Destroy All Monsters

Godzilla Films
← Son of Godzilla	Destroy All Monsters	All Monsters Attack →

Destroy All Monsters Alternate titles Monster Total Advancement (1968) See alternate titles Directed by Ishiro Honda Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka Written by Ishiro Honda, Kaoru Mabuchi Music by Akira Ifukube Special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa Distributor TohoJP American International PicturesUS Rating GUS, 12UK, X (U.S. cut)UK Budget ¥200 million Running time 89 minutesJP (1 hour, 29 minutes) 88 minutesUS (1 hour, 28 minutes) 74 minutesTCF (1 hour, 14 minutes) Aspect ratio 2.35:1 Rate this film! 4.12 (95 votes)

“	The mysterious Kilaaks appear! Shaking the universe, the great battle of 11 monsters! (謎のキラアク星人出現！宇宙をゆるがす１１大怪獣の大激闘！)	„
	— Japanese tagline

“	The horror of every monster known to man ravaging the Earth!	„
	— International tagline

“	The MONSTERS are in REVOLT...and The World is on the brink of DESTRUCTION! "DESTROY ALL MONSTERS"...The Battle-Cry that could Save the World!	„
	— American taglines

Destroy All Monsters (怪獣総進撃,   Kaijū Sōshingeki, lit. "Monster Total Advancement") is a 1968 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda and written by Honda with Kaoru Mabuchi, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa. Produced by Toho, it is the ninth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. It stars Akira Kubo, Yukiko Kobayashi, Kyoko Ai, Jun Tazaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, and Kenji Sahara. The film was released to Japanese theaters on August 1, 1968. American International Pictures released an edited English-dubbed version of the film to American theaters on May 28, 1969.

Originally intended to be the last Godzilla film, Destroy All Monsters brings together nearly all the kaiju in Toho's library, including some who had never appeared in the series before, such as Manda, Varan, Gorosaurus, and Baragon. At the end of the 20th century, all of Earth's monsters are contained on Monsterland: a facility in the Ogasawara Islands where they can live in peace without threatening humanity's safety. However, alien invaders known as the Kilaaks seize control of the island and its monsters, unleashing them in a destructive campaign around the world. Katsuo Yamabe and the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 find themselves on the front lines of the battle against the Kilaaks as they struggle to discover and disable the source of the aliens' mind control. But even when the Earth monsters are freed from the aliens' control, they must engage in a final confrontation with King Ghidorah, who is now also under the control of the Kilaaks.

Though the Godzilla series would ultimately continue uninterrupted, Destroy All Monsters was the last entry produced before the start of the Toho Champion Festival, which served as the vehicle through which the next six entries in the series would be released theatrically until 1975, beginning with All Monsters Attack in 1969.

Plot

At the end of the 20th century, the United Nations Science Committee has captured and contained all of Earth's monsters in a region dubbed "Monsterland" on one of the islands located in the Ogasawara chain. The island is monitored from a special underground control center staffed by scientists who ensure the monsters stay secure and also study them. One day, a cloud of knockout gas suddenly appears over the island, knocking the monsters and the human researchers all unconscious. Soon after, the monsters begin to appear in major cities all across the globe: Godzilla attacks New York, Rodan appears in Moscow, Mothra terrorizes Beijing, Manda assaults London, and Gorosaurus destroys Paris. With communications with Monsterland mysteriously severed, the UNSC sends Katsuo Yamabe and the crew of the Moonlight SY-3 to end their patrol on the Moon and investigate the island. They find the island badly damaged and all of the monsters gone. Yamabe and his men enter the research base under the island and find the staff all alive, but acting strangely. Lead researcher Dr. Otani and Yamabe's sister Kyoko bring the SY-3 crew further into the base and introduce them to a group of mysterious women wearing silver robes. The leader reveals that she represents the Kilaaks, an advanced race of aliens that have come to stake their claim on Earth, and that they have used mind control to turn all of the Monsterland staff as well as the island's resident monsters into their servants. The Kilaak Queen demands that the human race surrender to her race immediately, or else they will be forced to annihilate human civilization. Yamabe and his men refuse and open fire on the Kilaaks, but find they are defended by a force field. The Kilaaks escape and order their mind-controlled slaves to kill Yamabe and his men. The SY-3 crew fights its way through the Kilaaks' servants and manages to escape the island with Dr. Otani. Otani is brought to a UNSC base and interrogated by Yamabe and Dr. Yoshida, but refuses to reveal any details about the Kilaaks' plans. While Yamabe and Yoshida are talking in another room, Otani commits suicide by jumping out of a nearby window. Kyoko and a group of Kilaak-controlled armed men arrive to recover Otani's body, but are attacked by the UNSC's special police force and retreat. The UNSC conducts an autopsy on Otani, and discover a strange device implanted in his head. They quickly determine that this must be how the Kilaaks are controlling Otani and the others.

