Mosura tai Gojira (1964)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

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 famous scene where Godzilla destroys the castle in Nagoya actually had to be filmed several times, and the castle had to be built twice. To make the castle fall correctly, two men are sitting behind pushing it with long sticks. The first time the scene was shot, the two men pushed too soon, and the castle collapsed before Godzilla even touched it. The miniature castle then had to be rebuilt. The second time the opposite problem happened, and the two men missed their cue (you can see when Godzilla slams into the castle that it doesn't move). A second take had to be done with Godzilla clawing away at it as the two men push it over from behind. The moment where Godzilla's foot slides on the ledge (causing him to fall into the castle) has been thought by many to be an accident. According to Haruo Nakajima (the actor inside Godzilla) the fall was actually scripted that way and done on purpose.

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: Yoka, get your things together.
News Photographer Junko 'Yoka' Nakanishi: I've been trying to get a shot of the area, but the land is moving. Look, over there.
[the earth moves, and out emerges a monster]
Mayor: Ah! Oh! Godzilla!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Angry Video Game Nerd: Godzilla (#4.15)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Godzilla

hey, not too bad

I grew up on the fancier Godzilla flicks of the 1980s and 90s, so it took me a while to accept the flabby-faced, goofy-lookin' Godzilla of the 1960s. Even in his first appearance, the big G looked a lot more convincing, and menacing, than he is here. This film, like the one that preceded it, is part of a downward trend in the series' production values. It certainly is tough to take seriously.

But...so flippin' what? Despite screamingly obvious flaws, this flick is a blast. The surprisingly rich storyline involves corporate greed, nuclear testing, and totally bizarre mysticism. The science fiction and fantasy elements blend well, and it's fascinating as always to get the occasional insight into Japanese culture.

The acting is obviously good, even in the dubbed version, and some of the directing isn't bad (although Honda did a much better job on the first film - perhaps he had less money for this one). The fights are a bit silly, of course, but there is the occasional thrilling moment, such as when Godzilla's head gets set on fire, and when he melts a whole mess of nicely detailed model tanks. Ifkube's dramatic score elevates the film considerably, except of course when he gets into wailing horns turf, which is when I always reach for the "volume down" button.

If you can't stand the cheese, stay out of Godzilla's way. If you can, there's some fun to be had here.