Mothra - Trailer (1961)

Mothra (モスラ, Mosura?) is a 1961 monster movie from Toho Studios, directed by genre regular Ishirō Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the kaiju eiga debut of screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, whose approach to the genre grew to prominence during the 1960s. The film stars Frankie Sakai, a popular comedian in Japan at the time, and Hiroshi Koizumi, in the first of many academic roles he would adopt in tokusatsu. Jerry Ito (transliterated as "Jelly Ito" in the credits of the U.S. release) stars in the film, his only contribution to Toho's kaiju eiga genre. Ito also appeared in 1958's Japanese/US co-production "The Manster" (a.k.a. "The Split"), and in Toho's 1961 end-of-the-world sci-fi feature "Sekai Daisensou" ("The Last War").

The film did well at the box office but was panned by U.S. critics upon its stateside release as a typical B-grade monster-on-the-loose flick. Its basic plot was recycled in King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1962 and 1964, both also written by Sekizawa), and the daikaiju Mothra would become one of Toho's most popular, appearing in seven more Godzilla films and her own trilogy in the 1990s.


An expedition to an irradiated island brings civilization in contact with a primitive native culture. When one sensationalist entrepreneur tries to exploit the islanders, their ancient deity arises in retaliation. In waters off Infant Island, a presumedly uninhabited site for Rolisican atomic tests, the Daini-Gen'you-Maru is caught and run aground in the turbulence of a typhoon. A rescue party following the storm finds four sailors alive and strangely unafflicted with radiation sickness, which they attribute to the juice provided them by island natives. The story is broken by tenacious reporter Zenichiro (also known as "Bulldog" or "Zen-chan") Fukuda (Sakai) and photographer Michi Hanamura (Kagawa), who infiltrate the hospital examining the survivors.The Rolisican Embassy responds by co-sponsoring a joint Japanese–Rolisican scientific expediction to Infant Island, led by capitalist Clark Nelson (Ito). Also on the expedition are radiation specialist Dr. Harada (Ken Uehara), linguist/anthropologist Shin'ichi Chūjō (Koizumi), and stowaway reporter Fukuda. Chūjō has studied the cultures of islands in the area and ascertained that one of the key hieroglyphs in their written language, a radiant cross-shaped star, translates as Mothra. There the team discover a vast jungle of mutated flora, a fleeting native tribe, and two young women only twelve inches tall (the Peanuts). These "shobijin" (small beauties), as Fukuda dubs them, wish their island to be spared further atomic testing. Acknowledging this message, the team returns and conceals these events from the public. Nelson, however, returns to the island with a crew of henchmen and abducts the girls, gunning down several natives who try to save them. While Nelson profits off a "Secret Fairies Show" in Tokyo featuring the girls singing, both they and the island natives beseech their god Mothra, a giant egg, for help. Fukuda, Hanamura, and Chūjō communicate with the young women via telepathy; they express conviction that Mothra will come to their aid and warn that "good people are sure to be hurt". Meanwhile, Fukuda's newspaper has accused Nelson of holding the girls against their will; Nelson denies the charge and files a libel suit against the paper. Meanwhile, the island egg hatches to reveal a gigantic caterpillar, which begins swimming the Pacific Ocean toward Japan. The caterpillar destroys a cruise ship and survives a napalm attack on a beeline path for Tokyo. The Rolisican Embassy, however, defends Nelson's property rights over the girls, ignoring any connection to the monster.

Mothra finally arrives on the Japanese mainland, impervious to the barrage of weaponry directed at it, ultimately building a cocoon in the ruins of Tokyo Tower. Public feeling turns against Nelson, and he is ordered to release the girls. He flees incognito to Rolisica, where Mothra, newly hatched in an imago form, immediately resumes her search. Police scour New Kirk City for Nelson as Mothra lays waste to the metropolis. Ultimately Nelson is killed in a shootout with police, and the girls are assigned to Chūjō's care. Church bells begin to ring, and sunlight illuminates the cross atop the steeple with radiant beams, reminding Chūjō and Hanamura of Mothra's unique symbol and of the girls' voices. Chūjō hits upon a novel way to attract Mothra to an airport runway. The girls are returned amid salutations of "sayōnara", and Mothra flies back to Infant Island.

