All Monsters Attack (1969)
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Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara:
Godzilla's Revenge (1971)
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Nine giant monsters rival in the battle of the century! A Godzilla father-son crisis: the furious new monster Gabara appears, taking aim at the throne of Monster Island!
(ずらりならんだ九大怪獣世紀の決戦！ゴジラ親子の大ピンチ 怪獣島の王座を狙う猛烈新怪獣ガバラ登場！) |
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— Japanese tagline |
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SEE: Prehistoric monsters crawl out of the hidden depths of the Earth and take revenge against the living!
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— American tagline |
All Monsters Attack (ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール怪獣大進撃 Gojira, Minira, Gabara: Ōru Kaijū Daishingeki, lit. "Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters Attack") is a 1969 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda and written by Shinichi Sekizawa, with special effects by Honda and Teruyoshi Nakano. Produced by Toho, it is the 10th installment in the Godzilla series as well as the franchise's Showa era. It stars Kenji Sahara, Machiko Naka, Tomonori Yazaki, Hideyo Amamoto, Sachio Sakai, and Kazuo Suzuki. The film was released to Japanese theaters by Toho on December 20, 1969, as part of the first Toho Champion Festival, which would be continually held until 1978; its cofeatures were the Jun Fukuda-directed sci-fi comedy Konto 55: The Great Outer Space Adventure and the animated film Star of the Giants: Go, Go, Hyuma. Henry G. Saperstein's United Productions of America prepared an English-dubbed version of the film titled Godzilla's Revenge which was released to American theaters by Maron Films on December 8, 1971, as a double feature with Island of the Burning Damned.
Released just one year after the Godzilla series' intended finale, Destroy All Monsters, and with monster scenes consisting mostly of stock footage culled from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep and Son of Godzilla, All Monsters Attack was the franchise's first entry to be aimed primarily at children, setting off a new campaign of films under the Toho Champion Festival banner. It follows Ichiro Miki, a latchkey kid living in Tokyo who daydreams about visiting Monster Island, the home of Godzilla, his son Minilla, and other famous kaiju. Ichiro befriends Minilla and learns that just like him, he deals with bullying, specifically from the giant toad monster Gabara. Ichiro helps Minilla face his tormentor and triumph, while the lessons in bravery Ichiro learns from Minilla inspire him to escape when he finds himself kidnapped by two bank robbers. All Monsters Attack was the final Godzilla film produced prior to the death of special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, who received a supervisor credit on the film. It was followed by Godzilla vs. Hedorah in 1971.
Plot
A young boy named Ichiro Miki walks home from school alongside his friend Sachiko. After a brief run-in with his father, a train driver, the two come across an abandoned factory. Despite Sachiko’s warning, he crawls under the fence to investigate. Immediately, a group of bullies surround him, led by a boy named Sanko, whom Ichiro refers to as "Gabara." Sachiko leaves with her mother, leaving Ichiro alone. Gabara takes a vacuum tube he found earlier in his walk, and then tells him he can have it back if he honks the horn on a bike belonging to a sign-painter nearby. Ichiro refuses and runs away as the bullies jeer.
At his apartment, Ichiro visits his neighbor Shinpei Minami, a toymaker, who is working on a miniature computer for children. When he turns it on, a voice begins talking about the Moon. Ichiro is unimpressed, saying that he would prefer visiting Monster Island instead, where monsters like Godzilla, Rodan, and Minilla live. He then begins telling Shinpei about the bully Gabara. Shinpei encourages him to stand up for himself. Ichiro, realizing it is getting late, heads to his home. He prepares his own supper, per his mother’s instructions, and watches a news report of a bank robbery with disinterest. To entertain himself, he pretends to contact Monster Island through a toy radio. He imagines himself traveling to the island on a passenger jet.
Upon arrival, he immediately witnesses Godzilla fighting three Kamacuras, killing two of them as one escapes. Climbing up a tree, he spots Gorosaurus, Manda, Anguirus, and a Giant Eagle, who engages Godzilla. After a scuffle, Godzilla sends the monster plummeting into the sea to his death with a blast of his atomic ray. The surviving Kamacuras then takes notice of Ichiro, and he falls down a hole while trying to run away. The Kamacuras peers into the hole, but moves on. As he struggles to climb out, someone lowers a vine and lifts him out. When he gets to the surface, he is surprised to see a cheerful, human-sized Minilla, Godzilla's son. Their conversation is interrupted by the warble of a giant toad monster, who also happens to be named Gabara. Like Ichiro, Minilla is bullied by Gabara and is too afraid to fight him.
Ichiro, now asleep, is awakened by Shinpei, who tells the boy that his mother will be home late. Wandering around outside, Ichiro encounters Gabara's gang again and runs away after they call him over. His escape leads him into the same abandoned factory. The bullies follow him, but are distracted by a passing police car. A locker door behind Ichiro then falls to the ground, drawing his attention. He finds a pair of dusty headphones inside, and a driver's license nearby. Above the license, he spots a hole in the ceiling. Before he can go upstairs, loud sirens send him running out of the factory.