With the world's attention drawn away from Japan, the Kilaaks establish an underground base near Mount Fuji and direct their next attack at Tokyo. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Manda all attack Japan's capital at the same time, catching its defenses completely off guard and annihilating the city with little opposition. While Tokyo is destroyed, the UNSC manages to capture Kyoko (who has come to them personally to give them and the world another ultimatum from the Kilaaks) and Yamabe frees her from the Kilaaks' mind control. Unfortunately, Kyoko has no memory of the Kilaaks' plans and cannot provide the UNSC with any useful information. Elsewhere in Japan, an old man discovers a bizarre device inside a rock found near a village. The UNSC analyzes the device and learns it is used to broadcast the Kilaaks' mind control waves over a certain area. Many other such devices are found all around the world, but the UNSC learns the Kilaaks have begun broadcasting their signals directly from a base under the lunar surface instead. Yamabe and his crew board the Moonlight SY-3 and embark on a desperate mission to the Moon while the JSDF battles several of the Kilaaks' monster slaves near Mt. Fuji. The SY-3 arrives on the Moon and its crew infiltrates the aliens' hidden base. After a fierce gunfight, the SY-3 crew destroys the Kilaaks' mind control device and damages the base's environmental controls, forcing the Kilaaks to revert to their true forms, metallic slug-like creatures. This reveals the invaders' weakness: low temperatures. The Kilaaks thrive in artificially high temperatures, but will revert to their true forms if exposed to low temperatures.

With the Earth monsters all freed from the Kilaaks' mind control and now controlled by the humans, the UNSC directs them all to the Kilaaks' base at Mt. Fuji, intending to put an end to their invasion once and for all. The 10 Earth monsters all arrive, led by Godzilla. As they approach, the Kilaaks unleash their trump card: King Ghidorah. The triple-headed Destroyer of Worlds confidently lands amidst the Earth monsters and begins his attack. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, Kumonga, and Gorosaurus lead the counterattack while Minilla, Manda, Varan, and Baragon look on. King Ghidorah breathes out his gravity beams at the monsters, with one of them sending both Rodan leaping into the air and Mothra sprawling. Anguirus bites down on one of King Ghidorah's necks, but the space monster then takes flight, with Anguirus still hanging on with all his might. King Ghidorah finally bites Anguirus on the neck with one of his free heads, sending him plummeting to the ground. Anguirus lands in a ditch, and King Ghidorah promptly lands on top of him and stomps him into the dirt. King Ghidorah flies over to Godzilla and his other four attackers, while Anguirus shakes the dirt off his back and re-enters the battle. The Earth monsters struggle against King Ghidorah until Gorosaurus quietly goes behind King Ghidorah and then delivers a devastating kangaroo kick to his back from behind, causing him to fall to the ground, briefly stunned. Godzilla and Anguirus then seize the opportunity and, respectively, begin brutally stomping on King Ghidorah's left neck, causing him to cough up blood, and biting down hard into his right neck until it, too, bleeds. When only the center of King Ghidorah's three heads is left alive, it is subsequently suffocated by one of Minilla's radioactive smoke rings. Mothra and Kumonga then cover King Ghidorah's dead body in silk and webbing, respectively. Refusing to admit defeat, however, the Kilaaks unleash a "burning monster" they call the Fire Dragon, which terrorizes the monsters before destroying the humans' control devices on Monsterland. Godzilla proceeds to the Kilaaks' base and blasts it repeatedly with his atomic breath, only for the base's shield to resist it. Godzilla then kicks through the base's shield with his foot and personally destroys the base, triggering a chain reaction of explosions that consumes the entire base and opens a fissure in the ground under King Ghidorah's carcass, which falls into it and also explodes. The Moonlight SY-3 gives chase to the Fire Dragon and successfully shoots it down, revealing it as a flaming Kilaak flying saucer. Earth is saved at last, and the alien invaders are no more. The monsters are all returned to Monsterland to live out their days in peace. Some time later, Yamabe and Kyoko accompany Dr. Yoshida in a helicopter which flies over the island. From the helicopter, they observe the monsters living peacefully on the island, including Godzilla and his son Minilla, who stare contently at the chopper and roar at it as it flies off.

