Mothra contre Godzilla

Godzilla Vs Mothra has to be the GREATEST movie of the 60s era. The Special Effects are amazing, dubbing is excellent, and the acting is very good. Mothra is one my favorite monsters. Roland Emmreich better not get his hands on this movie. Thats all I have to say. **** out of ****.

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.

As a major fan of the original dark, haunting kaiju movies, I very much enjoy watching "Godzilla vs. Mothra" even though I still can't understand why they call Mothra "the Thing" (maybe it's just in the Americanized dubbed version).

Godzilla's appearance in this movie is very good, however, there are some problems with his mouth in this movie. They are very wobbly and that's because in the sequence where Godzilla emerges from underground, the suit got damaged and the mouth got loose. And later on, the head caught on fire, although if you ask me, that was pretty cool and showed how invincible and invulnerable Godzilla really is.

The music's superior with legendary composer Akira Ifukube campusing the score. Eiji Tsuburaya handles the great special effects and Ishiro Honda's talents as a director come through in this movie.

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!

In Mothra v. Godzilla, all the best elements of the series come together. Godzilla is back in his full fury and with an excellent, realistic costume, and co-star Mothra, in fighting for her egg, shows personality and emotion, a trait of all the finest monster movies (such as "King Kong"). And odd though it may seem, the ubiquitous human subplot is actually interesting, giving the viewer much to think about regarding the demands of big business versus the health of the environment. (Not bad for a film made in 1964!)