As soon as he leaves, the two bank robbers, Senbayashi and Okuda, emerge from hiding. Senbayashi berates Okuda for letting his license fall down the hole, and sends him after Ichiro to get it back. Back at his apartment building, Ichiro eats dinner with Shinpei, and asks not to be awakened the next time he falls asleep, as he plans to visit Godzilla and Minilla again. Unfortunately, the first monster he comes upon is Gabara, who chases him for a time. Upon escaping, he encounters Minilla again, who laments his distant relationship with Godzilla. They watch with admiration as Godzilla defeats Ebirah and Kumonga in successive battles. Minilla decides to confront Gabara, growing to giant size - though he is still only half the beast's height. His smoke rings have no effect on Gabara, who pummels him mercilessly. Reverting to his human-sized form, Minilla retreats alongside Ichiro. They watch Godzilla destroy a squadron of fighter jets, the latest human incursion on Monster Island. Godzilla calls Minilla over and attempts to teach him to generate an atomic ray; he is unable to until Godzilla steps on his tail. As Ichiro cheers his success, a plant monster seizes him from behind. He awakens to the sight of the two robbers, who kidnap him at knifepoint and take him to the factory.
As Senbayashi keeps an eye on Ichiro, Okuda breaks into Shinpei’s car. Ichiro quietly covers the hole in the floor with newspapers and begins to daydream about Monster Island again. There, Minilla is fighting another losing battle against Gabara. Ichiro helps by pushing a boulder onto Minilla’s tail, allowing him to fire an atomic ray into Gabara's face. A newly confident Minilla easily evades the monster's attempts to grab him. Godzilla arrives on the scene, but refuses to enter the fight himself. Minilla tries to attack Gabara head-on again, but is overpowered and retreats. Ichiro suggests that Minilla use a fallen tree as a see-saw, jumping down on one end after he taunts Gabara into standing on the other. The plan is a success, and Gabara goes flying through the air. Godzilla congratulates Minilla on his victory, only to be bitten on the leg by Gabara. The resulting fight is one-sided, with Gabara running away after Godzilla flips him over his shoulder.
Ichiro reacts with fear as Godzilla reaches for him, only to be shaken awake by Senbayashi. Okuda returns with the car, and they plan to leave with Ichiro. Inspired by Minilla's example, he breaks free of the handkerchiefs they used to tie his hands, running back inside the factory. The robbers, thoroughly on edge, split up to find him. Outside, Shinpei happens upon his car. Stunned by the stolen money inside, he calls the police.
Ichiro tricks Okuda into falling through the hole on the second floor and wards off Senbayashi with a fire extinguisher, buying enough time for the police to arrive and arrest them both. The next morning, Ichiro’s mother vows not to work at night anymore. Reporters surround him as he leaves for school; he surprises them by saying that Minilla was with him as he fought the robbers. Shinpei explains that Minilla is a type of god to children.
Ichiro and Sachiko encounter Gabara and his gang again, but this time Ichiro rushes into a fight with the bully. He then runs over to the sign-painter and honks his motorcycle's horn. He falls from his ladder, getting paint on his face, and chases after Ichiro. He runs into his father driving a train and asks him to stall the painter with an apology. Now accepted by the gang, he continues on his way to school with them.
