Dogora il mostro della grande palude

Watching this film is an enjoyable event. With a cast of hilarious and respected actors and actresses, this movie is one of the funniest and greatest Toho sci-fi movies I've seen. It starts off with an intriguing intro of how a scientist discovers disappearing satellites in space.

Then, it kicks off to these band of outrageous gangsters who wants sparkling diamonds for their loot. The suspense builds when some of the gangsters get lifted up into the air by an unknown phenomenon, later known as Dagora (or Dogara) the Space Monster, who has a thing for diamonds. Instead of buildings, vehicles, bridges, and structures crushing to the floor, they actually rise to the air as Dagora lifts away everything in its path. Dagora is seen in many shapes and sizes, including a giant jellyfish (with "animated" tentacles), shining "stars," and a floating piece of genetic-like substance. Screenplay writer Shinichi Sekizawa did an excellent job on the script.

The scientists trying to figure out a weapon in order to use to defend Japan from Dagora while the detectives try to nab the diamond lovers couldn't be more inspiring and intriguing in this movie. Composer Akira Ifukube gave a haunting and terrific music score and director Ishiro Honda directed one of his best. Some hilarious parts in the movie includes the part where the character Inspector Kommei tries to shoot a gun, only with confetti coming out; the part where Eiji the Safecracker eats a sugar crystal (which he later found out is a fake diamond) and then laughs like a hyena; the scenes of karate fights and the part where the Gangster Moll asks the train conductor to show her where to make a call when the phone is actually a few inches away from her! The only jewelry oriented monster sci-fi flick I've seen, this film is to be watched by all sci-fi fans. There are some plot-holes here and there, like why did the gangsters have to wait so long to steal the diamonds from Jackson, and why did the Gangster Moll have to call her crew to come meet her, since she wants the diamonds all to herself anyways? Could have used more action and suspense from the gangsters, but overall, a fun film. You'll never wear a diamond necklace or diamond ring the same way again.

Grade A-

Asides from the strange plot development which we don't know if this movie is a comedy or a kaijyu movie, I think this could be one of the best monster movie of all times. What's great and horrifying about this movie is the monster Dogora. It's kind of a space jellyfish that can defy gravity. The monster makes you think that perhaps somewhere in space there could be a life form like it, and when it arrives on earth, there's no telling how large it could be. None of the Toho monsters have real life creepiness like the Dogora. If the movie was made on a plot about this space monster arriving on earth and terrorizing the world while it multiplies would have made it a unique masterpiece. There's absolutely no movie like it. For its originality, and the special mood this monster brings to the story, this movie is a masterpiece.

In the US, this is probably the least well known of the classic kaiju eiga. Sure, "Dogora" may not be a very good movie overall, but in my opinion it has one of the very best monsters in film history. Dogora is an enormous space jellyfish, vast, mindless, and cosmically terrifying. It floats through the atmosphere, draining the Earth of life-giving carbon. The full-grown Dogora is only on screen for five minutes (!!), but it's still an awe-inspiring sight as this huge, transparent creature, the size of a small town, sucks up buildings, vehicles, bridges and minerals.

The remainder of the movie is mostly an uninspired detective spoof, with two inept policemen and an enigmatic American agent hot on the trail of a gang of jewel thieves. It seems the monster has been getting to the diamonds first... With such an incredible monster, and such well-executed effects, it's a real shame the rest of the film is so mundane.

It's SUPPOSED to be a comedy. Unfortunately, the US television version dubbed the movie as a serious monster film, with disastrous results. Worse, though, is the Toho "international" version -- it may be more accurately translated, but it's performed by the most inept readers you'll hear outside of a Sandy Frank production. Anyway, even if you don't know Japanese, watching "Dogora" in the original language with no subtitles is still probably more enjoyable than suffering through the English versions.

In space, a big jellyfish destroys a satellite. The thing then comes to Earth and uses its twisting tentacles to get everything in its path. Buildings, trucks, and even a bridge get lifted up from the ground by the thing. The thing also has a craving for diamonds. Also involved in this mishmash are some diamond thieves who only want a truck of diamonds and a day to the beach without getting stung. Pretty interesting with imaginative special effects. The American print is terrible,dark, and scratched up. The dubbing is also bad.

I remember watching this film when I was a kid and I thought it was a pretty decent film. However, when I read some of the comments I couldn't understand how a lot of people hated it. This might have something to do with the fact that due to the stupid re-editing job that was done to the film after it arrived in America. Ishiro Honda originally wanted this film to be a comedy that brought together two of the genres that he was famous for, gangster films and, of course, kaiju eigas. Unfortunately, the persons in charge of editing and dubbing the film when it reached our fair shores decided that it would be better to make this film into a typical kaiju and make the monster the most prominent element of the film, unlike the Japanese version where the monster takes a secondary role in the film. Thank God for Media Blasters. Because of them the film is now on DVD and it is finally being seen as Mr. Honda had originally envisioned it.