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.
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.
Godzilla(ゴジラ,Gojira?) is a 1954 Japanese science fictionKaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Ishirō Honda and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata and Takashi Shimura. The plot tells the story of Godzilla, a giant monster mutated by nuclear radiation who ravages Japan, bringing back the horrors of nuclear devastation to a country that experienced it first hand. It was the first of many Kaiju films released in Japan, paving the way and setting the standard for the genre and future Kaiju films, many of which feature Godzilla.
In the spring of 1956, TransWorld Releasing Corp. released an edited version of the film theatrically in the United States titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. This version featured newly shot scenes of Hollywood actor Raymond Burr interspliced with the original Japanese footage. In the spring of 2004, Rialto Pictures gave the original Japanese-language version of the film a limited theatrical release (with English subtitles) in the United States to coincide with Godzilla's 50th anniversary.
Plot
When a Japanese fishing boat is attacked by a flash of light near Odo Island, another ship is sent to investigate only to meet the same fate, with only a few surviving. On Odo Island, a village elder blames their poor fishing on a sea-god known as "Godzilla" and recalls that in earlier times native girls were sacrificed to appease the giant sea monster. Word gets out and a helicopter arrives on the island with curious, but skeptical, reporters. Frightened natives perform a night-time ceremony to keep the monster away. However, that night, while the natives sleep, a storm arrives and something else comes with it, bringing death and destruction. And a boy sees the cause during the midst of the destruction. The next day, witnesses arrive in Tokyo. Archeologist Kyohei Yamane suggests that investigators be sent to the island. On arrival, Yamane finds giant radioactive footprints, and a trilobite. When an alarm sounds, the villagers arm themselves with sticks and various weapons and run to the hills, only to be confronted by Godzilla, who is revealed to be an enormous reptilian creature. After a quick skirmish, the villagers run for safety and Godzilla heads to the ocean. Dr. Yamane returns to Tokyo to present his findings and concludes that Godzilla was unleashed by a nuclear explosion. Some want to conceal that fact, fearing international repercussions. Others say the truth must be revealed. They prevail and Godzilla's origins are announced to the public. Ships are sent with depth charges to kill the monster. When it that fails, Godzilla appears again, frightening patrons on a party boat, and causing nationwide panic. Officials appeal to Dr. Yamane for some way to kill the monster, but Yamane wants him kept alive and studied. Meanwhile, Emiko, Yamane's daughter, decides to break off her arranged engagement to Yamane's colleague, Daisuke Serizawa, because of her love for Hideto Ogata, a salvage ship captain. Before she can do that, Serizawa tells her about his secret experiment. He gives a small demonstration, using a fish tank in the lab. Shocked, Emiko is sworn to secrecy and never gets a chance to break off the engagement. That night Godzilla climbs from Tokyo Bay and attacks the city. Though the attack is over quickly, there is much death and destruction. The next morning, the army constructs a line of 40-meter electrical towers along the coast of Tokyo that will send 50,000 volts of electricity through Godzilla, should he appear again. Civilians are evacuated from the city and put into bomb shelters. As night falls, Godzilla does indeed attack again. He easily breaks through the electric fence, melting the wires with his atomic breath. A bombardment of shells from the army tanks has no effect. Godzilla continues his rampage until much of the city is destroyed and thousands of civilians are dead or wounded. Godzilla descends unscathed into Tokyo Bay, despite a squadron of fighter jets' last-ditch attack. The next morning finds Tokyo in ruins. Hospitals overflow with victims, including some with radiation poisoning. Emiko witnesses the devastation and tells Ogata about Serizawa's secret Oxygen Destroyer, a device that disintegrates oxygen atoms and organisms die of asphixiation. Thus, a new energy source he accidentally created. She hopes together they can persuade Serizawa to use it to stop Godzilla. When Serizawa realizes Emiko betrays his secret, he refuses, and Ogata and Serizawa fight and Ogata receives a minor head wound. As Emiko treats Ogata's wound, Serizawa apologizes, but he refuses to use the weapon on Godzilla, citing the public bedlam his weapon could cause. Then a newscast shows the devastation Godzilla has caused. Choirs of children are shown singing a hymn. Finally realizing this, Serizawa decides he will use the weapon only one time and then its secret must be destroyed for the good of humanity. He then burns all his papers and research. Emiko breaks down and cries when she sees this, as she understands that Serizawa is sacrificing his life's work and himself to stop Godzilla. A navy ship takes Ogata and Serizawa to plant the device in Tokyo Bay. They don diving gear and descend into the water, where they find Godzilla at rest. Ogata returns to the surface as Serizawa activates the device. Serizawa watches as Godzilla dies then tells Ogata to be with Emiko. He then cuts his own oxygen cord, sacrificing himself so his knowledge of the device cannot be used to harm mankind. A dying Godzilla surfaces, lets out a final roar, and sinks to the bottom, disintegrating until he is nothing but bones, and eventually, nothing. Although the monster is gone, those aboard ship are still grim. They do not know if the death of Godzilla is the end or the beginning of an apocalyptic era. Godzilla's death has come at a terrible price and Dr. Yamane believes that if mankind continues to test nuclear weapons, another Godzilla may appear.
