Mothra vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla
Directed by	Ishirō Honda
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka, Sanezumi Fujimoto
Written by	Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring	Akira Takarada Yuriko Hoshi Hiroshi Koizumi Yu Fujiki Emi Itō Yumi Itō Yoshifumi Tajima Kenji Sahara Jun Tazaki Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla
Music by	Akira Ifukube
Cinematography	Hajime Koizumi
Distributed by	Toho AIP (USA)
Release date(s)	April 29, 1964 (1964-04-29)
Running time	88 min. 36 sec.
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ, Mosura tai Gojira^?) (also known as Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla vs. the Thing) is a 1964 science fiction kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda. It was the fourth film to be released in the Godzilla series, produced by Toho Company Ltd. It is the second film to feature Mothra.

Plot

News reporter Ichiro Sakai and photographer Junko Nakanishi take pictures of the wreckage caused by a typhoon, uncovering a large scale in the debris. Later that day a giant egg is discovered on the shore. The local villagers salvage it, and scientists come to study the egg.

While Sakai and Junko try to ask Professor Miura, one of the scientists, questions about the egg, an entrepreneur of Happy Enterprises named Kumayama scurries the scientists off and explains that he bought the egg from the local villagers. Instead of letting scientists study the egg, Kumayama wants to make it into a large tourist attraction. Sakai, Junko, and Professor Miura are disgusted and believe that Kumayama has no right to keep the egg.

While the three are discussing the egg at a hotel, they discover Kumayama checking in. Sakai wonders if somebody else may be working with Kumayama and investigates the matter. Kumayama meets with Jiro Torahata, the head of Happy Enterprises. As the two are discussing the billion-dollar tourist attraction the egg represents, two tiny twin girls known as the Shobijin, interrupt them. The Shobijin explain that they are from Infant Island and that the egg belongs to their god Mothra, who lives there. Torahata and Kumayama ignore the girls' pleas and try to capture them. The Shobijin escape the room and meet with Sakai, Junko, and Professor Miura outside the hotel. The girls beg them to bring the egg back too and the three promise to try as hard as they can to bring the egg back to Infant Island. The girls explain that if the egg is not returned, a larva will hatch and will cause destruction to its surroundings as it searches for food. When confronted by Sakai, Junko, and Miura, Kumayama offers to buy the Shobijin, disgusting Junko, Miura, and Sakai.

The Shobijin leave even though they could not get the egg back and thank Sakai, Junko, and Miura for their kindness. Sakai tries to write editorials but they fail due to lack of public interest. When the scale is found to be radioactive, the three test for radioactivity in an industrial area where it was found. The mutant dinosaur Godzilla suddenly emerges out of Kurada Beach, where he had been blown ashore by the hurricane and buried under mud, and begins to attack Nagoya.

The editor of Sakai's newspaper believes that the military cannot do anything against Godzilla and discusses it with Sakai and Junko. Jiro, another reporter who loves to eat eggs, walks in and suggests that Mothra might be able to defeat Godzilla. Sakai and Junko are skeptical that the Shobijin would agree because atomic testing had destroyed most of their island, and they had failed to return the egg to them.

The two go to Infant Island anyway with Professor Miura. They are captured by the local villagers and are brought to the tribe’s chief. The three ask for assistance but, as expected, are refused because of the atomic testing and Japan's failure to return the egg.

The Shobijin are heard singing and everyone walks towards them. Sakai, Junko, and Miura ask the Shobijin for Mothra's assistance but they are also turned down. Junko then pleads to all the villagers that not everyone from Japan should be accused for what happened to their island. Godzilla is killing everyone and refusing their country assistance is wrong. Sakai then adds that "we're all human" and that everyone is connected and must help each other. Mothra's screech is soon heard and the Shobijin ask everyone to follow them. They convince Mothra to help Japan and the people that live in it, but the monstrous insect is old and weak. Even if Mothra defeats Godzilla, she will die.