Staff

Main article: Destroy All Monsters/Credits.

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

• Directed by   Ishiro Honda
• Written by   Ishiro Honda, Kaoru Mabuchi
• Executive producer   Tomoyuki Tanaka
• Music by   Akira Ifukube
• Cinematography by   Taiichi Kankura
• Edited by   Ryohei Fujii
• Production design by   Takeo Kita
• First assistant director   Seiji Tani
• Director of special effects   Sadamasa Arikawa
• Special effects supervisor   Eiji Tsuburaya (ceremonial title)
• First assistant director of special effects   Teruyoshi Nakano

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right. Akira Kubo   as   Moonlight SY-3 Captain Katsuo Yamabe Yukiko Kobayashi   as   Kyoko Manabe, Monsterland personnel Kyoko Ai   as   Kilaak Queen Jun Tazaki   as   Dr. Yoshida Yoshio Tsuchiya   as   Dr. Otani, Monsterland scientist Kenji Sahara   as   Nishikawa, Moon Base commander Kazuo Suzuki   as   Ogasawara Monsterland control center engineer Toru Ibuki   as   Tetsuo Ise, Monsterland engineer Minoru Ito   as   Minoru Kudo, Monsterland engineer Susumu Kurobe   as   Shin Kuroiwa, Monsterland engineer Hisaya Ito   as   Major Tada Yoshibumi Tajima   as   Security Commander Sugiyama Saburo Iketani   as   Toshio Fukuzawa, announcer Henry Okawa   as   UNSC engineer Andrew Hughes   as   Dr. Stevenson Nadao Kirino, Naoya Kusakawa   as   International Police detectives Wataru Omae   as   Arima, Moonlight SY-3 crew member Chotaro Togin   as   Okada, Moonlight SY-3 crew member Yasuhiko Saijyo   as   Fujita, Moonlight SY-3 crew member Seishiro Kuno   as   Tani, Moonlight SY-3 crew member Ken Echigo   as   Yoshikawa, Moonlight SY-3 crew member Ikio Sawamura   as   Elderly farmer in the village Yutaka Sada   as   Village police officer Kenichiro Maruyama   as   Moon Base engineer Yutaka Oka   as   Newspaper reporter Hideyo Shibuya   as   Newspaper reporter Yoshio Katsube   as   United Nations Scientific Committee engineer Kamayuki Tsubono   as   International Police detective Tadashi Okabe   as   TTV announcer Haruya Sakamoto, Rinsaku Ogata   as   Joint Defense Command officers Yukihiko Gondo   as   Command vehicle soldier Yoshiko Miyata, Kyoko Mori, Ari Sagawa, Rei Maki, Atsuko Takahashi   as   Kilaaks Haruo Nakajima   as   Godzilla / Joint Defense Command officer Hiroshi Sekita   as   Anguirus / Gorosaurus / Hospital doctor Teruo Aragaki   as   Rodan Susumu Utsumi   as   King Ghidorah Masao Fukazawa   as   Minilla (as "Little Man Machan") Tadaaki Watanabe   as   Anguirus (uncredited)