Themes
Mothra was the first of the kaiju eiga to distance itself from the genre of horror. Unlike Godzilla (1954), Godzilla Raids Again (1955), and Rodan (1956), thematically and visually darker films full of allegory and scenes of death, Mothra is vibrant, colorful, and at times jovial. Even the scenes of destruction in Mothra are depicted with an air of fantasy: rather unlike actual automobiles, cars and trucks caught in Mothra's gusts are tossed and bounced about the cityscape of New Kirk like leaves in a dust devil. As a daikaiju Mothra is assigned an unprecedented level of personality, imbued as the shobijin's guardian with loyalty and nobility. The film ends not with Mothra's death or incapacitation but with her success at retrieving the shobijin and returning—-in peace and on good terms with Japan—-to Infant Island. The true antagonist of the film is instead the greedy sensationalist Clark Nelson, whose role lends itself to broad interpretation. Fukuda describes him as an "art dealer", of the type who raid historic sites for riches. The film was conceived and released at the outset of the Japanese post-war economic miracle, amid the liberalization of business from government regulation; by placing an (Occidental) capitalist in such a villainous role, the film propounds a strong critique of the Western model of capitalism itself. The ending of the film alludes heavily to Christianity: Mothra's symbol is revealed to bear a likeness to the Christian cross—though it more specifically resembles the Celtic cross—and its image, joined by the sound of ringing church bells, is used to summon Mothra and show her where to land. Remarkably, whereas the propagation of Western capitalism is to blame for Mothra's destructive onslaught, it is Western religion which appeases it.

Rolisica
The fictional nation in the movie is clearly a substitute for America. Rolisica is an amalgam of both America and Russia (USSR at the time). The capital, New Kirk City, which Mothra attacks, shares an uncanny resemblance to that of New York City, specifically in its Manhattan-like skyline. The people of Rolisica are clearly coded as Americans; some were played by Turkish actors. The neighborhood where Nelson is killed seems to have an Eastern Orthodox ambiance, similar to that of Russia; in the uncut version, two priests, one clearly Orthodox, comment that the people can only pray that Mothra will not destroy them. The church bells begin ringing immediately following this speech. The Rolisican flag displays a large crescent moon and small star, reflecting the flag of the Islamic Republic as well as the sickle of the Soviet Union. Roliscan military uniforms, seen in briefly when the Roliscan military lends Japan a weapon to defeat Mothra, resemble those of the Soviet military. The matte scenes that show Rolisican civilians looking at Mothra in the sky were filmed in Los Angeles, California. Toho had done some filming there in early 1961 and the footage added into Mothra.

Mothra was released in the United States in May 1962 on a double-bill with The Three Stooges in Orbit. New York Times film critic A.H. Weiler gave the film a generally positive review, singling out the color and special effects for praise. "There's that color, as pretty as can be, that now and then smites the eye with some genuinely artistic panoramas and décor designs." Some plot points, also, were favorably mentioned: "Fantastic though the plot may be, there are some genuinely penetrating moments, such as the contrast of the approaching terror and those patient, silvery-voiced little 'dolls,' serenely awaiting rescue. Several of the special effects shots are brilliant, such as the sight of a giant cocoon nestling against a large city's power station tower" (in reality, it was Tokyo Tower, a landmark broadcasting tower).




MOTHRA :TRAILER
ISHIRO HONDA (1962)
TOHO PICTURES
2 MIN
JAPAN

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Destroy All Monsters, released in Japan as Attack of the Marching Monsters (怪獣総進撃, Kaijū Sōshingeki?), is a 1968 daikaiju eiga (Monster Movie). The ninth in Toho Studios' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa. This was the last Godzilla film in the Showa series to receive positive fan reaction, as the last six Godzilla films have received negative to mixed fan reaction over the years. This is the fifth film to feature Mothra, third to feature King Ghidorah, fourth to feature Rodan, and second to feature Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, Baragon, and Varan.

