Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

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Image gallery for Godzilla vs. Gigan
Credits for Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla vs. Gigan soundtrack


Godzilla Films
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Godzilla vs. Gigan
The Japanese poster for Godzilla vs. Gigan
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Earth Attack Command: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Flagicon United States.png Godzilla on Monster Island (1977)
See alternate titles
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Kaoru Mabuchi, Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Kunio Miyauchi, Susumu Ishikawa
Distributor TohoJP
Cinema SharesUS
Rating GUS, 1977
PGUS, 2004
Running time 89 minutesJP
(1 hour, 29 minutes)
88 minutesUS
(1 hour, 28 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1
Rate this film!
3.70
(88 votes)

Defeat the evil space monsters! You can protect the Earth, Godzilla! (宇宙のわるもの怪獣をやっつけろ!ゴジラがんばれ地球をまもれ!)
„ 

— Japanese tagline

The Entire World Gripped By Terror!
„ 

— International tagline

Space monsters from beyond the stars... at war with Godzilla for the Earth!
„ 

— American tagline

Godzilla vs. Gigan (地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン,   Chikyū Kōgeki Meirei Gojira tai Gaigan, lit. Earth Attack Command: Godzilla Against Gigan) is a 1972 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the twelveth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on March 12, 1972.[1]

Plot

Giant cockroaches from a dying Earth-like planet in the Space Hunter Nebula M plot to colonize the Earth and destroy all cities to make it more "peaceful" (peace and technology being the themes of this film). They inhabit the bodies of recently deceased humans, thus resembling them, and work as the staff of the Japanese branch of the peace-themed theme park World Children's Land (based in Switzerland), the centerpiece being the Godzilla-shaped "Godzilla Tower". The plan of the Nebula M aliens is to use the space monsters King Ghidorah and Gigan (guided by two "Action Signal Tapes") to wipe out civilization. A cartoonist named Gengo Kotaka stumbles onto their plan after being hired as a concept artist for them. When Gengo and his friends play one of the incomprehensible Action Signal Tapes (which he obtained by accident) on their tape player, only Godzilla and Anguirus hear it from afar and catch on to this evil plot as well. Godzilla sends Anguirus to the source of the sound to make sure nothing's wrong, but once Anguirus arrives at Tokyo Bay, the Japanese military, having no clue of the monster's intentions, drives him away. Anguirus goes back to Monster Island, and Godzilla then follows him back to the city. Both monsters try to save the Earth from King Ghidorah and Gigan, though the Nebula M aliens plan to lure Godzilla into a shocking fatal trap via placing an extremely powerful laser cannon inside the Godzilla Tower's mouth and firing it at Godzilla. Once the tower is destroyed by the main human characters, Godzilla and Anguirus drive Gigan and King Ghidorah into a retreat back into space, saving the world.

Staff

Main article: Godzilla vs. Gigan/Credits.

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

Cast

Main article: Godzilla vs. Gigan/Credits.

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

International English Dub

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, Vehicles, and Races

Gallery

Main article: Godzilla vs. Gigan/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Godzilla vs. Gigan (Soundtrack).

Alternate Titles

  • Earth Attack Command: Godzilla vs. Gigan (literal Japanese title)
  • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah: Earth Attack Command (ゴジラ対キングギドラ 地球攻撃命令,   Gojira tai Kingu Gidora Chikyū Kōgeki Meirei, early Japanese title)[2]
  • Godzilla on Monster Island (United States)
  • War of the Monsters (England)
  • Galien, the Monster of the Galaxies Attacks the Earth (Galien, el monstruo de las galaxias ataca la Tierra; Spain)
  • Godzilla Against Gigan (Godzilla contra Gigan; Mexico; Godzilla kontra Gigan; Poland)
  • Earth Objective: Mission Apocalypse (Objectif Terre: Mission Apocalypse; France)
  • Frankenstein's Hell Brood (Frankensteins Höllenbrut; Germany)
  • Godzilla Versus the Giants (Godzilla contro i giganti; Italy)
  • The Planet of Godzilla (La planète de Godzilla; French Belgium; De planeet van Godzilla; Dutch Belgium)
  • Godzilla Against the Giants (Godzilla devlere karsi; Turkey)

Theatrical Releases

View all posters for the film here.