International English dub Actor's name on the left, character played on the right. Burr Middleton   as   Captain Katsuo Yamabe Bud Widom   as   Dr. Yoshida Carole Wyand   as   Kyoko Manabe / Kilaak Queen Robert Dunham   as   Okada / Security Commander Sugiyama Titan Productions English dub Hal Linden   as   Captain Katsuo Yamabe Bret Morrison   as   Dr. Yoshida Paulette Rubinstein   as   Kyoko Manabe Bernard Grant   as   Dr. Otani Lucy Martin   as   Kilaak Queen Kenneth Harvey   as   Major Tada Jack Curtis   as   Arima / UNSC Technician / Newscaster Larry Robinson   as   Moonlight SY-3 astronaut Norman Rose   as   Narrator Italian dub Dario Penne   as   Captain Katsuo Yamabe Maria Grazia Spina   as   Kyoko Manabe Carlo Hintermann   as   Dr. Yoshida Renato Cominetti   as   Dr. Otani Franco Odoardi   as   Major Tada Silvio Noto   as   Security Commander Sugiyama Giuseppe Fortis   as   Dr. Stevenson Vittorio Di Prima   as   Okada Alfredo Rizzo   as   Elderly farmer in the village Mario Erpichini   as   Radio announcer Rino Bolognesi   as   Narrator

Appearances

Monsters Godzilla (SoshingekiGoji) Minilla Rodan Mothra Anguirus Kumonga Manda Varan Gorosaurus Baragon King Ghidorah Kamacuras (stock footage, erroneous)

Weapons, vehicles, and races Kilaaks Hughes I500 UNSC Moon Base Moonlight SY-3 Kilaak UFO Half Track V2 Rockets City Defense Missile System Multipurpose Tank Type M3A1 Support Helicopter SAR-1 Exploration Car Mini-Half Track V2 Rockets Kilaak Base Monster Control Device GPU-4 Satellite Radiation Truck

Gallery

Main article: Destroy All Monsters/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Destroy All Monsters/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

1972 Godzilla: The Grand Blitz Operation title card

• Monster Total Advancement (literal Japanese title)
  • Monster Attack March (alternate translation; used on the Madman DVD)
  • Charge of the Monsters (alternate translation)
  • Attack of the Marching Monsters (alternate translation)
  • Marching Monster Attack (alternate translation)
• Godzilla: The Grand Blitz Operation (ゴジラ電撃大作戦,   Gojira Dengeki Daisakusen, Japanese re-release title)
• Assemble All Monsters! (オール怪獣集合せよ！,   Ōru Kaijū Shūgōseyo!, Japanese 8mm title)
• Monster Olympics (怪獣オリンピック,   Kaijū Orinpikku, Japanese 8mm title)
• Operation Monsterland (early English title)
• The Invaders Attack (Les envahisseurs attaquent; France, French Belgium)
• The Monsters Are Attacking (De monsters vallen aan; Dutch Belgium)
• Frankenstein and the Monsters from Space (Frankenstein und die Monster aus dem All; West Germany)
• Battle of All Monsters (Kampf aller Monster; German 8mm title)
• The Heirs of King Kong (Gli eredi di King Kong; Italy)
• Extraterrestrial Invasion (Invasión Extraterrestre; Spain)
• The Monsters Are Threatening the World (Hirviöt uhkaavat maailmaa; Finland)
• Starfield Monsters (Feza Canavarları; Turkey)
• End of Monsters (Canavarların Sonu; Turkey)
• Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (Australia)
• The Awakening of the Monsters (O Despertar dos Monstros; Brazil)
• The Monsters Invade Earth (Los monstruos invaden la tierra; Mexico)
• The War of the Monsters (La guerra de los monstruos; Mexican video title)
• Frankenstein's Monsters Threaten the Earth (Monsters van Frankenstein bedreigen de Aarde; Netherlands)
• All Monsters Must Be Destroyed (Alla monster skall förstöras; Sweden)
• Kill the Monsters (ΕΞΟΝΤΩΣΤΕ ΤΑ ΤΕΡΑΤΑ; Greece)
• Monsters Invade the World (الوحوش تغزو العالم; Egypt)

Theatrical releases

View all posters for the film here.

