Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

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Godzilla films
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Mothra films
Mothra (1961)
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Mothra vs. Godzilla
The Japanese poster for Mothra vs. Godzilla
Alternate titles
Flagicon United States.png Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964)
See alternate titles
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka[a]
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
Music by Akira Ifukube
Special
effects by
Eiji Tsuburaya
Distributor TohoJP, AIPUS[1]
Rating TV-14US, 12UK, X (U.S. cut)UK
Distributor rentals ¥1.55 billion (1980)[2]
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!
4.42
(85 votes)

A massive Mach 3 moth! The heavy missile tank Godzilla! The sky, sea, and land quake in the fierce battle of the century (マッハ3の巨蛾か!ミサイル重戦車のゴジラか!空・海・陸を揺がす世紀の激斗)
„ 

— Japanese tagline

Nothing like this ever on the screen!
What is it... how much terror can you stand?
SEE the armies of the world destroyed! SEE the BIRTH of the world's most terrifying monster! SEE the war of the GIANTS!
„ 

— American taglines

Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ,   Mosura tai Gojira) is a 1964 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda and written by Shinichi Sekizawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Toho, it is the fourth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. It stars Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yu Fujiki, Kenji Sahara, Jun Tazaki, and Yoshibumi Tajima, with The Peanuts singing duo of Emi and Yumi Ito as the Shobijin. The film was released to Japanese theaters on April 29, 1964.[3] American International Pictures released an edited English-language version of the film, originally titled Godzilla vs. The Thing, to American theaters on November 25, 1964.

Mothra vs. Godzilla marks the first crossover between two of Toho's own monsters: their flagship character Godzilla and the giant moth deity Mothra, introduced three years prior in her own film. When Mothra's egg washes ashore in Japan following a typhoon, greedy businessmen Kumayama and Jiro Torahata claim it as their own property and plan to exploit it for revenue. To make matters worse, Godzilla reemerges and begins rampaging across Japan, making his way straight for the egg. It is up to Ichiro Sakai, Junko Nakanishi, and Shunsuke Miura to travel to Infant Island and plead with the dying Mothra to return to Japan and battle Godzilla to save both her offspring and the millions of innocent people threatened by Godzilla's rampage. Mothra vs. Godzilla was immediately followed by a direct sequel, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, later the same year.

Plot

In the wake of the powerful Typhoon No. 8 in Japan's Chūbu region, a news reporter named Ichiro Sakai and his photographer Junko Nakanishi take pictures of the wreckage of an industrialization project at Kurata Beach and discover a bizarre, iridescent object of undetermined origin. Later on that day, a giant egg is discovered on the shore of the fishing village Shizunoura. The local villagers salvage it and a scientific investigation of the egg proceeds.

While Sakai and Junko attempt to question Professor Miura about the egg, entrepreneur Kumayama, president of Happy Enterprises, scurries the scientific party off, explaining that he bought the egg from the locals. Instead of letting scientists study the egg freely, Kumayama intends 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 the Hamakaze Hotel, they notice Kumayama checking in. Sakai suspects somebody else may be working with Kumayama and investigates the matter. Kumayama enters the room of Jiro Torahata, his affluent, well-connected financier. As the two are discussing the plans for the billion-dollar tourist attraction, two tiny twin girls, known as the Shobijin, interrupt them. The Shobijin assert that the egg belongs to them and implore for its return. 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, explaining that they are from Infant Island and the egg is that of a monstrous deity named Mothra who lives there. The girls beg them to bring the egg back too, and the three promise to try as hard as they can to return the egg to Infant Island. The girls explain that if the egg is not returned, a larva will hatch and will cause great destruction to its surroundings. The trio attempt to appeal with Happy Enterprises directly, but Kumayama and Torahata refuse and even make an offer to buy the Shobijin from them, appalling the three who promptly leave the negotiations.