The opening scene of the Bingo Maru being obliterated by Godzilla's first attack and later scenes of survivors of other attacks being found with radiation burns, were inspired by the U.S. testing of a hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. A real Japanese fishing ship, the Lucky Dragon 5, was overwhelmed when the U.S. Castle Bravo nuclear test had a yield of 15 megatons rather than the planned 6 megatons. Military personnel, island natives and several Lucky Dragon 5 crew members, persons believed to be in a zone of safety, suffered from radiation sickness and at least one died six months later. This created widespread fear of uncontrolled and unpredictable nuclear weapons, which the film makers symbolized with Godzilla. The actual event played a major role in drawing attention to the hazards of nuclear fallout, and concerns were widespread about radioactively contaminated fish affecting the Japanese food supply. Godzilla's climactic attack on Tokyo was meant to exemplify a rolling nuclear attack, like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only much more slowly. Honda had plotted it this way, having been shocked by the real devastation of those cities.
Story
The film went through several different drafts. Science Fiction writer Shigeru Kayama was hired to write a storyline for the film. Kayama's story was different from the final version, however it served as the basis for the film's story. In Kayama's draft, originally entitled Kaitei ni-man mairu kara kita daikaijû (lit. "The Giant Monster from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"), and then later renamed G-Sakuhun (lit. Project G, with the G standing for the English word for Giant), Dr. Yamane was the antagonist and was seen as a mad scientist wearing a cape who lived in a gothic style house. Godzilla's first appearance was to have him rise from the sea at night and destroy a light house. This was on obvious homage to The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Takeo Murata and Ishiro Honda altered and changed a few things from Kayama's draft and added new elements, like the love triangle between Emiko, Ogata, and Dr. Serizawa. Dr. Yamane was changed from a mad scientist to an acclaimed paleontologist who seeks to study Godzilla rather than destroy him.
Design
The monster story itself had been necessitated by an emergency. The producers had planned a completely different film, but that project had fallen apart. Toho demanded a film, any film, within a short time. During an airplane ride, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka had read of the Lucky Dragon incident, and was inspired. The monster angle was derived from the success of Warner Bros.' 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was then that the creation of the monsters' design began to take place, beginning with the film's special effects director, Eiji Tsuburaya's original suggestion of the monster being a giant octopus, the monster design later went several variations and features such as a hideous disportionate ape-like creature with head shaped like a mushroom, recalling the suggested references of mushroom clouds. In the end, the filmmakers eventually settled on a dinosaur-like monster that was a cross of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an Iguanadon, a Stegosaurus, and a fire-breathing dragon. The Godzilla suit had actually been a last resort. Tsuburaya had been deeply impressed with the stop-motion animation method used in King Kong. However, that method was far too costly and time-consuming (even though stop-motion would be used briefly, in one scene where Godzilla destroys the Nichigeki Theatre with his tail). It was decided that the easiest way to go was a stuntman in a monster suit, and a scale-model of Tokyo. This also proved difficult. Stunt actor Haruo Nakajima volunteered to play (the full suit) Godzilla. Nakajima would play Godzilla in later sequels until his retirement from the character in 1972. The first attempt at a Godzilla suit was far too stiff and heavy, nearly impossible to use. They finally hit on a design that worked; but even that was grueling. The stuntman would suffer numerous bouts of heat exhaustion and dehydration. The suit had to have a valve to drain the sweat from it. Also, in order to avoid suffocation, the suit could have only been worn for three minutes. Godzilla's name was also found difficult to accomplish. The monster went through several names prior to the final stages. Because the monster had no name, the first draft of the film was not called Gojira but rather titled G, also known as Kaihatsu keikaku G ("Development Plan G"), the "G" of the title stood for "Giant", however. Nakajima confirmed that Toho held a contest for the monsters name. The monster was eventually named Gojira, a combination of the Japanese words Gorilla (gorira) and Whale (kujira). A myth spread to the fan base that a staff member of Toho inspired the name Gojira because that name was claimed to have been his nickname. One of Godzilla's names during production was "Anguirus"[citation needed]. That name was saved and later reused as the name of Godzilla's opponent in the sequel. Anguirus would later become Godzilla's closest ally in the series. Also, Anguirus' roar would be used for Godzilla's for the American version of the sequel Godzilla Raids Again.