• Japan - August 1, 1968   [view poster]; December 17, 1972   [view poster]
• Thailand - 1968
• United States - May 28, 1969  [view poster]
• Canada - August 29, 1969
• United Kingdom - December 1969
• Australia - October 16, 1969
• Italy - April 1969; 1977   [view poster]
• Brazil - March 1970
• Belgium - 1970   [view poster]
• Mexico - August 6, 1970
• France - October 1, 1970   [view poster]
• West Germany - 1971   [view poster]
• Turkey - 1971  [view poster]
• Egypt - 1971   [view poster]
• Finland - 1972   [view poster]
• Turkey - 1972   [view poster]
• Netherlands - 1972
• Iran - 1977
• Spain - July 4, 1978   [view poster]

Foreign releases

U.S. release

U.S. Destroy All Monsters poster

Sometime after Destroy All Monsters was released in Japan, Toho commissioned Frontier Enterprises to produce an English-dubbed version. This international version of the film was subsequently released in some foreign territories, although it would go unreleased in the U.S. until 1996, when the Sci-Fi Channel would license Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. Hedorah for TV broadcast.

American International Pictures released Destroy All Monsters theatrically in North America on May 28, 1969. A second English-language version was handled by Titan Productions. There were some minor alterations that were done to prepare the film for its U.S. release:

• AIP moved the credits to the end of the film. Instead of the futuristic design employed in the Japanese and international versions, AIP's credits play out in white text against a black background. The original Akira Ifukube cue was retained, however.
• Deleted: After the destruction of Tokyo, an establishing shot of a Japanese sign reading "Integrated Defense Headquarters".
• Deleted: A shot of Minilla frenzying amid the battle with King Ghidorah.
• Deleted: Another shot of Minilla covering his eyes, ducking and looking away after King Ghidorah drops Anguirus onto the ground.

Although AIP chose to produce its own English version instead of using Toho's existing international version, both dubbed versions share dialogue that is notably different from the Japanese version. Significantly, the opening narration in both dubs sets the film in 1999, while the same narration in the Japanese version sets it at "the end of the 20th century." Titan's script may have been based on the Frontier dub.

AIP's version of the film remained in television syndication through the early 1980s. This film, however, would be the last Showa Godzilla film released on home video in the United States. Toho's international version would finally be released on VHS in 1998 and DVD in 1999 (and again on DVD in 2004, this time with different cover art and packaged together with the film's Japanese soundtrack album on CD in commemoration of Godzilla's 50th anniversary) by ADV Films. The film's Japanese soundtrack album was also released separately on CD in 2003 by ADV Music with the same cover art as the 2004 DVD release. In 2011, Media Blasters, under its imprint Tokyo Shock, released Destroy All Monsters on DVD and Blu-ray with both English dubs and the Japanese language track, but Toho forced the company to pull them from circulation after about one month due to rights issues pertaining to the special features. Media Blasters, again under the Tokyo Shock imprint, re-released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014 without the Titan dub or any of the special features. The same year, it packaged the same DVD with its standard Godzilla vs. Megalon DVD in a 2-in-1 box set called Godzilla Stomp Box. It also re-released the film's Japanese soundtrack album on CD in both 2011 and 2014, both times with the same cover art as its DVD and Blu-ray releases and alongside said releases.

United Kingdom release

UK Killers Three / Destroy All Monsters poster

Warner-Pathe brought AIP's version of Destroy All Monsters to UK theaters in 1969 as a double feature with Killers Three. It received an X rating from the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), preventing children under 16 from seeing it. The international version of the film was first released in the UK in 1992 when PolyGram Video released it on VHS with Invasion of Astro-Monster and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. This time, the BBFC assigned it a PG rating. 4 Front Video re-released the film on VHS in 1998. Sony released the Japanese version of the film on Blu-ray in 2019 as part of The Criterion Collection's Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 box set, with the international English dub available as a secondary audio option. The BBFC re-rated these versions 12 for "moderate injury detail."

Video releases

ADV Films DVD (1999/2004)

• Region: 1
• Discs: 1
• Audio: English (2.0 Mono, international dub)
• Subtitles: None
• Special features: None
• Notes: The 2004 release is packaged with the film's soundtrack album on CD and was released in celebration of Godzilla's 50th anniversary. Both releases are out of print.

Siren Visual Entertainment DVD (2003)

• Region: 4
• Discs: 1
• Audio: English (2.0 Mono, Titan dub)
• Subtitles: None
• Special features: None
• Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Transfer derived from a 16mm print. Packaged with Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (same disc). Out of print.

