Rodan

So the other night I watched a film that I had not seen more than once since I was a kid, the 1956 Japanese classic "Rodan." I had seen this movie at NYC's Film Forum around 25+ years back but had very little recollection of it still. And what a fun film it is, as I was reminded again just recently. In it, miners in a small Japanese village are being killed off by a mysterious something, and that something turns out to be giant bugs that have hatched deep underground. But the community's problems grow even worse when two prehistoric eggs in the mine shaft suddenly burst open, to reveal two monstrous flying reptile creatures, which promptly do what all self-respecting Japanese kaiju do in situations like this: lay waste to the countryside and a neighboring city! This film was helmed by "Gojira" director Ishiro Honda, of course, and like that earlier film, features awesome FX by the great Eija Tsuburaya and music by Akira Ifukube. The FX range from cheesy (the two rodans look pretty silly) to spectacular (one of the bridges that gets destroyed looks so lifelike that I would swear the producers knocked down an actual bridge in the making of this film). The film's final image, of the two rodans going up in flame near an erupting volcano, choosing death together rather than fighting separately, is actually kind of sweet and lovely. Adding to the fun: the presence of "Gojira"'s Dr. Serizawa himself, actor Akihiko Hirata, minus the eyepatch here. In all, very entertaining stuff, and very nice to reacquaint myself with this childhood favorite again....

The first of the Toho "Dai Kaiju" series in colour and some of Eiji Tsuburaya's best special effects. Although shorn to a miserly 69 minutes of the original Japanese footage (plus nearly 4 minutes of actual H-Bomb test footage stuck to the beginning by the American distributors, The King Brothers) it is a fabulously made picture.

Coal miners discover gigantic insects, known as Meganurons in the original version, which attack the local village. As if that were not bad enough a monstrous flying reptile soon hatches from an egg which has also been unearthed. Rodan's appearance is a "good news/bad news" thing because he eats the giant insects, but he also causes more damage than they ever could have!

The King Brothers, who would also give us GORGO a few years later, saved money by simply repeating certain scenes and "flopping" the image on the screen so it would look (slightly) different. Rodan and its mate appear out of the same crater in the American version. In the original version the second Rodan appears with no explanation as the first one is destroying the city of Sasebo. The narration probably saved time and allowed them to use less of the Japanese footage but having seen the original version I prefer the visual aspects of it (the end sequence is just as poignant and memorable without any dialogue).

Lovers of dubbed movies will recognise the voices of Paul Frees and Marvin Miller doing almost every voice in the picture! Keye Luke, a former Number One Son in Charlie Chan movies, provides the voice of the hero and a teenaged George Takei (later Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek") can be heard also. Look carefully during the destruction of the city and you will notice one building, a camera company, is called "The Tsuburaya Company"!

In todays genres where every movie is over-laden with CGI people should pause long enough to watch this movie and see what could be done with miniatures, imagination, and heart. Eiji Tsuburaya really loved the genre and gave his best to every assignment but THIS will always be one of his best.

Oh and about the monsters name. It was originally RADON but a British toy company had a doll on the market with that name so when the movie went abroad they simply switched the vowels in the monster's name and Radon became Rodan.

Ishiro Honda directed this film, which starts off in a small Japanese mining community beset by mysterious killings and disappearances that turn out to be caused by giant insects who are later found to be sealed up in a cavern with Rodan, a giant flying prehistoric bird/lizard that escapes, then attacks Japan(still recovering from Godzilla!) It proves difficult to kill, and as it turns out, isn't alone, and has an egg it's guarding to boot... First film appearance of Rodan(and it's only solo film) has an imaginative opening sequence with the mine subplot, though picks up when Rodan finally appears, even though it's just an airborne version of Godzilla. The surviving Rodan would make return appearances in the Godzilla series, starting with "Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster".

OK, I know it's only a guy in a rubber suit, but I'm a sucker for those 1950's monster flic. Rodan rates as one of the favorites. Hindered by dated special effects, (you can tell the monsters are people in uniforms; the buildings are obviously miniature, cheaply built sets; the acting is, of course, awful) but it's still a fun watch. Good campy fun when you keep it in perspective. At the end, a tear even comes to the eye as the 2 Rodans share their fate together. It will always be part of my library. Try to get the original Japanese version if you can. Though expensive and not subtitled into English, it gives a story a whole different look.

Japanese miners are killed by giant prehistoric insects awakened by nuclear testing. After dealing with the bugs, the military discovers an even bigger threat has been awakened by the tests. Yup, it's Rodan, a pterodactyl-like monster that flies at super-sonic speeds. Soon another Rodan shows up and the two wreak havoc. What in the world will Japan do?

Great Japanese giant monster movie with anti-nuke message; a classic of its type. Not on the level of the original Godzilla (or Gojira, if you insist) but better than many of the cheesy sequels that came out later. It's cool that it was filmed in color. The special effects and action scenes are lots of fun. Love the music. It's a good way to pass the time.