  • Japan - March 12, 1972[1]   [view poster]Japanese poster
  • United States - 1977   [view poster]American poster
  • France - 1973   [view poster]French poster
  • Germany - 1973   [view poster]German poster
  • Italy - 1973   [view poster]Italian poster
  • Belgium - 1973   [view poster]Belgian poster
  • Poland - 1973   [view poster]Polish poster
  • England   [view poster]English poster
  • Spain   [view poster]poster

U.S. Release

American Godzilla on Monster Island poster

In March 1975, the Hong Kong-dubbed international version of Godzilla vs. Gigan played at the Toho Theatre in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1977, Cinema Shares released an edited version of the international English print of Godzilla vs. Gigan throughout the U.S. as Godzilla on Monster Island, although only about a minute of the film actually takes place on Monster Island. The company made several cuts to the international version to obtain a G-rating from the MPAA:

  • The title card reads "Godzilla on Monster Island" and the laser beam effect from the Japanese credits sequence is gone.
  • Gengo calls Tomoko "a hard bitch" under his breath. Cinema Shares muted the entire soundtrack when the word "bitch" is muttered.
  • Two scenes of Godzilla bleeding from Gigan's attacks are trimmed. The scene where Gigan cuts Anguirus in his snout with his abdominal saw is also edited out. However, the scenes afterwards, despite having Godzilla and Anguirus covered in blood from their wounds, were unchanged.
  • While Godzilla and Anguirus swim away at the end of the movie, Godzilla turns and blasts the camera with his radioactive breath, lifted from the opening of the film. The energy beam fills the camera, over which the words "THE END" are superimposed.
  • Perhaps the most significant change in the English-language edit of the film occurs when Godzilla and Anguirus talk. In the original Japanese version, speech bubbles appear out of the monsters' mouths and display their dialogue. In the international version, voice actor Ted Thomas, the producer of the English-language soundtrack, recorded actual English dialogue for the scene, while the speech bubbles were removed. This alteration was retained in Cinema Shares' version of the film.

Godzilla on Monster Island was frequently shown in television syndication throughout the 80's, and it aired several times on the Sci-Fi Channel before being replaced by the widescreen international version in 2002. In 1988, New World Pictures picked up the home video rights to Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Toho provided New World Video with prints of the international versions, now under their official international titles. The international English dub track was retained, but both films were now restored to their full length. These versions were subsequently re-released on video in 1992 by Starmaker Video, in 1997 by Anchor Bay and in 2004 by TriStar Pictures. The TriStar DVDs feature newly remastered prints of Toho's original international versions along with the original Japanese audio. Kraken Releasing also released Godzilla vs. Gigan, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and Godzilla vs. Hedorah on DVD and Blu-ray in 2014. The versions of the films included in these releases are identical to those from the TriStar DVDs. Because these DVDs and Blu-rays use the international prints of the film, Godzilla and Anguirus' speech bubbles are not present even in the Japanese audio track.

Box Office

When Godzilla vs. Gigan was released to Japanese theaters on March 12, 1972, it received an attendance of 1,780,000.

Reception

This movie is often criticized due to its slow pacing, heavy use of stock footage, and an inconsistent tone. Many fans though enjoy the monster tag team battles, stock use of Akira Ifukube's music, the introduction of Gigan and the return of King Ghidorah and Anguirus.

Video Releases

Power Multimedia DVD (1999)

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (Mono), Mandarin (Mono)
  • Subtitles: Chinese (traditional and simplified)
  • Special Features: None
  • Notes: Presents an unaltered 35mm transfer of the film's international version, albeit cropped to 1.33:1. Includes traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles. Out of print.

Cine Plus DVD (2001)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: German (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special Features: None

Toho DVD (2004)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (1.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
  • Subtitles: Japanese
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Shinji Higuchi and Kenji Konuta, theatrical trailer, image gallery, "Godzilla March" sing-along

TriStar Pictures DVD (2004)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English, French
  • Special Features: Trailers
  • Notes: Uses a single video track with English titles and credits, leaving out Anguirus and Godzilla's speech bubbles. Out of print.