Toho DVD (2003)

• Region: 2
• Discs: 1
• Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround)
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Special features: Audio commentary by Seiji Tani, three 8mm films (two for Destroy All Monsters, one for Atragon) and narrated storybooks based on them, theatrical trailer

Madman DVD (2006)

• Region: 4
• Discs: 1
• Audio: Japanese, English (2.0 Mono, international dub)
• Subtitles: English
• Special features: Theatrical trailer, trivia, poster gallery, Madman-produced trailers

Tokyo Shock DVD/Blu-ray (2011)

• Region: 1
• Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono, international and Titan dubs)
• Subtitles: English
• Special features: Audio commentary by Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle, galleries of posters, production stills, and behind-the-scenes images, Japanese, French, and American trailers, Super 8 digest version of the film (8 minutes)
• Notes: All three versions of the film use the same Japanese video track. A dispute between Toho and Media Blasters over the special features resulted in these releases being pulled from circulation. Out of print.

Tokyo Shock DVD/Blu-ray (2014)

• Region: 1
• Discs: 1
• Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono, international dub)
• Subtitles: English
• Special features: None
• Notes: Both versions of the film use the same Japanese video track. The Titan dub and the special features were not on these releases. Out of print.

The Criterion Collection Blu-ray (2019) [Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975]

• Region: A/1 or B/2
• Discs: 8
• Audio: Japanese, English (international dub)
• Subtitles: English
• Special features: All bonus features on Criterion's Godzilla Blu-ray, 1990 Ishiro Honda interview by Yoshimitsu Banno, interview with director Alex Cox, interviews with actors Bin Furuya and Tsugutoshi Komada, 2011 interview with critic Tadao Sato, Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection, trailers, an illustrated hardcover book with an essay by Steve Ryfle and liner notes on each film by Ed Godziszewski
• Notes: Uses a new English subtitle translation. Sony distributed a Region B/2 version of the set in the United Kingdom.

Toho 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray (November 22, 2023)

• Region: N/A (4K Ultra HD) or A (Blu-ray)
• Discs: 1
• Audio: Japanese (1.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Special features: Audio commentary by Seiji Tani; unused tokusatsu footage; 8mm behind-the-scenes footage; "Godzilla's Defeat by Yukiko Kobayashi" / "Destroy All Monsters: The Art World of Yasuyuki Inoue", "Giant Dragon Manda", "Kaiju Olympics", and " All Monsters Gather!" narrated Sonorama storybooks; Japanese trailer, textless trailer, export trailer, Champion Festival trailer; still gallery
• Notes: Includes the Toho Champion Festival version. The 4K restoration of the film presented on these discs first aired on Japanese satellite TV in 2021.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese 1968 trailer Japanese 1972 Toho Champion Festival trailer International trailer Textless trailer U.S. trailer U.S. TV trailer U.S. TV spot U.S. radio spots 1996 Sci-Fi Channel promo Ad for A.D. Vision's VHS release John Landis' commentary on the U.S. trailer West German Frankenstein und die Monster aus dem All trailer French The Invaders Attack trailer

Miscellaneous

AIP end credits All footage removed from the U.S. theatrical version Title card from the 1972 Toho Champion Festival version Godzilla vs. Manda deleted scene Promotional photo shoot