At the close of the 20th Century, all of the Earth's kaiju have been collected and confined in an area known as Monster Island, by the United Nations Science Committee, in the Ogasawara island chain. A special control center is constructed underneath the island to ensure the monsters stay secure, and serve as a research facility to study them. When communications with Monster Island are suddenly and mysteriously severed, and all of the monsters begin attacking world capitals, Dr. Yoshida of the UNSC orders Captain Yamabe and the crew of his spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, to investigate Ogasawara. There, they discover that the scientists, led by Dr. Otani, have become mind-controlled slaves of a feminine alien race identifying themselves as the Kilaaks, who reveal that they are in control of the monsters. Their leader demands that the human race surrender, or face total annihilation. Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan invades Moscow, Mothra lays waste to Beijing, Gorosaurus destroys Paris, and Manda attacks London, which is set in to motion to take attention away from Japan, so the aliens can establish an underground stronghold near Mt. Fuji in Japan. The Kilaaks then turn their next major attack on Tokyo, and without serious opposition, become arrogant in their aims, until the UNSC discover the Kilaaks have switched to broadcasting the control signals from their base under the Moon's surface. In a desperate battle, the crew of the SY-3 destroy the Kilaak's lunar outpost and return the alien control system to Earth. With all of the monsters under the control of the UNSC, the Kilaaks unleash their hidden weapon, King Ghidorah. The three-headed space monster is dispatched to protect the alien stronghold at Mt. Fuji, and battles Godzilla, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus or Angilas, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, and Varan. While seemingly invincible, King Ghidorah is eventually overpowered by the combined strength of the Earth monsters and is killed. Refusing to admit defeat, the Kilaaks produce their trump card, a burning monster they call the Fire Dragon, which begins to torch cities and destroys the control center on Ogasawara. Suddenly, Godzilla attacks and destroys the Kilaak's underground base, revealing the Earth's monsters instinctively know who their enemies are. Captain Yamabe then pursues the Fire Dragon in the SY-3, and narrowly achieves victory for the human race. The Fire Dragon is revealed to be a flaming Kilaak saucer and is destroyed. Godzilla and the other monsters are eventually returned to Monster Island to live in peace.


U.S. version
American International Pictures released the film theatrically in North America in 1969. The Americanization was handled by Titan Productions (formerly Titra Studios)
[Image]Among the changes for the U.S. release:Dialogue was dubbed to English (featuring the voices of actors such as Hal Linden). Dialogue: First line of opening narration changed from "It's the end of the 20th Century," to the year specific, "The year is 1999." Deleted: Opening credits; Moved to the end of the film and changed to white credits against a black background with the original Ifukube cue. Deleted: Shot of Minilla covering his eyes while King Ghidorah drops Anguirus.

Added: Ending credits with one of Ifukube's military themes (played earlier in the film during the monsters being attack by the military in Tokyo) playing in the background. This version has been replaced on home video and television by Toho's "International Version". While uncut and widescreen, it features an English dub track produced by William Ross' Tokyo-based Frontier Enterprises used to sell the film to overseas markets in 1968. Subsequently, American International Pictures found the dubbing to be substandard and handed the film over to Titan Productions in New York to record a new English dialogue track.

Critical Reception
The New York Times did not review the film upon release, but film critic Howard Thompson gave it a positive review on a re-release at a children's matinee with the Bugs Bunny short, Napoleon Bunny-Part, in December 1970. He commented that "the feature wasn't bad at all of this type. The trick photography and especially the blended sweep and skill of the miniature settings provided the visual splash. The human beings, with good dubbed English voices, were a personable lot as they wrestled with some outer space culprits who had rounded up Japan's favorite monsters and turned them against the planet earth." Among modern critics, Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique wrote, "In the end, Destroy All Monsters is too slim in its storyline, too thin in its characterizations, to be considered a truly great film. It is not as impressive as the original Godzilla, and it is not as hip as Monster Zero. But for the ten-year-old living inside us all, it is entertainment of the most awesome sort." Matt Paprocki of Blogcritics said the film is "far from perfect" and "can be downright boring at times" but felt that "the destruction scenes make up for everything else" and "the final battle is an epic that simply can't be matched" - From Wikipedia

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
ISHIRO HONDA (1968)
TOHO / AIP
88 MIN
JAPAN/USA

Rodan (1956)

Rodan, released in Japan as Sora no Daikaijū Radon (空の大怪獣 ラドン?, lit. "Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky"), is a 1956 tokusatsu film produced by Toho Studios. It was the studio's first daikaiju eiga filmed in color (though Toho's first color tokusatsu film, Madame White Snake, was released earlier that year). It is one of a series of "giant monster" movies that found an audience outside Japan, especially in the United States, where it was originally released as Rodan! The Flying Monster! Deep underground, miners are attacked by a clutch of prehistoric insects (Meganulon) which escape to the surface after a massive earthquake. The Meganulon in turn are fed upon by a pair of enormous flying reptiles called Rodan. Once all the Meganulon are devoured, the Rodans begin preying on humans, ultimately destroying a city and terrorizing the entire world. The Japanese military locates the Rodans lurking in a cavern and launches a missile barrage which triggers a volcanic eruption. The Rodans attempt to escape, but one succumbs to the forces of the eruption and plummets to earth. The other, refusing to abandon its mate, joins it in the fiery lava. The King Brothers' theatrical release of Rodan was quite successful in its first run in the United States. It was the first Japanese movie to receive general release on the West Coast to make a strong showing at the box-office.1 It later received the biggest TV advertising campaign given to a film to that date on New York's NBC flagship station WRCA-TV, where a series of commercials running 10 to 60 seconds were shown for a week before the film's opening. It grossed an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 during its opening weekend at 79 theaters in the New York City metropolitan area. Several theatrical circuits, including RKO, announced that Rodan broke the records for a science-fiction film. George Takei, better known as Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, was one of the many voice actors employed for this film. The only other Kaiju film for which he performed voice work was Godzilla Raids Again. The main narration provided by the character of Shigeru was voiced by actor Keye Luke with additional voices provided by veteran voice actor Paul Frees.