The next day, Kumayama barges into Torahata's room and demands Torahata give him his money back that Torahata had recently swindled from Kumayama. They fight and eventually, Torahata is defeated by being punched in the mouth, and is bleeding. Kumayama crawls into Torahata's money cabinet and begins to steal the money from it. Torahata wakes up and sees Godzilla approaching the hotel. He then grabs a gun and shoots Kumayama in the head, killing him. Torahata is killed while escaping with his money when Godzilla destroys the hotel.

Godzilla walks towards the egg and tries to destroy it until Mothra shows up. The two fight a tough battle where Mothra seems to have the upper hand. While on the ground, Godzilla fires his atomic breath into Mothra's face and mortally injures her. Mothra dies with her wing resting on top of her egg while Godzilla walks away. The Shobijin then explain to Sakai, Junko, and Miura that the egg can be hatched today and begin to sing.

Meanwhile, the military tries to fight Godzilla by electrocuting him with "artificial lighting" but failed. Godzilla then melts the tanks with his atomic breath. The Shobijin continue singing and Mothra's egg finally hatches with not one, but two Mothra larvae. The larvae follow Godzilla to Iwa Island and use their silk spray on Godzilla to trap him, sending him into the sea. The Mothra larvae and the Shobijin celebrate and return to Infant Island.

English version

American International Pictures originally released the film in the United States in September 1964, and it opened in New York City on November 25, 1964, retitled Godzilla vs. the Thing. Mothra's appearance was kept out of promotional material, which hinted that Godzilla's opponent would be a hideous tentacled creature and referred to it only as "The Thing". New York Times film critic Eugene Archer reacted to the film and its title: "Well, there are three things, not counting the movie. One has wings and looks like a big bee. The other two are hatched from the first Thing's egg, after quite a bit of worshipful kootch dancing from a pair of foot-tall native goddesses...".

In video releases of the 1980s, the film was titled simply Godzilla vs. Mothra. However, Mothra is still repeatedly called "The Thing" in the film, confusing many film-goers who thought "The Thing" and "Mothra" were two separate monsters.

This is the first Showa Godzilla film to be nearly completely intact for American release (a very few small scenes were edited out). The first three Godzilla films were heavily edited.

Production

Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla) takes a break during filming.

• The upper lip on the Godzilla suit in this film has a slight wobble. This was originally an accident; in the filming of a scene where Godzilla smashes into the Nagoya Castle, the actor in the suit, Haruo Nakajima, fell and the suit's head slammed into the castle, loosening the teeth. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya liked this so much that he wanted to keep the suit like that for a while.

• During Godzilla's initial assault on Iwa Island, composer Akira Ifukube originally did not want to use music for the sequence. However, Ishiro Honda disagreed and added music during post-production without the composer's knowledge. When Ifukube first saw the sequence in the finished film at its premiere, he turned to Honda and gave him a dirty look. It is the only recorded disagreement they have ever had in their professional careers.

• The claws on Godzilla's hands and feet were made out of FRP for the first time in this film.

• Another highlight of the film is the "Frontier Missile" sequence, where Godzilla was being attacked on a beach by American battle cruisers. This scene was actually filmed exclusively for American International Pictures and included only in the American version.^[1] Part of the scene was featured briefly in the original Japanese trailer.

Titles

• Mothra vs. Godzilla - Toho's official English title. Classic Media used this title for their DVD release.

• Godzilla vs. the Thing - Original American title.

• Godzilla vs. Mothra - American TV and home video title.

• Godzilla Against Mothra - Japanese title translated.

Box office

The film sold approximately 3,510,000 tickets in Japan, and had second-highest attendance of any Godzilla film in history.

Reception

Godzilla vs Mothra received generally favorable reviews by critics. The film's approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is currently at 89% based on nine reviews.

DVD release

Classic Media

• Released: November 7, 2006

References

1. ^ August Ragone. Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters. Chronicle Books. 2007. Pg. 80

External links

• Godzilla on the web(Japan)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla at the Internet Movie Database
• Mothra vs. Godzilla at AllRovi
• Mothra vs. Godzilla at Rotten Tomatoes
• Stomp Tokyo Review
• "モスラ対ゴジラ (Mosura tai Gojira)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1964/cn001100.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-17.