Madman DVD (2006)

Kraken Releasing DVD/Blu-ray (2014)

  • Region: 1 (DVD) or A/1 (Blu-ray)
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special Features: Japanese trailer
  • Notes: Uses a single video track with English titles and credits, leaving out Anguirus and Godzilla's speech bubbles. Subtitles alternate between translating the Japanese dialogue and following the English dub, while a second subtitle option only translates on-screen text.

Toho Blu-ray (2014)

  • Region: A/1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 LPCM, 5.1 DTS-HD MA)
  • Subtitles: Japanese
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Shinji Higuchi and Kenji Konuta, "The Man who Made Godzilla Tower: Nobuyuki Yasumaru" featurette (20 minutes), conversation between Masaaki Tezuka and Yuriko Hishimi (40 minutes), theatrical trailer, scans of the theatrical program, "Godzilla March" sing-along

Videos

Trailers

Godzilla vs. Gigan Japanese trailer
Godzilla on Monster Island video trailer
1997 Sci-Fi Channel bumper

Trivia

  • This film's score is composed almost entirely of stock music from previous scores composed by Akira Ifukube. A new song, "Godzilla March," composed by Kunio Miyauchi and sung by Susumu Ishikawa, is played over the end credits.
  • This was Haruo Nakajima's final time playing Godzilla, a role he had played since 1954.
  • Anguirus bleeds after being sliced in the face by Gigan's buzzsaw.
    Gigan is the first monster to make Godzilla visibly bleed. The previous special effects director for the Godzilla series, Eiji Tsuburaya, had been extremely opposed to having the monsters bleed in the films, as he did not wish for the series' younger viewers to see such graphic images. After Tsuburaya's death, Teruyoshi Nakano took over as the head of the special effects department, and many of the Godzilla films he worked on, including Godzilla vs. Gigan, included scenes of monster bloodshed.
  • This is the second time Anguirus visibly bleeds in a film. The first is in Godzilla Raids Again when Godzilla bites down on Anguirus' throat. The third instance of Anguirus bleeding occurs in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla when Fake Godzilla breaks Anguirus' jaw.
  • Due to the reduced budget for this film, special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano used stock footage from previous Godzilla films, as well as some other Toho sci-fi films, for many of the special effects sequences. Clips from the Godzilla films Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Destroy All Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Hedorah, as well as Rodan and The War of the Gargantuas, can be seen in this film.
  • Godzilla vs. Gigan is one of three Godzilla movies in which the viewer can understand what the monsters are saying. The other two are Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, where the monsters' dialogue is translated by the Shobijin, and All Monsters Attack, where Minilla speaks inside of Ichiro's dreams.
  • In the Japanese version of Godzilla vs. Gigan Godzilla and Anguirus communicate through distorted roars and word bubbles. In the English dub, the word bubbles are replaced by garbled speech, in which Axis International founder Ted Thomas voices Godzilla. The monsters' English-language dialogue is as follows:
Scene One - Monster Island
Godzilla: "Hey, Angilas!"
Anguirus: "What do you want?"
Godzilla: "Somethin' funny's going on, you better check!"
Anguirus: "Oh, yeah!"
Godzilla: (as Anguirus departs) "Hurry up!"
Scene Two - Pacific Ocean
Godzilla: "Hey, Angilas, come on! There's a lot of trouble ahead. That way!"
Anguirus: "Okay!"
  • Godzilla vs. Gigan was screened at the Spring Toho Champion Film Festival as the main feature alongside theatrical releases of episode 29 of The Return of Ultraman titled Jiro-Kun Rides a Monster and episode 1 of Mirrorman just titled Mirrorman, as well various cartoons.
  • An illustration of several kaiju from the Ultra Series can be seen posted on the wall in the manga publisher's office at the beginning of the film.[3]

External Links

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla vs. Gigan. 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]

  1. 1.0 1.1 地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン|ゴジラ 東宝公式サイト (official Godzilla.jp page)
  2. Toho Special Effects Movie DVD Collection No. 45. Deagostini Japan. July 2011. p. 11. ISBN 20691-7 / 5 Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help).
  3. Illustration of several kaiju from the Ultra Series posted on the wall in the manga publisher's office at the beginning of the film.

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