RODAN
ISHIRO HONDA  (1956)
TOHO
82 MIN
JAPAN

Dogora - Trailer (1964)

Dogora or Dagora, the Space Monster, released in Japan as Giant Space Monster Dogora (宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ, Uchū Daikaijū Dogora?), is a tokusatsu science fiction film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1964. It was directed by the "Golden Duo" of director Ishirō Honda and special-effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.


Several satellites are destroyed and only a few days later, a group of diamond thieves find that the gems they stole suddenly disappear. The two incidents are linked as scientists discover giant jellyfish-like creatures, mutated from the high levels of radiation over Japan, are consuming all carbon based matter. The creatures start to attack civilian structures such as bridges and ships. The scientists must find a way to stop the creatures before it is too late.


English Version
As with its release of Attack of the Mushroom People, American International Television bought the rights to Toho's international dub in 1965 for television syndication. Since the film wouldn't play in US theaters, AIP-TV left Toho's English dub intact and added a new Dagora, the Space Monster title card. Allegedly, the name of the monster was changed to "Dagora" so that audiences wouldn't think the monster was a dog. Beyond the removal of the opening credits, the film was unedited. This version played for many years on late night TV and was released on home video by Video Yesteryear in 1983. The Media Blasters DVD uses the same dubbing featured in the AIP-TV version, but the edits, such as they are, are not retained.

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE VERSION OF THIS TRAILER



DOGORA - TRAILER
ISHIRO HONDA 1964
TOHO
2:10
JAPAN

Rodan - Trailer (1956)

Rodan, released in Japan as Sora no Daikaijū Radon (空の大怪獣 ラドン?, lit. "Giant Monster of the Sky Radon"), is a 1956 tokusatsu film produced by Toho Studios. It was the studio's first daikaiju eiga filmed in color (though Toho's first color tokusatsu film, Madame White Snake, was released earlier that year). It is one of a series of "giant monster" movies that found an audience outside Japan, especially in the United States, where it was originally released as Rodan! The Flying Monster!.  Rodan follows in the footsteps of other Japanese monster movies, such as Godzilla, which involve a giant monster being awoken from an ancient hibernation by human beings. In Rodan, miners digging far into the earth stumble across a clutch of giant, prehistoric insects called Meganulon, which viciously attack several of the miners and prompt a government investigation into the matter in the year 1957. The giant bugs turn out to be little more than food for two gigantic flying beasts called Rodans, similar to pteranodons but far larger and more powerful, who hatch from giant eggs and proceed to terrorize the entire world. They are finally stopped by the military when they trap the Rodans in a cave and injure them. The Rodans try to escape but are fatally burned by lava and killed.

The King Brothers' theatrical release of Rodan was quite successful in its first run in the United States. It was the first Japanese movie to receive general release on the West Coast to make a strong showing at the box-office.1 It later received the biggest TV advertising campaign given to a film to that date on New York's NBC flagship station WRCA-TV, where a series of commercials running 10 to 60 seconds were shown for a week before the film's opening.2 It grossed an estimated $450,000 to $500,000 during its opening weekend at 79 theaters in the New York City metropolitan area. Several theatrical circuits, including RKO, announced that Rodan broke the records for a science-fiction film.3 George Takei, better known as Lt. Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, was one of the many voice actors employed for this film. The only other Kaiju film for which he performed voice work was Godzilla Raids Again. The main narration provided by the character of Shigeru was voiced by actor Keye Luke with additional voices provided by veteran voice actor Paul Frees.- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


WATCH THIS TRAILER:


RODAN  (TRAILER)
ISHIRO HONDA  (1956)
TOHO
2MIN
JAPAN

Destroy All Monsters - Trailer (1968)

Destroy All Monsters, released in Japan as Attack of the Marching Monsters (怪獣総進撃, Kaijū Sōshingeki?), is a 1968 daikaiju eiga (Monster Movie). The ninth in Toho Studios' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa. This was the last Godzilla film in the Showa series to receive positive fan reaction, as the last six Godzilla films have received negative to mixed fan reaction over the years. This is the fifth film to feature Mothra, third to feature King Ghidorah, fourth to feature Rodan, and second to feature Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Kumonga, Manda, Minilla, Baragon, and Varan.

