Chikyû kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan (1972)

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura (story)
Shinichi Sekizawa (writer)

Release Date:

August 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Space Monsters War With Godzilla For The Earth!

Plot:

A man begins to suspect that something is wrong about his employers; meanwhile, Godzilla and Anguirus are alerted to something strange going on.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Alien | Monster | Gigan | Cigarette Smoking

Cast

Hiroshi Ishikawa	...	Gengo Kotaka
Yuriko Hishimi	...	Tomoko Tomoe
Minoru Takashima	...	Shosaku Takasugi
Tomoko Umeda	...	Machiko Shima
Toshiaki Nishizawa	...	Kubota, Head of Children's Land
Zan Fujita	...	Fumio Sudo
Kunio Murai	...	Takashi Shima
Gen Shimizu	...	Commander of Defense Forces
Kurayoshi Nakamura	...	Priest (as Zeko Nakamura)
Kuniko Ashihara	...	Middle-Aged Woman
Akio Murata	...	Editor of Comics Magazine
Noritake Saito	...	Henchman
Yasuhiko Saijo	...	Henchman
Naoya Kusakawa	...	Henchman
Wataru Omae	...	Henchman

Also Known As:

Earth Assault Order: Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla on Monster Island
Godzilla vs. Gigan
The Earth Destruction Directive: Godzilla vs. Gigan
War of the Monsters

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language.

Runtime:

89 min | Germany:80 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:G (original rating) | Australia:PG | UK:PG | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:PG

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

This was Haruo Nakajima's final role as Godzilla before retiring from the role.

Goofs:

Continuity: Due to stock footage from earlier movies being used, the appearances of Godzilla, Ghidorah, and Anguirus keep changing.

Quotes:

Priest: Children's Land? Is that some sort of a fancy name for a lunatic asylum?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004)

Soundtrack:

Yattsukero Gaigan

La Cuckaracha!

Alien cockroaches(Yes, you heard me rightly) plan on taking over the Earth for their species with the controlled help of King Ghidorah and the bizarre looking Gigan that has a saw moving in his torso. Stationed in a children's theme park soon to be opened, the aliens have kidnapped the scientist brother of a resourceful woman who enlists the aid of a comic cartoonist, his kung fu fighting girlfriend, and a fat Japanese hippie no less. This film is easily one of the lesser films in the Godzilla series. It has a quirky story and some tongue in cheek humour, yet is so poorly crafted for a Godzilla film. The Godzilla suit is tattered and looks ridiculous. Godzilla talks with Anguillas. That's right....you heard me...they actually talk...in English no less! What they do say say is so mumbled and idiotic to have little purpose except reduce any credibility the film might have had. The sets lack the creativity usually found in these films. In one scene...very surprised it has not been mentioned...a diner is crushed by Gigan with two Japanese female dolls in it....dolls! The dolls look like cheap dolls not remotely like real people. The film looks cheap too. With all its problems, the film is entertaining yet definitely a low point for the big lizard! You also gotta love that groovy soundtrack and the song playing at the close of the film as Godzilla and Anguilllas go back home to Monster Island.