RODAN (1956) x MOTHRA (1961): Celebrating Two Essential Toho Kaiju

RODAN (1956) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
MOTHRA (1961) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)

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Rodan (1956) and Mothra (1961) stand among the most trendsetting films in the history of Japanese cinema, introducing two iconic monsters whose legacies have endured for decades. Produced by Toho, both films expanded upon the success of Godzilla (1954), demonstrating that giant monsters could represent far more than simple destructive forces. Each creature possessed its own distinct identity, symbolism, and mythology, helping create a growing kaiju universe, a rich collection of memorable characters rather a single monster.

GODZILLA REBORN: GOJIRA (1954) / SHIN GODZILLA (2016) ROUND TABLE!!!

GOJIRA (aka GODZILLA) (1954) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956) d. Ishiro Honda/Terry Morse (Japan/USA)
SHIN GODZILLA (2016) d. Hideaki Anno (Japan)

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It’s impossible to approach this episode’s subject with any objectivity, so I’m not even going to try. My childhood infatuation with this Tokyo-stomping behemoth first piqued an interest in monster movies, from which my passion for horror cinema followed. Granted, my gateway encounter was a far cry from the dark and imposing figure introduced to Japanese audiences in 1954 – by the time I met Godzilla in the mid-’70s, he had evolved into a rambunctious, bellowing, drop-kicking superhero, defending humankind from the evils of pollution, alien interlopers and the like.

GODZILLA VS. EVERYBODY!!! (ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL)

GHIDORAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (1974) d. Jun Fukuda (Japan)
GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE (1989) d. Kazuki Ōmori (Japan)
GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA (1994) d. Kensho Yamashita (Japan)
GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004) d. Ryuhei Kitamura (Japan)

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Ever since the original Gojira debuted in Japan in 1954, followed by 1956’s even more successful international cut, Godzilla King of the Monsters, the giant radioactive lizard has been a going concern for 70 years. And one thing that director Ishiro Honda, FX wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, and screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa quickly discovered was that as enjoyable as the Big G was on his own, he was even more entertaining when tangling with another oversized mutant, creature, or Interstellar menace.

HALF HUMAN (1958) movie review

Half Human (1958) d. Kenneth G. Crane / Ishiro Honda (USA/Japan)

Following the international distribution template set by Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Toho sold off the rights to their 1955 abominable snowman film Ju jin yuki otoko (which also starred Gojira’s Akira Takarada and Momoko Kochi) to producer Robert B. Homel. Homel took it upon himself to lop out nearly 50 minutes of footage and insert a 20-minute framing story featuring paleontologist John Carradine in his office booming out endless pages of exposition to fellow incredulously dull and dully incredulous scientists Russell Thorson, Morris Ankrum, and Robert Karnes.

GOJIRA (1954) / GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956) DVD Review

Gojira (1954) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) d. Ishiro Honda / Terry O. Morse (Japan/USA)

It’s nearly impossible to approach the subject of Godzilla with any objectivity, so I’m not even going to try. After all, it was my love for this fire-breathing, Tokyo-stomping behemoth from Monster Island that first piqued my interest in monster movies, from which my love for horror films consequently followed, ultimately leading me to my current state of being dutifully strapped to my television set every spare minute to take in the latest fright flick, then rushing to the computer to discuss and critique. It’s to the Big G that we must raise our glasses and shake our fists, because it all started there. 60 years, 28 official Toho films, and two U.S. remakes later, he still stands head and shoulders above the rest.

KING KONG VS GODZILLA (1962) movie review

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) d. Ishiro Honda (Japan)

After cranking out an array of standalone creature features (Rodan, Mothra, Varan the Unbelievable), Toho revived their reigning daikaiju (giant monster) to do battle against America’s most popular hairy behemoth, marking the first time either had ever been seen in color or widescreen “Tohoscope.” (Kong creator Willis O’Brien’s original idea was to pit the great ape against an opponent devised by Dr. Frankenstein, but Godzilla’s marquee value proved too tempting to pass up.)

GORATH (1962) movie review

Gorath (aka Calamity Star Gorath) (1962) d. Honda, Ishiro (Japan)

When a spaceship on an exploratory mission to Saturn encounters a lethal runaway Red Dwarf star on a collision course with Earth, humanity’s scientists scramble to find a solution. When it is determined that the titular celestial freight train's mass is over 6000 times that our own, the decision is made to shift the Earth’s orbit out of Gorath’s path. Great! (pause) Now, how do we do that?

HENGE (2012) review

Henge (2012) (1st viewing) d. Ohata, Hajime (Japan)

The best way to describe this flick is to imagine David Cronenberg, Shinya Tsukamoto and Ishiro Honda’s three-way cinematic love-child. In a little less than an hour’s running time, we witness a couple (Kazunari Aizawa, Aki Morita) attempting to cope with the husband’s increasingly violent and frequent seizures. Medical science is baffled, especially when he starts speaking in prehistoric, mystical tongues and segments of his body begin inexplicably mutating. I could have done without the patently false CGI blood splatter, but that’s a mild complaint against this brilliantly surreal taste of vibrant body horror whose final reel payoff will Blow. Your. Mind.