Distraught at society's indifference, the girls leave with Mothra, and even though they could not get the egg back, they thank Sakai, Junko, and Miura for their kindness. Sakai writes editorials, but finds his words both meaningless against Happy Enterprises' legal precedents and a further source of publicity for them. As Happy Enterprises finishes the construction of and activates its colossal incubator for the egg, Kumayama, who still hasn't paid the villagers for the egg or the land he is utilizing, asks Torahata for further finances to fulfill his contract to them, who agrees on the condition that Kumayama uses the egg as the collateral for the loan, to which Kumayama reluctantly agrees. Miura calls Sakai and Junko to his laboratory to decontaminate them from residual radiation and explains the strange object the duo discovered at Kurata Beach is highly radioactive. As the trio return to the industrialization construction area to find the source of the radioactivity, Godzilla suddenly emerges from the reclaimed land and attacks Yokkaichi and Nagoya.

Sakai's editor Maruta believes that the government alone should not be responsible for defending against Godzilla and discusses alternatives with Sakai, Junko, and Miura. Nakamura, another reporter who loves to eat eggs, overhears and suggests that Mothra might be able to defeat Godzilla. Dismissive at first, Maruta concedes, but Junko and Miura are skeptical that the Infant Islanders would agree because atomic testing had all but destroyed their home, and Japan had failed to return the egg to them.

The trio go to Infant Island anyway. They are captured by the islanders and are brought before the tribe’s chief. The three ask for assistance but, as expected, Infant Island has no more trust or faith in the outside world for the reasons that Junko and Miura suspected. Sakai, Junko, and Miura ask the Shobijin for Mothra's assistance but they are also turned down. Junko pleads that not everyone from Japan should be blamed for what happened to their island. She argues that Godzilla is killing both good and bad people in Japan, but that all people have a right to live. Sakai appeals that even though humanity grows more numerous and disparate, with dedication, the world can be made free of distrust and held grudges. Agreeing with these entreaties, they convince Mothra to help Japan, but the divine creature is old and weak. Although Mothra will fight Godzilla, she will have no power to return to the island, but will be reborn when the egg hatches.

A broke and furious Kumayama barges into Torahata's room, demanding reimbursement for his losses in their lopsided business venture. As Torahata coldly tells him that he should've used better judgement, the two get into a brawl and Kumayama downs Torahata, leaving him to loot Torahata's cabinet filled with cash. Torahata dazedly sees Godzilla approaching. Grabbing a gun from his drawer, he kills Kumayama and tries to escape with his money, but Godzilla destroys the Hamakaze Hotel, crushing the greedy Torahata to death.

Godzilla advances on the egg, intending to destroy it, but Mothra arrives and intercepts him. The two behemoths fight a determined battle where Mothra gains the upper hand with her hurricane winds and her final weapon, a deadly poisonous powder. Violently thrashing on the ground, Godzilla blindly fires his atomic breath, eventually landing a hit on Mothra that badly burns one of her wings. Mothra knocks Godzilla off of a cliff and flies to her egg, where nestling it under her massive wing, she dies. A defeated Godzilla walks away. The Shobijin reassure Sakai, Junko, and Miura that Mothra will live again, and the party leaves for the egg in order for the Shobijin to begin their song of prayer.

Meanwhile, the JSDF attempt two different operations to corral Godzilla and kill him by electrocuting him with 30 million volt artificial lightning generators, but fail. With no recourse, the JSDF withdraw and Godzilla destroys the village of Shizunoura. The Shobijin and the Infant Islanders conclude their prayer and the monster egg finally hatches, with not one, but two Mothra larvae emerging. Nakamura arrives to inform the trio Godzilla is heading for Iwa Island, where schoolteacher Ms. Kobayashi and her class are still stranded, and the party departs to mount a search and rescue operation with the authorities. The Mothra larvae pursue Godzilla to Iwa Island and battle their mother's killer, taking advantage of their small size and the island's rocky terrain to avoid Godzilla's heat rays. The party arrives and escorts Kobayashi and the children safely away from the combat. As the larvae use their silk to encase the massive reptile in a cocoon, Godzilla struggles helplessly as he becomes fully enveloped in the webbing and plunges into the ocean. Victorious, the twin Mothras with Shobijin in tow depart for Infant Island, sending their goodbyes. Nakamura had hoped to at least formally thank them, but Sakai and Miura believe the only way to do so is to better society and create a world based on mutual respect and understanding.

Staff

Main article: Mothra vs. Godzilla/Credits.