At the close of the 20th Century, all of the Earth's kaiju have been collected and confined in an area known as Monster Island, by the United Nations Science Committee, in the Ogasawara island chain. A special control center is constructed underneath the island to ensure the monsters stay secure, and serve as a research facility to study them. When communications with Monster Island are suddenly and mysteriously severed, and all of the monsters begin attacking world capitals, Dr. Yoshida of the UNSC orders Captain Yamabe and the crew of his spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, to investigate Ogasawara. There, they discover that the scientists, led by Dr. Otani, have become mind-controlled slaves of a feminine alien race identifying themselves as the Kilaaks, who reveal that they are in control of the monsters. Their leader demands that the human race surrender, or face total annihilation. Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan invades Moscow, Mothra lays waste to Beijing, Gorosaurus destroys Paris, and Manda attacks London, which is set in to motion to take attention away from Japan, so the aliens can establish an underground stronghold near Mt. Fuji in Japan. The Kilaaks then turn their next major attack on Tokyo, and without serious opposition, become arrogant in their aims, until the UNSC discover the Kilaaks have switched to broadcasting the control signals from their base under the Moon's surface. In a desperate battle, the crew of the SY-3 destroy the Kilaak's lunar outpost and return the alien control system to Earth. With all of the monsters under the control of the UNSC, the Kilaaks unleash their hidden weapon, King Ghidorah. The three-headed space monster is dispatched to protect the alien stronghold at Mt. Fuji, and battles Godzilla, Minilla, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus or Angilas, Kumonga, Manda, Baragon, and Varan. While seemingly invincible, King Ghidorah is eventually overpowered by the combined strength of the Earth monsters and is killed. Refusing to admit defeat, the Kilaaks produce their trump card, a burning monster they call the Fire Dragon, which begins to torch cities and destroys the control center on Ogasawara. Suddenly, Godzilla attacks and destroys the Kilaak's underground base, revealing the Earth's monsters instinctively know who their enemies are. Captain Yamabe then pursues the Fire Dragon in the SY-3, and narrowly achieves victory for the human race. The Fire Dragon is revealed to be a flaming Kilaak saucer and is destroyed. Godzilla and the other monsters are eventually returned to Monster Island to live in peace.

U.S. version
American International Pictures released the film theatrically in North America in 1969. The Americanization was handled by Titan Productions (formerly Titra Studios).

Among the changes for the U.S. release:

Dialogue was dubbed to English (featuring the voices of actors such as Hal Linden).

Dialogue: First line of opening narration changed from "It's the end of the 20th Century," to the year specific, "The year is 1999."

Deleted: Opening credits; Moved to the end of the film and changed to white credits against a black background with the original Ifukube cue.

Deleted: Shot of Minilla covering his eyes while King Ghidorah drops Anguirus.
Added: Ending credits with one of Ifukube's military themes (played earlier in the film during the monsters being attack by the military in Tokyo) playing in the background.  This version has been replaced on home video and television by Toho's "International Version". While uncut and widescreen, it features an English dub track produced by William Ross' Tokyo-based Frontier Enterprises used to sell the film to overseas markets in 1968. Subsequently, American International Pictures found the dubbing to be substandard and handed the film over to Titan Productions in New York to record a new English dialogue track.

Critical reception
The New York Times did not review the film upon release, but film critic Howard Thompson gave it a positive review on a re-release at a children's matinee with the Bugs Bunny short, Napoleon Bunny-Part, in December 1970. He commented that "the feature wasn't bad at all of this type. The trick photography and especially the blended sweep and skill of the miniature settings provided the visual splash. The human beings, with good dubbed English voices, were a personable lot as they wrestled with some outer space culprits who had rounded up Japan's favorite monsters and turned them against the planet earth." Among modern critics, Steve Biodrowski of Cinefantastique wrote, "In the end, Destroy All Monsters is too slim in its storyline, too thin in its characterizations, to be considered a truly great film. It is not as impressive as the original Godzilla, and it is not as hip as Monster Zero. But for the ten-year-old living inside us all, it is entertainment of the most awesome sort." Matt Paprocki of Blogcritics said the film is "far from perfect" and "can be downright boring at times" but felt that "the destruction scenes make up for everything else" and "the final battle is an epic that simply can't be matched"  - From Wikipedia

This is the original Japanese version of this trailer
WATCH IT NOW:

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (TRAILER)
ISHIRO HONDA - TOHO - (1968)
3 MIN
JAPAN

King Kong Escapes - Trailer (1967)

King Kong Escapes, released in Japan as King Kong's Counterattack (キングコングの逆襲, Kingu Kongu no Gyakushū?), is a Japanese tokusatsu film. A co-production from Toho and Rankin/Bass, it was released in Japan in 1967, and in the United States by Universal Studios the following year.
The film was an adaptation of episodes of Rankin/Bass and Toei Animation's The King Kong Show cartoon series. As with King Kong vs. Godzilla, Eiji Tsuburaya served as director of special effects.

