).
• Deleted: Opening credits; Moved to the end of the film and changed to white credits against a black background with the original Ifukube cue.
• Deleted: Shot of Minilla covering his eyes while King Ghidorah drops Anguirus.

In the Japanese version, the credits come right after the Moonlight SY-3 blasts off at the beginning of the movie. The American version moved the credits to the end of the picture.
This version has been replaced on home video and television by Toho's international version. While uncut and letterboxed, it features an English dub track produced by William Ross' Tokyo-based Frontier Enterprises in 1968.

Critical reception

The New York Times did not review the film upon release, but film critic Howard Thompson gave it a positive review on a re-release at a children's matinee with the Bugs Bunny short, Napoleon Bunny-Part, in December 1970. He commented that "the feature wasn't bad at all of this type. The trick photography and especially the blended sweep and skill of the miniature settings provided the visual splash. The human beings, with good dubbed English voices, were a personable lot as they wrestled with some outer space culprits who had rounded up Japan's favorite monsters and turned them against the planet earth."
Among modern critics, Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique wrote, "In the end, Destroy All Monsters is too slim in its storyline, too thin in its characterizations, to be considered a truly great film. It is not as impressive as the original Godzilla, and it is not as hip as Monster Zero. But for the ten-year-old living inside us all, it is entertainment of the most awesome sort."^[1] Matt Paprocki of Blogcritics said the film is "far from perfect" and "can be downright boring at times" but felt that "the destruction scenes make up for everything else" and "the final battle is an epic that simply can't be matched".^[2]


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroy_All_Monsters


Trailer, Poster & IMDb:

( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063172/ )