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

Cast

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

  • Akira Takarada   as   Ichiro "Ichi" Sakai, Maicho Shimbun reporter
  • Yuriko Hoshi   as   Junko Nakanishi, Maicho Shimbun photographer
  • Hiroshi Koizumi   as   Professor Shunsuke Miura, Kyonan University zoologist
  • Yu Fujiki   as   Jiro Nakamura, Maicho Shimbun reporter
  • Kenji Sahara   as   Jiro Torahata
  • Emi Ito and Yumi Ito   as   Shobijin
  • Jun Tazaki   as   Maruta, Maicho Shimbun social affairs department editor
  • Yoshibumi Tajima   as   Kumayama, president of Happy Enterprises
  • Kenzo Tabu   as   prefectural assembly member
  • Yutaka Sada   as   school principal
  • Akira Tani   as   Amimoto, head villager of Shizunoura
  • Susumu Fujita   as   head of JSDF task force
  • Ikio Sawamura   as   Shinto priest
  • Ren Yamamoto   as   sailor at dock
  • Kozo Nomura   as   JSDF member
  • Yasuhisa Tsutsumi   as   police officer at dock
  • Mitsuo Tsuda   as   JSDF officer
  • Shin Otomo   as   police chief
  • Senkichi Omura   as   Shizunoura fisherman
  • Yoshio Kosugi   as   Infant Island chief
  • Miki Yashiro   as   Ms. Kobayashi, teacher at Iwa Island Branch School
  • Koji Iwamoto   as   Shizunoura fisherman
  • Terumi Oka   as   Hamakaze Hotel waitress
  • Wataru Omae   as   Happy Enterprises employee
  • Shiro Tsuchiya, Takuzo Kumagai, Koji Uno, Yutaka Nakayama   as   Shizunoura fishermen
  • Toshihiko Furuta, Hideo Shibuya, Koji Uruki, Ken Echigo   as   reporters
  • Yukihiko Gondo, Koichi Sato   as   Happy Enterprises employees
  • Hiroshi Akitsu   as   Shizunoura fisherman
  • Tadashi Okabe, Haruya Sakamoto, Seishiro Kuno   as   JSDF members
  • Hiroshi Takagi   as   Happy Enterprises employee
  • Keisuke Yamada   as   police chief
  • Shinjiro Hirota   as   Happy Enterprises employee
  • Shigemi Sunagawa   as   fisherman
  • Ikuo Kawamura   as   transport aircraft pilot
  • Rinsaku Ogata   as   transport aircraft operations assistant
  • Haruo Suzuki   as   JSDF correspondent
  • Asunaro Theatrical Company   as   students of Iwa Island Branch School
  • Haruo Nakajima, Katsumi Tezuka   as   Godzilla

Godzilla vs. The Thing

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

  • Harold Conway   as   weapons expert on Frontier Missile Cruiser
  • Ralph Jesser   as   U.S. Navy sailor
  • Osman Yusuf   as   journalist
  • Bernard Grant   as   Ichiro Sakai (voice)
  • Paulette Rubenstein, Terry Van Tell   as   Shobijin (voices)
  • Larry Robinson   as   Jiro Nakamura (voice) / journalist (voice)
  • Bret Morrison   as   Kumayama (voice)[1]
  • Jack Curtis   as   Jiro Torahata (voice)
  • Earl Hammond   as   head of JSDF Task Force (voice)
  • Peter Fernandez   as   villager / JSDF correspondent (voice)[1]


Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Gallery

Main article: Mothra vs. Godzilla/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Mothra vs. Godzilla/Soundtrack.

Alternate titles

  • Godzilla Against Mothra (English Japanese poster title; original international title)
  • Godzilla vs. The Thing (United States; United Kingdom)
  • Godzilla vs. Mothra (Singapore; revised U.S. title)
  • Godzilla Against Mothra (Godzilla contra Mothra; Mexico)
  • Mothra Against Godzilla (Mothra contre Godzilla; France; Mothra Contra Godzilla; Portugal)
  • Godzilla Against "The Thing" (Godzilla contre "La Chose"; French Belgium; Godzilla tegen "Het Ding"; Dutch Belgium)
  • Godzilla and the Prehistoric Caterpillars (Godzilla und die Urweltraupen; West Germany)
  • Godzilla Against the Monsters (Godzilla contra los monstruos; Spain)
  • Godzilla and the Mothra Challenge (Godzilla i el Repte de Mothra; Spain (Catalonia))
  • Watang! In the Fabulous Empire of Monsters (Watang! Nel favoloso impero dei mostri; Italy)
  • Mothra Meets Godzilla (Mothra möter Godzilla; Sweden)
  • Panic in Tokyo: Godzilla and Monster Mothra (Paniek in Tokyo Godzilla en het monster van Mothra; Netherlands)
  • Godzilla Against the Sacred Island (Godzilla Contra a Ilha Sagrada; Brazil)
  • Mothra Fights Dinosaur (魔斯拉鬥恐龍 Mósīlā dòu Kǒnglóng; Taiwan)
  • Strong Godzilla (Ofjarl Godzilla; Iceland)
  • Godzilla Unexpected Beast (Godzilla Beklenmeyen Canavar; Turkey)
  • Fuji Yama Operation (Επιχείρησις Φούτζι Γιάμα Epiheirisis Fuji Yama; Greece)