An evil genius named Dr. Who has created a robotic version of King Kong named Mechani-Kong in order to dig for a highly radioactive element called "Element X", but the power of it shuts the robot down. Meanwhile, the crew of a submarine investigate the legend of King Kong on Mondo Island and Susan Wattson is attacked by Gorosaurus. However Kong comes to her rescue and kills it by breaking its jaws, before also saving the crew from a giant sea snake, named the Serpent of Mondo Island. Later, Dr. Who kidnaps the real Kong along with the submarine crew and hypnotizes him to dig for Element X. He soon snaps out of it, escapes and swims off to Tokyo. The submarine crew also escape and Mechani-Kong picks up Wattson, who he carries to the top of the Tokyo Tower where he fights the real Kong. Kong wins and destroys the robot, rescues Wattson, kills Dr. Who and swims back to Mondo Island.


The film opened in the United States in June 1968 on a double-bill with the Don Knotts comedy, The Shakiest Gun in the West Contemporary American reviews were mixed. New York Times film critic, Vincent Canby gave it a particularly insulting review, calling Toho's Kong an "Uncle Tom," and commenting, "The Japanese... are all thumbs when it comes to making monster movies like 'King Kong Escapes.' The Toho moviemakers are quite good in building miniature sets, but much of the process photography—matching the miniatures with the full-scale shots—is just bad... the plotting is hopelessly primitive..."
The July 15, 1968 Film Bulletin, however, gave it a more positive review, saying "Grown-ups who like their entertainments on a comic-strip level will find this good fun and the Universal release (made in Japan) has plenty of ballyhoo angles to draw the school-free youngsters in large numbers..."

WATCH THIS TRAILER:

KING KONG ESCAPES (TRAILER)
TOHO  (1967)
3MIN
JAPAN (US RELEASE)

Atragon - Trailer (1963)

Atragon, released in Japan as Undersea Warship (海底軍艦, Kaitei Gunkan?), is a 1963 Toho tokusatsu film based on a series of juvenile adventure novels under the banner Kaitei Gunkan by Shunrō Oshikawa (heavily influenced by Jules Verne) and the illustrated story Kaitei Okoku ("The Undersea Kingdom") by illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki, serialized in a monthly magazine for boys. Komatsuzaki also served as an uncredited visual designer, as he had on The Mysterians (1957) and Battle in Outer Space (1959). visualizing the titular super weapon, among others.

The film was one of several tokusatsu collaborations of director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. It features Jun Tazaki, an authority figure regular to tokusatsu, in his largest genre role as the conflicted Captain Jinguji of the super-submarine "轟天号" Gotengo or Roaring Heaven — the suffix, "号" (go), simply denotes the object as a ship. The supersub was dubbed Atragon in the English-language U.S. version, released in 1965 by American International Pictures. Confusion over the Japanese title of the film by non-Japanese speakers, has led many to assume the original title, "海底軍艦", to be "Undersea Battleship"; unfortunately, the Japanese term for "Battleship", "戦艦" (Senkan), is nowhere to be found in the title. Since "軍艦" (Gunkan) should be correctly rendered as "Warship", therefore, the film should be correctly transliterated as Undersea Warship.


The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense. While on a magazine photo shoot one night, photographers Susumu (Takashima) and Yoshito (Yu Fujiki) witness a car drive into the ocean. While speaking with a detective (Hiroshi Koizumi) the next day they spot Makoto Jinguji (Fujiyama), daughter of deceased Imperial Captain Jinguji, who is also being followed by a suspicious character (Yoshifumi Tajima). Her father's former superior, retired Rear Admiral Kusumi (Ken Uehara), is confronted by a peculiar reporter (Kenji Sahara) who claims contrarily that Captain Jinguji is alive and at work on a new submarine project. The threads meet when a mysterious taxi driver (Akihiko Hirata) almost abducts Makoto and the Admiral, claiming to be an agent of the drowned Mu Empire. Foiled by the ensuing photographers, he flees into the ocean.


