Mothra contre Godzilla

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!

"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964) has been known for a very long time as probably the best Godzilla film, in many circles even over the first one, and rightfully so. All the elements were probably at their best for this film - the script was entertaining from start to finish; the characters were likable and interesting; the music was at its most powerful and memorable; the filmography was its most striking; and the monster action incredible. This was also the movie with, hands down, the greatest Godzilla costume ever created.

Known as "Godzilla vs. The Thing" before being changed to the present title somewhere along the line, I cannot stress enough what a great film this is. Godzilla makes an awesome first appearance, and from there the movie actually features a lot of very realistic rear-screen photography of Godzilla roaming around real Japan landscapes and streets. There are some truly amazing shots of Godzilla coming from behind real buildings and mountains, as the usual crowds run for their lives. For some reason, Godzilla films in the original series very rarely used this process after this film, and in the rare case they did, it didn't look nearly as good as it does here.

I am very fortunately to actually own this film on the Simitar Godzilla DVD box set release from 1999, which features this movie in perfect quality and in widescreen. This box set is of the highest quality, totally blowing away the insulting Sony Godzilla DVD box set with some of the same movies, including "Godzilla vs. Mothra," only in very poor quality. If you have the hundreds of dollars to spend, finding a used Simitar DVD set is the way to go.

Of course, another plus is that this is the only Godzilla movie ever to have monster scenes filmed for the American release that were not included in the Japanese release. Of course, seeing this on widescreen rules!

This is also a landmark film because this is the last film of the original series where Godzilla is completely on the bad side. Absolutely not to be missed by any serious monster or sci-fi/fantasy fan.

GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (AKA GODZILLA VS. THE THING) (3+ outta 5 stars) I remember going to see this movie at a kiddie matinée as a tot. The ads never showed what "The Thing" was... but I expected some big, mean, scary creature that would be even more formidable than 'Zilla himself! I sure wasn't expecting... a giant moth. (Or a pair of baby slugs for that matter.) Now, of course, this all sounds pretty ridiculous to all the non-Godzilla-fans out there... but, of all the Godzilla films ever made, this is the one that is most fondly-remembered. There are some great scenes in this one: Godzilla's best entrance ever (he comes bursting out of the earth tail-first) Godzilla taking apart some grand Japanese architecture piece by piece is still impressive even when you *know* that it is only an actor in a suit taking apart a miniature model. Plus there are the two, tiny twins who come to Tokyo from their remote island paradise to ask for their giant radioactive back after it washes up on a Japanese beach. Mothra is, well, he's a giant moth... and he's on the verge of dying... so how much of a fight is he going to put up? But he only has to occupy 'Zilla until the egg containing his successor hatches. Anyway, silly as it all sounds, the movie works really well... definitely the 'Zilla movie to watch if you've never seen one before.

This one is considered one of the best Godzilla movies out there, but with that aside, I've been wanting to see this movie, and after finally getting around to watching it, it's actually pretty good. I mean, it's not extraordinary, but it's still worth watching.

But now on with the plot: long story short, Mothra's egg washes on the beach and some corporate businessman wants to buy the egg just so he can put it up as an attraction in his amusement park. Two twin faeries show up and warn him to have the egg returned, but he ignores them and even tries to capture them. In the meantime, a news reporter, news photographer, and professor also find out about it and are determined to help the faeries and Mothra before anything bad happens to the egg. Later, Godzilla naturally comes along and interferes, leading to a serious grudge war between the two title monsters.

My thoughts/defenses on this movie: okay, so the monster battles aren't great, but they're certainly not disappointing at all. In fact, the idea of Mothra against Godzilla apparently did sound like a step in the right direction for Toho, in my opinion. Yes, I know Godzilla is such a klutz in this movie, aside from the fact that his mouth is kinda wobbly in this one, but we certainly can't blame him 'cause the guy in the Godzilla costume can't see a thing. Okay, so the ending isn't very climactic, but it still leaves you with a good feeling.

In conclusion, this is one Godzilla movie that I think that all Godzilla fans should give a try/give a chance.

P.S. To all those who think this movie is bad or overrated, I strongly disagree.

Mothra vs Godzilla (1964) is a movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows an egg that washes off an island and into the ocean. The egg hatches and shortly after Mothra appears. Godzilla, ever the menacing sorts, decides there's only room for one monster in Tokyo. Will Mothra join Godzilla in his destruction or try to stop him?

This movie is directed by Ishirô Honda (Godzilla, 1954) and stars Akira Takarada (Godzilla, 1954), Yuriko Hoshi (Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster), Hiroshi Koizumi (Mothra) and Kenji Sahara (Godzilla, 1954).

I loved the story setup and the giant Easter egg that eventually becomes Mothra. I'll always enjoy the concept of the little ladies being the spokesman for the tribe and Mothra. Godzilla's emergence was great but his facial expressions in the film had me cracking up. The final battle is entertaining and also pretty funny.

Overall this is a film that's more fun than good but an absolutely must see for fans of the Godzilla franchise. Mothra is a unique and fun characters. It's easy to see why she became a mainstay within the franchise. I'd score this a 6.5/10 and strongly recommend seeing it.