Theatrical releases

View all posters for the film here.

  • Japan - April 29, 1964[3]   [view poster]Japanese 1964 poster; December 19, 1970 (Toho Champion Festival);   [view poster]Japanese 1970 poster; March 15, 1980   [view poster]Japanese 1980 poster
  • United States - November 25, 1964   [view poster]poster
  • Canada - September 30, 1964
  • Portugal - October 4, 1964
  • Sweden - 1964
  • Thailand - 1964
  • Belgium - 1965
  • United Kingdom - 1965
  • Iceland - July 2, 1965   [view poster]Icelandic poster
  • Mexico - 1966
  • Spain - February 27, 1967   [view poster]Spanish poster
  • Pakistan - 1967   [view poster]Pakistani poster
  • Brazil - 1968
  • Italy - 1970   [view poster]Italian poster
  • Belgium - 1971   [view poster]Belgian poster
  • West Germany - 1974   [view poster]German poster
  • Taiwan - October 23, 1967
  • France - February 1, 1995   [view poster]French poster
  • Lebanon   [view poster]Lebanese poster

Foreign releases

U.S. release

U.S. Godzilla vs. The Thing poster

American International Pictures originally released Mothra vs. Godzilla in the United States under the title Godzilla vs. The Thing in September of 1964, and it opened in New York City on November 25, 1964. Mothra's appearance was kept out of promotional material, which hinted that Godzilla's opponent would be a hideous tentacled creature, and she was referred to only as "The Thing." Even the trailers omitted the Mothra imago and only briefly showed the larvae. Dialogue was dubbed in New York at Titra Sound Studios and several alterations and deletions were made in AIP's version:

  • Altered: Throughout the film in Titra's dubbing, characters alternatively refer to Mothra generically as "The Thing", in keeping with AIP's re-titling and marketing.
  • Deleted: The discordant opening notes of Akira Ifukube's main title have no picture equivalent and were jettisoned.
  • Altered: The film's soundtrack begins with Godzilla's leitmotif from the main title over 12 seconds of black before the title sequence over Typhoon No. 8 seen in the Japanese version begins.
  • Deleted: An establishing shot of a placard announcing the completion of the Kurata coastal reclamation project during the typhoon.
  • Altered: Newspaper headlines announcing the discovery of the egg at Shizunoura and subsequent investigation by Professor Miura were given newly lensed English equivalents.
  • Deleted: Establishing shots of placards pertaining to the construction of the Shizunoura Happy Center.
  • Deleted: A brief sequence showing a street side news stand and superimposed newspaper headlines detailing the conflict between Sakai's editorials and Happy Enterprises' counterstatements, and Kumayama and his associates on a float announcing the grand opening of the Shizunoura Happy Center to the public.
  • Deleted: The head of the anti-Godzilla task force announcing the emergency deployment of western, central, and eastern JSDF forces and their strategy to divert Godzilla to the coast to minimize collateral damage. A correspondent enters the war room with a report on Godzilla's eastward movement from Nagoya.
  • Added: The most notable difference between Mothra vs. Godzilla and Godzilla vs. The Thing is a drama and effects sequence that was shot by Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya's teams, yet does not appear in the Japanese version. After Godzilla attacks Nagoya, American Frontier Missile Cruisers fruitlessly bombard him, marking the first occasion the United States battled the monster. Harold Conway and Osman Yusuf, two foreign actors who were staples in Toho films at the time, appear in this sequence.
  • Altered: AIP added louder Hollywood explosion sound effects to the above sequence as well as Godzilla's battles with the JSDF as sweetening.
  • Deleted: Three short stanzas from the Shobijin's song "Sacred Springs" were removed.
  • Deleted: The Shobijin elaborating further that the small oasis they occupy is the only resource left to sustain the life of the islanders.
  • Deleted: Kumayama collapsing on the floor with a visible bullet wound on his head.
  • Altered: Part of the shot of Godzilla approaching the hotel was cut and then placed where the footage of Kumayama collapsing had previously occupied.
  • Deleted: Part of a longer shot of the Shobijin curtsying as they are reunited with Sakai, Junko, and Miura as the adult Mothra battles Godzilla.
  • Deleted: The ending sequence was re-edited to remove the party's final musings and goodbyes; they now simply wave to the Mothra larvae and the Shobijin.
  • Altered: Instead of a superimposed end title as in the Japanese version, after a shot of the departing Mothra larvae fades to black, a simple title reading "An American International Picture" appears.