Filming
Toho Studios had balked at the suggestion of filming Godzilla in color. Ironically, the cheaper black-and-white film had actually enhanced the special effects (e.g. hiding wires and other things in the shadows), and otherwise adding to the overall chill of Godzilla's nighttime attacks. Two years later, Toho would film Rodan in color, which it would subsequently use in nearly all its giant-monster films. For a special effects shoot for the movie, Nakajima, who was inside the Godzilla suit, was placed in a swimming pool. Someone accidentally sent electrical charges through the pool.[clarification needed] Masaaki Tachibana (an announcer of a scene in a steel tower) painted his face with olive oil to express that he was sweating with fear.There were many scenes filmed that were not used, but most have not been recovered. The best known example was the scene that was meant to replace the icon appearance of Godzilla on Odo Island. Originally, Godzilla arrives holding a dead cow in his mouth, but the effect was not convincing enough and was cut, and only a few stills remain. Japanese box office and critical reception
When Godzilla was first released in 1954 the film sold approximately 9,610,000 tickets and was the eighth best-attended film in Japan that year. It remains the second most-attended "Godzilla" film in Japan, behind King Kong vs. Godzilla. The film initially received mixed to negative reviews in Japan. Japanese critics accused the film of exploiting the widespread devastation that the country had suffered in World War II,[1] as well as the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon) incident that occurred a few months before filming began. Ishiro Honda lamented years later in the Tokyo Journal, "They called it grotesque junk, and said it looked like something you'd spit up. I felt sorry for my crew because they had worked so hard!".[2] However as time went on, the film gained more respect in its home country. Kinema Junpo magazine listed Gojira as one of the top 20 Japanese films of all time, while a survey of 370 Japanese movie critics published in Nihon Eiga Besuto 159 (Best 150 Japanese Films), had Godzilla ranked as the 27th best Japanese film ever made.[3] The film was nominated for two Japanese Academy Awards. One for best special effects and the other for best film. It won best special effects but lost best picture to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai[citation needed].
North American versions
Initial limited release
In 1955, the original Godzilla was released in the United States with subtitles and was confined to theaters catering to Japanese-Americans. This same version was later released in the 1960s, then in the 1980s and as recently in 2004 through the art-house distributor Rialto Pictures. In the fall of 2006, the original version was released for the first time on DVD in North America via Classic Media.
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
In 1956, Jewell Enterprises re-edited, and eliminated many scenes from the film for American audiences and combined the original Japanese footage of Godzilla with new American-made footage of Raymond Burr as an American reporter covering the monster's activities who would explain the action for an English-speaking audience with minimal dubbing. This version was released in Japan in 1957 in faux widescreen format, where, like the original, it became very popular.
Restored re-release
On May 7, 2004, the original Japanese version of the film was re-released into two theaters in North America. It grossed $38,030 USD ($19,015 per screen) in its opening weekend and remained in release until December 2004, never playing on more than six North American screens at any given point. By the end of its run, it grossed $412,520 U.S.. The film played in roughly 60 theaters and cities across the United States during its seven and a half month run.