Trivia

Destroy All Monsters Toho Champion Festival pamphlet

• Destroy All Monsters was released as a double feature with a re-release of 1963's Atragon.
• Destroy All Monsters was re-released at the Winter Toho Champion Festival on December 17, 1972, edited down to 74 minutes and retitled Godzilla: The Grand Blitz Operation (ゴジラ電撃大作戦,   Gojira Dengeki Daisakusen), alongside the kaiju film Daigoro vs. Goliath and an early animated film from Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata called Panda! Go Panda!.
• This film's monster roster is the largest of any Showa-era Godzilla film, and the second-largest of any Godzilla movie period, surpassed only by Godzilla Final Wars.
  • At various points of pre-production, the monsters Ebirah, Maguma, Sanda, and Gaira were also considered for inclusion.
• Kamacuras makes a brief but unintentional appearance in the film; in a piece of stock footage from Son of Godzilla meant to show Kumonga joining the assembly of kaiju at Mt. Fuji, a dead and webbed-up Kamacuras can be glimpsed in the bottom-left corner.
• The 1998-2000 animated TV series Godzilla: The Series featured a three-episode story arc called "Monster Wars" which paid tribute to Destroy All Monsters. Aliens known as the Leviathan Aliens take control of the monsters of Earth, sending them to attack six of the planet's major cities (identical to those six featured in Destroy All Monsters except for Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong being substituted for New York and Beijing, respectively). The aliens are defeated and their base of operations, which they called Site Omega, is eventually turned into Monster Island.
• Destroy All Monsters was intended to be the last film in the Godzilla series, but the series was ultimately continued the next year with All Monsters Attack.
• Varan and Baragon have the least amount of screen time of any of the kaiju in the film, with Varan never even being named or having his roar heard. Originally, Baragon was intended to be the monster who emerged from beneath the Arc de Triomphe, but concerns about the suit's ears interfering with the shot motivated the filmmakers to replace him with Gorosaurus. Despite this, Baragon is stated to be attacking Paris in the film.
• The 1968 manga adaptation of Destroy All Monsters includes several significant differences from the film itself, most notably Manda, Varan, and Baragon directly taking part in the final battle against King Ghidorah. The Fire Dragon is also more true to its name, assuming the full-fledged appearance of a dragon made of flames, despite it still being a Kilaak UFO within. Baragon takes the place of Gorosaurus during the attack on Paris, while Manda's rampage in London is also shown. Minilla can also be seen holding a giant shark on Monsterland at the beginning of the manga.
• Destroy All Monsters is one of the few Showa Godzilla films not to be set in the year of its release; narration in the Japanese version places the events at the end of the 20th century, while both English-language versions specify the year as 1999.
• In the 2009 film Monsters vs. Aliens, the evil alien Galaxar commands his army to "destroy all monsters." According to the film's audio commentary, this was an intentional reference to Destroy All Monsters.
• The 2012 film Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens mimicks the title of this film.
• This film marks the second time that Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah were under alien mind control since Invasion of Astro-Monster. This is also the first, and so far only, film in which Mothra was mind-controlled by aliens.
• This film marks the return of Anguirus, who had not been seen in a Godzilla film for 13 years. The character's new suit would go on to appear in Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.
• Director Gareth Edwards stated that, if he were to have made a sequel to the 2014 American Godzilla film, he would have done it in the style of Destroy All Monsters.^{[citation needed]}
• The 2011 DVD and Blu-ray releases of this film by Media Blasters remain the only official home video releases of a Godzilla film to have included two English dubs.
• King Kong appears on some of the French, Belgian, and Italian posters for the film, while the male and female Gappas are featured on the Turkish poster.
• The two U.S. trailers for this film both include inconsistent roars for the monsters. In the theatrical trailer, Mothra has a slightly altered Varan roar, Gorosaurus has Anguirus' roar combined with his own, and Manda has Rodan's roar. In the television trailer, Manda again has Rodan's roar, while Godzilla strangely possesses both Rodan's roar and Mothra's chirp.
• Though the new SoshingekiGoji suit was used for the vast majority of Godzilla's screen time, the DaisensoGoji suit returned for Godzilla's aquatic attack on New York City. By this point, its dorsal fins were visibly bending. The MosuGoji suit can also be glimpsed in a shot recycled from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, where Mothra sprays King Ghidorah with her silk.
• The first episode of the 1971 Tsuburaya Productions TV series Return of Ultraman, directed by Ishiro Honda, shares its Japanese title with this film. However, the 2020 American Blu-ray release of the series by Mill Creek Entertainment translates it as the international title of Honda's next Godzilla film, All Monsters Attack.
• This film is the only Showa era film where King Ghidorah is killed and defeated, as he retreats in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, and Godzilla vs. Gigan. It also marks the first time King Ghidorah is killed in film, followed by Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 23 years later, in the Heisei era.

External links

• Stream of the Japanese version (Crunchyroll)
• Stream of the international English dub (Crunchyroll)
• List of firearms used in the movie
• List of changes in the American version

References

This is a list of references for Destroy All Monsters. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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