During another visit to the detective, a packaged inscribed "MU" arrives for the Admiral. Contained within is a film depicting the thriving undersea continent (with its own geothermal "sun") and demanding that the surface world capitulate, and prevent Jinguji from completing his submarine Atragon. The UN realizes that Atragon may be the world's only defense and requests that Admiral Kosumi appeal to Jinguji. Concurrently, Makoto's stalker is arrested and discovered to be a naval officer under Jinguji. He agrees to lead the party to Jinguji's base but refuses to disclose its location. After several days of travel, the party find themselves on a tropical island inhabited only by Jinguji's forces and enclosing a vast underground dock.


Eventually Captain Jinguji (Tazaki) greets the visitors, though he is cold toward his daughter and infuriated by Kusumi's appeal. He built Atragon, he explains, as a means to restore the Japanese Empire after its defeat in World War II, and insists that it be used for no other purpose. Makoto runs off in anger, later to be consoled by Susumu. Atragon's test run is a success, the heavily-armored submarine even elevating out of the water and flying about the island. When the Captain approaches Makoto that evening they exchange harsh words; again Susumu reproaches the Captain for his selfish refusal to come to the world's aid. After daughter and boyfriend are abducted by the reporter (a disguised Mu agent) and the base crippled by a bomb, Jinguji consents to Kusumi's request and prepares Atragon for war against Mu.

The Mu Empire executes a devastating attack on Tokyo and threatenes to sacrifice its prisoners to the monstrous deity Manda if Atragon appears. Appear the super-submarine does, pursuing a Mu submarine to the Empire's entrance in the ocean depths. Meanwhile, Susumu and the other prisoners escape their cell and kidnap the Empress of Mu (Tetsuko Kobayashi). They are impeded by Manda, but soon rescued by Atragon, which then engages the serpent and freezes it using the "Absolute Zero Cannon". Jinguji offers to hear peace terms, but the proud Empress refuses. The Captain then advances Atragon into the heart of the Empire and freezes its geothermal machinery. This results in a cataclysmic explosion visible even to those on deck of the surfaced submarine. Her empire dying, the Mu Empress abandons the Atragon and, Jinguji and company looking on, swims into the conflagration.

Production and distribution
A final draft of Sekizawa's screenplay was approved on 1963-09-05, merely three months before Toho demanded the film be theatrically released (concurrent with the fruitful Winter holiday season). On this unusually tight schedule, production was divided into one more than the usual two teams (drama and special effects) of tokusatsu production—Unit A for dramatic filming and Units B and C for special effects. Visual Effects Director Tsuburaya and Assistant Visual Effects Director Teruyoshi Nakano began work in October and concluded within four weeks, a third of the usual time granted to effects work. While the effects of Atragon are generally praised, minor stock footage of buildings collapsing from Mothra (1961) were used as inserts during the scene where all-new footage of Tokyo's Marunouchi business district collapses (as well as shots of emergency vehicles responding before the collapse). Two other minor instances of stock footage were used in transitional montages of "surveillance satellites" taken from The Mysterians and Battle in Outer Space; while another montage, establishing shots of the world's major capitals, were taken from Shūe Matsubayashi's The Last War (1961).

Kaitei Gunkan became Toho's top box office earner during its month-long run in Japanese theaters and is a popular feature on TV and at film festivals. In fact, it was so popular that it was re-released in 1968 as the support feature for Honda's Destroy All Monsters. It was also the 1964 Japanese entry at the Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival.

American International Pictures afforded the film a successful U.S. theatrical release in 1965 with minimal changes and quality dubbing by Titra Studios. The new name Atragon, derived from Toho's international title Atoragon, is presumably a contraction of "Atomic dragon", a colorful moniker for the titular juggernaut; however, AIP's dubbed dialogue refers to the Goten-go by the name "Atragon." This shortening from four to three syllables was the choice of AIP, since several European markets released the film as Atoragon (Italy) and Ataragon (France). While Kaitei Gunkan became Toho's first tokusatsu eiga (Visual Effects Film) released on home video in 1982, and though the film is exceptionally popular among western tokusatsu fans, Atragon was not released on home video in the United States until Media-Blasters' DVD in 2005 (although the film was in constant television syndication in the U.S. until the early 1980s). Its enduring popularity in Japan is evident in the number of plastic model kits, garage kits, and adult-targeted toys based on the "Goten-go" continually on the market.