Staff
- Main article: All Monsters Attack/Credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
- Executive producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music by Kunio Miyauchi
- Theme song "Monster March"
- Performed by Lily Sasaki, Tokyo Children's Choir[a]
- Composed by Gendai Kano
- Lyrics by Shinichi Sekizawa
- Arranged by Hitoshi Kosugi
- Cinematography by Motoyoshi Tomioka
- Edited by Masahisa Himi
- Production design by Takeo Kita
- First assistant director Masaaki Hisamatsu
- Special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya
- Directors of special effects Ishiro Honda, Teruyoshi Nakano (uncredited)[1]
- First assistant director of special effects Teruyoshi Nakano[2]
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Tomonori Yazaki as Ichiro Miki
- Kenji Sahara as Kenkichi Miki, Ichiro's father
- Machiko Naka as Tamie Miki, Ichiro's mother
- Hideyo Amamoto as Shinpei Minami, toy consultant
- Sachio Sakai as Senbayashi, bank robber
- Kazuo Suzuki as Okuda, bank robber
- Ikio Sawamura as bartender
- Shigeki Ishida as landlord
- Yutaka Sada as Hei, trainman
- Chotaro Togin as young detective
- Yutaka Nakayama as billboard painter
- Yoshibumi Tajima as middle-aged detective
- Junichi Ito as Sanko ("Gabara"), bully
- Toru Mori, Toshiya Kurokawa, Hiroyuki Miyaoka, Nobuto Takahashi as Sanko's gang
- Hidemi Ito as Sachiko, Ichiro's girlfriend
- Masao Fukazawa as Minilla (as "Little Man Machan")
- Yasuhiko Kakuko as Gabara
- Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla
- Midori Uchiyama as Minilla (voice)
Ryder Sound Services English dub
- Riley Jackson as Minya / "Roy" Senbayashi / Hubert, character on TV drama / middle-aged detective
- Susan Davis as Ichiro / Gabara, bully
Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Production
All Monsters Attack began shooting on October 11, 1969, and wrapped that November 20, with ADR work performed from November 30 to December 3.[3]
In a first for the Godzilla series, the film's human and monster scenes were not shot by separate units,[4] thus making Ishiro Honda officially both the director and director of special effects.[2] However, according to SFX first assistant director Teruyoshi Nakano,[2] Honda requested that Nakano shoot the effects on his behalf, due to his inexperience with the medium.[4][5] Nakano also storyboarded all of the sequences.[2] Honda was not completely uninvolved with the effects though, as Nakano called on him to direct Ichiro's interactions with the monsters, which Nakano felt were just an extension of the human drama.[4] Masaaki Hisamatsu was Honda's first assistant director on the drama side,[4] while Koji Hashimoto, who would go on to direct The Return of Godzilla, fulfilled the roles of both second and third assistant director.[6] Atypically, Nakano also worked on the human scenes as an additional AD.[4][7]
Although Eiji Tsuburaya is credited on the movie as special effects supervisor, he was not present onset.[6] However, Honda later testified, "I believe [Tsuburaya] was personally involved with editing and similar matters. The film may have been generally put together, but he definitely looked over the footage and instructed the staff to shorten certain scenes, etc."[8]
Gallery
- Main article: All Monsters Attack/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: All Monsters Attack/Soundtrack.
Alternate titles
- Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters Attack (literal Japanese title)
- Godzilla, Minilla, Gebara: All Monsters Attack (final script title)
- Monster No. 1 Godzilla (怪獣
No. 1 ゴジラ Kaijū Nanbā Wan Gojira, Japanese 8mm title) - Attack All Monsters (English title on Japanese VHS)
- Godzilla's Revenge (United States)
- Minya, Son of Godzilla (alternate U.S. title)[9]
- Terror of Godzilla (alternate U.S. title)[10]
- Godzilla - Attack All Monsters (Germany)
- The Island of the Monsters (La Isla de los Monstruos; Colombia; Spain; L'Illa dels Monstres; Spain (Catalonia))
- Monsterland (Monstrolândia; Brazil)
- Attack of Godzilla (Атака Годзиллы; Russia)
Theatrical releases
View all posters for the film here.
- Japan - December 20, 1969[11] [view poster]
- United States - August 1971[10] [view poster]; February 1972[9] [view poster]
- Brazil - January 1971
- Colombia - May 1971
Foreign releases
U.S. release
All Monsters Attack was acquired by Henry G. Saperstein's United Productions of America[12] and released in American theaters on December 8, 1971 by Maron Films as Godzilla's Revenge.[13] It was released as the first half of a double feature with Island of the Burning Damned,[13] with some theaters screening it alongside Monster Zero and The War of the Gargantuas.[citation needed]
The film's original U.S. title was Minya, Son of Godzilla, which appeared in BoxOffice magazine's list of upcoming releases from May 3 to May 31, 1971.[10] Publicity materials exist for Minya, Son of Godzilla, including a poster, and a version of the film under that title saw limited screenings in the northeastern U.S. from February to April of 1972.[9] The title was changed to Godzilla's Revenge for general release to avoid confusion with Son of Godzilla, which had already been shown in the U.S.[14] The film was also listed as Terror of Godzilla in BoxOffice from June 7 to July 26, 1971.[10] A variation of this title, The Terror of Godzilla, would later be used as the American theatrical title for Terror of Mechagodzilla, another film acquired by Saperstein.
The dubbed version of Godzilla's Revenge was recorded at Ryder Sound Services, Inc. in Hollywood under the supervision of Riley Jackson.[15] Minilla, called "Minya" in the dub, was voiced by a man, instead of a woman as in the Japanese version. The first localized release of a Godzilla series film in the United States to be totally uncut, the only significant change to the film was the removal of the theme song "Monster March," which played over the opening credits and once again during the film.[12] It was replaced in both instances by a stock instrumental jazz piece by Ervin Jereb titled "Crime Fiction,"[16] although the credit for "Monster March" remains in the American version.[17] The music and effects track prepared by Toho and provided for the purposes of dubbing contains several minor differences.[18][19] UPA's version of Godzilla's Revenge was subsequently released on VHS and DVD by companies such as Simitar Entertainment and Classic Media. Classic Media made the original Japanese version of the film officially available in North America for the first time in a 2008 DVD release.
