Mosura tai Gojira (1964)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writer:

Shinichi Sekizawa (writer)

Release Date:

17 September 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Nothing Like This Ever On the Screen!

Plot:

A greedy developer unwittingly hatches a gigantic baby moth upon Tokyo, while Godzilla strikes once again.

Plot Keywords:

Egg | Godzilla | Moth | Twins | Reporter

Cast

Akira Takarada	...	News Reporter Ichiro Sakai
Yuriko Hoshi	...	News Photographer Junko 'Yoka' Nakanishi
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Prof. Miura
Yû Fujiki	...	Reporter Jiro Nakamura (with egg and frying pan)
Emi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yûmi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Kumayama
Kenji Sahara	...	Banzo Torahata - U.S.:Shiro Torahata
Jun Tazaki	...	Editor Arota
Kenzo Tabu	...	Mayor
Yutaka Sada	...	Old Man
Akira Tani	...	Village Headman
Susumu Fujita	...	General
Ikio Sawamura	...	Priest
Ren Yamamoto	...	Sailor

Also Known As:

Godzilla Against Mothra (Japan: English title)
Godzilla Fights the Giant Moth
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla vs. the Giant Moth
Godzilla vs. the Thing (USA)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

Germany:87 min | USA:89 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The Mosugoji suit is a favorite among fans. After the more comedic approach to Godzilla in Kingu Kongu tai Gojira (1962), Toho decided to return its big star back to his original, evil, marauding depiction for this film. The Mosugoji suit, designed by Teizo Toshimitsu, was very different in appearance than its predecessor, Kingoji. Godzilla had less reptilian features than the Kingoji suit. The Mosugoji suit was also less bulky. The snout was slightly shorter, and the yellow around the pupils was changed to white. The tail was also made longer, and the skin featured a slight greenish tinge.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Professor Miura scrapes part of the Mothra egg into a culture disc, he answered News Reporter Ichiro Sakai's question. In the next scene when Kumayama appears, Miura is scrapping the egg again.

Quotes:

News Reporter Ichiro Sakai: Listen, when the girls came to us, we did nothing to help them, so why would they help us?
Editor Arota: Look, you three are the only ones who can talk to the girls. We need help or everything will get trampled. Godzilla will crush our entire nation!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004)

Soundtrack:

Mahala Mothra

The artistic peak of the Godzilla series

Godzilla Vs Mothra,the fourth Godzilla film,is regarded by some fans as the best. It doesn't have the power and allegorical elements of the original,yet it doesn't go into outright camp like many of the sequels. The film is colourful,exciting and often witty,yet the fantastical story is handled relatively seriously.

The plot is strong and,within the demands of a Japanese monster movie,logical. The human characters are mostly reasonably interesting and we don't mind spending time with them for the first half hour or so until the monsters show up. The effects are excellent considering the budget-the constant criticism of the effects in these films is sometimes valid but certainly not here. The two monster battle scenes are shorter then usual but exciting and amusing without being completely comical. Godzilla is at his most fearsome in this film,and he even threatens children,while the graceful,mystical Mothra is a great adversary. Akira Ifikube's music is thrilling {if repetitive}and there are even important issues such as the destruction of the environment and the evils of big business put into the film without spoiling the fun.

Some other Godzilla films may be more funnier,or more exciting,or more spectacular,or whatever,but Godzilla Vs Mothra may well be the artistic peak of the series,with all the elements woven into an immensely satisfying whole,and,unusually for a Japanese sci-fi movie of the time,it was not altered much for it's US version,with only some minor cuts,not-too-bad dubbing and,best of all, the addition of a scene featuring Godzilla!