This is the original Japanese version of this trailer
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ATRAGON  (TRAILER)
ISHIRO HONDA - TOHO - (1963)
3 MIN
JAPAN

War of the Gargantuas - Trailer (1966)

War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda versus Gaira (フランケンシュタインの怪獣 サンダ対ガイラ, Furankenshutain no Kaijū: Sanda tai Gaira?), is a 1966 daikaiju eiga (giant monster movie), and a semisequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.
It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers. The Green Gargantua is violent and savage, preying upon human beings; as he lives in sea water, he is given the name Gaira (ガイラ?, from kai, "sea"). The Brown Gargantua had been raised in captivity, and is docile and gentle; because he resides in the Japan Alps, he is called Sanda (サンダ?, from san, "mountain"). The film follows the investigation and military engagements of these creatures until their climatic confrontation in Tokyo.


Several ambiguous references are made to Frankenstein vs. Baragon, but the only direct link between the films is the term "Frankenstein", which appears in the title and is used to refer to the Gargantuas ("Frankensteins") in the original Japanese dialogue. Like the previous film, which starred Nick Adams, War of the Gargantuas features a Hollywood actor (Russ Tamblyn) in the lead as a scientist, Kumi Mizuno as his colleague, and another Japanese scientist (previously Tadao Takashima, here Kenji Sahara). The similar casting has led to speculation that the film was intended to feature recurring characters. Eiji Tsuburaya helmed the special effects crew with monster suit actor Haruo Nakajima portraying the antagonistic Gaira.
The film itself is rather vague as to where (if at all) War of the Gargantuas falls in regard to the continuity of Toho's other kaiju films, or even if it should be considered a canonical part of the Godzilla series. In 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, however, specific reference to the Gargantuas is made, indicating that (in this variation on Godzilla continuity, in any case) War of the Gargantuas is considered by Toho to be a legitimate part of the Godzilla universe.

From within the pitch-blackness of the ocean depths, a powerful green giant lurked. Armed with unquestionable strength and a bloodlust matched by no other, Gaira showed itself to be a murderous creature. Acting like the right hand of the devil, the ape like creature not only defeated the Giant Octopus, but attacked the very ship that the sea beast was just latched upon. Shoving the vessel beneath the waves, Gaira devoured most of the crew members that managed to flee the boat. Like rats from a sinking ship, they paddled their way through the waves. Unfortunately their efforts would be in vain, as the beast swam after them hungrily. But the monster's appetite called for more than just a few humans on the sunken ship, and Gaira made his way to land.

First arriving at an airport, the sea beast made its presence known to the mainland. After eating a helpless woman he snatched up, Gaira finally retreated as the sun pulled itself from the darkened clouds. Mulling over the destruction, the Japanese military went into action shortly after and set a trap for the beast. Waiting for the right time, the JSDF soldiers lured the creature deeper and deeper into the mainland. Electrified with over a million volts of power, the monster seemed to be dying, that is until his brother Sanda intervened.

Apparently the second offspring of the giant Frankenstein monster, Sanda was discovered as a child living in the forest by Doctor Paul Stewart. The creature was taken to a research laboratory where he quickly befriend one of the doctor's aids: Akemi. Though Sanda was affectionate toward his captors, he eventually escaped back to his mountain home, where he grew to enormous proportions. He would not reappear until a while later, when he rushes to the aide of his brother, Gaira who is under attack by the JSDF.


However, Sanda later discovers his brother does not share his compassion toward humanity, after catching him in the act of devouring some people. The brown giant attacks his brother in anger, driving him out of the forest. Gaira retreats straight to Tokyo, traveling through the dark waters of its harbor. Sanda follows his brother, and attempts to convince him to end his bloodthirsty ways. Gaira pays no heed and the two engage in battle destroying and leveling much of the city before dying in the volcanic aftermath.

This is the original Japanese version of this trailer
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WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS  (TRAILER)
ISHIRO HONDA - TOHO -   (1966)
2:20 MIN
JAPAN

Gorath - Trailer (1962)

Gorath, released in Japan as Planet Gorath (妖星ゴラス, Yosei Gorasu?), is a Japanese science fiction tokusatsu film produced by Toho in 1962. The story for Gorath was by Jojiro Okami, a former Japanese Air Force pilot who also gave the original ideas to the films The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, and Dogora.


The film depicts a runaway star on a collision course with Earth in the then-future decade of the 1980s. Unlike most other impact event stories, in which mankind must abandon the Earth (When Worlds Collide) or destroy the threat (Deep Impact, Armageddon), Gorath sees humanity attempt to avert disaster by disengaging Earth from its own orbit around the Sun. While the American When Worlds Collide can be seen as an influence on the story of Gorath, Daiei's 1956 film, Warning from Space, in which a planet is on a collision course with Earth, may have been a more direct inspiration.
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GORATH (TRAILER)
TOHO  (1962)
2 MIN
JAPAN