United Kingdom release
The United Kingdom television premiere of All Monsters Attack took place on Channel 4 in December 1999, in Japanese with English subtitles.[20] 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. Currently, the BBFC has rated the Japanese version of the film PG for "mild threat, language."[21]
Box office
In Japan, the film sold 1,480,000 tickets. This was over 1 million tickets less than the previous Godzilla film, Destroy All Monsters, and it was the first Godzilla film to sell less than 2 million tickets.
Reception
All Monsters Attack has gained very negative reviews from Godzilla fans, with many considering it the weakest of all the Godzilla films.
Video releases
Paradise DVD (year unknown)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: Dutch
- Special features: Trailers for the film and other entries in the Godzilla series
Simitar DVD (1998)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: None
- Special features: Optional 1.33:1 presentation (cropped), Simitar-produced trailers for the company's other kaiju releases, art gallery, trivia game
- Notes: Out of print.
Classic Media DVD (2002)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee trailer
- Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Out of print.
DVD Toho DVD (2004)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: Japanese
- Special features: Audio commentary by Koji Hashimoto and Kenji Konuta, scans of the theatrical program, theatrical trailer
Madman DVD (2006)
- Region: 4
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese, English (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Theatrical trailer, poster gallery, trivia, Madman-produced trailers
Classic Media DVD (2008)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Audio commentary for Godzilla's Revenge by Richard Pusateri, Ishiro Honda featurette (7 minutes), poster slideshow, gallery of production stills and publicity photos. Reissued in 2012; both releases are out of print.
TOHO Visual Entertainment Blu-ray (2014)
- Region: A/1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: Japanese
- Special features: Audio commentary by Koji Hashimoto and Kenji Konuta, interview with Teruyoshi Nakano and Takao Tsurumi (26 minutes), Kunio Miyauchi interview (13 minutes), scans of the theatrical program, theatrical trailer, text history of the Toho Champion Festival
The Criterion Collection Blu-ray (2019) [Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975]
- Region: A/1 or B/2
- Discs: 8
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: All the 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, illustrated hardcover book with an essay by Steve Ryfle and liner notes on each film by Ed Godziszewski[22]
- Notes: Uses a new English subtitle translation. Sony distributed a Region B/2 version of the set in the United Kingdom.
Videos
Trailers
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Miscellaneous
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Trivia
- Despite its large roster of billed kaiju, a considerable portion of the monster scenes in All Monsters Attack is made up of stock footage from Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, King Kong Escapes, Son of Godzilla, and Destroy All Monsters. The only monsters to appear in newly-shot footage for this film are Godzilla, Minilla, and Gabara, along with a single new shot of Kamacuras walking above the hole Ichiro falls into.
- All Monsters Attack is similar to Gamera Super Monster, as both were produced in the Showa era, rely on a large amount of stock footage for monster scenes, and feature a young boy as the human protagonist.
- This is one of three films in which monsters speak. The other two are Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, though it was translated by the Shobijin, and Godzilla vs. Gigan, where Godzilla speaks to Anguirus.
- Although Ichiro says Rodan also lives on Monster Island, he does not make any kind of appearance in the entire film.
- All Monsters Attack is the first onscreen appearance of Monster Island, a location that would be featured as the home of Godzilla and most of the other terrestrial kaiju in subsequent films.
- When Godzilla arrives to fight Kumonga, stock footage from Son of Godzilla is employed where Kumonga has Minilla wrapped in webbing before getting hit by a boulder thrown by Godzilla. This film hides Minilla from the shot by superimposing a rock over him, but if one pays attention during this scene as Kumonga flips from the rock hitting him, Minilla can be seen wrapped in webbing for a brief second.
- All Monsters Attack marked a lengthy break from the Godzilla film series for director Ishiro Honda, who would not return until 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla.
Notes
- ↑ Though the version of "Monster March" released as a vinyl single includes backing vocals from the Tokyo Children's Choir, these are omitted in the version heard in the film. They were retained for the film's theatrical trailer, however.
References
This is a list of references for All Monsters Attack. 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]
Bibliography
- Nakamura, Satoshi; Shiraishi, Masahiko; Aita, Tetsuo; Tomoi, Taketo; Shimazaki, Jun; Maruyama, Takeshi; Shimizu, Toshifumi; Hayakawa, Masaru (29 November 2014). Godzilla Toho Champion Festival Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. ISBN 978-4-04-866999-3.
- Kabuki, Shinichi (15 July 1998). Godzilla Days. Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-748815-2.
- Nakano, Teruyoshi. "1962-84 GODZILLA: Godzilla is the Origin of Drama-Making". In Kabuki (1998), pp. 291-350.
- Ryfle, Steve (December 1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.
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