Critical reception
The 2004 North American re-release of Godzilla was highly praised by many critics who had never seen the film in its original form without Raymond Burr. Its approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is currently at 93% (and 88% among the "Cream of the Crop").[4]
In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Glieberman, who gave the film an A- rating, wrote:
"Godzilla, an ancient beast roused from the ocean depths and irradiated by Japanese H-bomb tests, reduces Tokyo to a pile of ash, yet, like Kong, he grows more sympathetic as his rampage goes on. The characters talk about him not as an enemy but as a force of destiny, a "god". The inescapable subtext is that Japan, in some bizarre way, deserves this hell. Godzilla is pop culture's grandest symbol of nuclear apocalypse, but he is also the primordial spirit of Japanese aggression turned, with something like fate, against itself."[5]
In the Dallas Observer, Luke Y. Thompson wrote:
"A lot of people are likely to be surprised by what they see. The 1954 Japanese cut is shot like a classic film noir, and the buildup to Tokyo's inevitable thrashing is quite slow by today's standards. The echoes of World War II are very strong, and the devastation wrought by Godzilla (played by Haruo Nakajima) is not sugar-coated; it eerily mirrors that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the deaths and injuries are dwelt upon. The monster himself is not fully revealed for quite a while, and even when he finally shows up, he's a malevolent black predator with glistening skin, who stays mostly in the shadows, many times more fearsome than the green-skinned cookie monster who showed up in the various sequels to layeth the smacketh down on the candyasses of numerous alien invaders in ugly leotards."[6]
One of the few recent mixed reviews was written by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. Ebert admitted the film was "an important one" and "properly decoded, was the Fahrenheit 9/11 of its time", but he also said:
"In these days of flawless special effects, Godzilla and the city he destroys are equally crude. Godzilla at times looks uncannily like a man in a rubber suit, stomping on cardboard sets, as indeed he was, and did. Other scenes show him as a stuffed, awkward animatronic model. This was not state-of-the-art even at the time; King Kong (1933) was much more convincing. When Dr. Serizawa demonstrates the Oxygen Destroyer to his fiancee, Emiko [sic], the superweapon is somewhat anticlimactic. He drops a pill into a tank of tropical fish, the tank lights up, he shouts, "stand back!" the fiancée screams, and the fish go belly-up. Yeah, that'll stop Godzilla in his tracks."[7]
Since its release, Godzilla has been regarded not only as one of the best giant monster films ever made but an important cinematic achievement.[8]. The film was ranked #31 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[9]
Legacy
The film became popular enough to spawn 27 sequels and inspire countless ripoffs, imitations, parodies, homages, an American remake and an American reboot currently in development by Legendary Pictures. Since its debut, Godzilla has morphed into a worldwide Cultural icon.
Multimedia Soundtrack The score by Akira Ifukube was released three times over a period of 13 years. The first recording was released by Futureland Toshiba in 1993, and nearly contained the film's complete score, missing only a brief source cue used for the pleasure boat scene. The track list is as follows:
The 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version of the film was released on DVD by Simitar in 1998[10] and Classic Media in 2002.[11] A DVD of the original Japanese version of the film was released in Japan in 2002. The quality of the print used for the Japanese version was partially restored and remastered, including three audio tracks (the original mono track, an isolated audio track, and an isolated track and special effects track), and an interview with Akira Ifukube.
In 2006, Classic Media released a two-disc DVD set titled Gojira: The Original Japanese Masterpiece. This release features both the original 1954 Japanese Gojira film and the 1956 American Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version, making the original Japanese version of the film available on DVD in America for the first time. This release features theatrical trailers for both films, audio commentary tracks on both films with Godzilla experts Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, two 13-minute documentaries titled "Godzilla Story Development" and "Making of the Godzilla Suit," and a 12-page essay booklet that was written by Steve Ryfle. This release also restores the original ending credits of the American film, which, until recently, were thought to have been lost.[12][13]
In the fall of 2005, BFI released the original Japanese version in the UK theatrically, and later in the same year on DVD. The DVD includes the original mono track and several extra features, such as documentaries and commentary tracks by Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, and Keith Aiken. The DVD also includes a documentary about the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a Japanese fishing boat that was caught in an American nuclear blast and partially inspired the creation of the movie. A region-4 DVD was released in Australia by Mad Co. Ltd in 2004 for the film's 50th Anniversary.
Classic Media released Gojira on Blu-ray on September 22, 2009. This release includes the theatrical trailers, featurettes, and audio commentary on Gojira by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski from the 2006 Classic Media DVD release, but it does not include the 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version of the film.[14]
On January 24, 2012, the Criterion Collection released a "new high-definition digital restoration" of Gojira on Blu-ray and DVD. Included as a special feature is Godzilla, King of the Monsters as well as commentary on both films by David Kalat, author of A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. Also included are interviews with Akira Ikufube, Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato, actor Akira Takarada, Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai.[15]
Invasion of Astro-Monster (known in Japan as Great Monster War (怪獣大戦争,Kaijū Daisensō?); is a Japanese/American Science Fictionkaiju 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.
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 fictionkaiju 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.)
Destroy All Monsters, (released in Japan as Charge of the Monsters(怪獣総進撃,Kaijū Sōshingeki?), is a 1968 Japanese Science fictionKaiju 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.
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]
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