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..."

By the 1980s, Henry G. Saperstein's UPA, who originally sold the picture to American International, had bought back the American distribution rights. In UPA's home video releases and broadcast syndication beginning in the late-1980s, the film was retitled Godzilla vs. Mothra. However, as Mothra is still repeatedly called "The Thing" in the dub, this confused many viewers who thought "The Thing" and "Mothra" were two separate monsters. Because of this, when TriStar released Godzilla vs. Mothra in the U.S., they re-titled it Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth so that it would not be confused with this film. Despite this, Peter Bollinger's cover artwork for Simitar Entertainment's VHS and DVD release of the older film continues to be erroneously used to represent the newer film on streaming services and even on Sony Pictures' official website.

United Kingdom release

UK Godzilla vs. The Thing poster

Warner-Pathe brought Godzilla vs. The Thing to UK theaters in 1965, as part of a double feature with The Time Travelers.[4] It received an X rating from the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), preventing children under 16 from seeing it. Sony released the Japanese version of the film on Blu-ray in 2019 as part of the The Criterion Collection's Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 box set. The BBFC gave this version a 12 rating for "moderate bloody images."[5]

West German release

Godzilla vs. The Thing was released in West Germany by Gloria Film under the title Godzilla und die Urweltraupen (lit. "Godzilla and the Prehistoric Caterpillars") on April 15, 1974, with dubbing duties undertaken by SL Film Synchron GmbH in Berlin. Visuals such as the credits and newspaper insets were rendered in German accordingly. The dubbing itself contains a major post-production error during the reel containing the battle between Godzilla and the adult Mothra, the music and effects being entirely out of sync with the visuals, possibly stemming from a lack of understanding of the proper reel and segment structure of the American International version, as it appears dubbing track elements were conformed to the reel structure of Toho's version. Presentations of the West German release on home video in contemporary Germany have been reconstructions created from various sources, as a complete copy or duplication element of the theatrical release appears to be lost or misplaced.

Box office

When Mothra vs. Godzilla was re-released in 1980 alongside Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur, the films earned ¥1.55 billion in distributor rentals, placing them eighth among the highest-grossing Japanese films of that year.[2]

Reception

Mothra vs. Godzilla is often considered by both fans and critics alike as being one of the best in the Showa series of Godzilla films.

Video releases

Simitar DVD (1998)[6]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special features: Optional 1.33:1 presentation (cropped), Simitar-produced trailers for the company's kaiju releases, art gallery, trivia game
  • Notes: Out of print.

Studio Canal DVD (2001)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: French (2.0 Mono)
  • Notes: Out of print.

Classic Media DVD (2002)[7]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special features: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee trailer
  • Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Out of print.

Siren Visual Entertainment DVD (2003)

  • Region: 4
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: None
  • Special features: None
  • Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Transfer derived from a flat 16mm print. Packaged with Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (same disc). Out of print.

Toho DVD (2003)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (1.0 and 5.1)
  • Subtitles: Japanese
  • Special features: Audio commentary by Kenji Sahara, theatrical trailer, 75-minute reissue edit from 1980, 8mm version of Mothra, "Mothra Attacks Tokyo" narrated storybook

Marketing Film DVD (2004)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: German

Classic Media DVD (2006)[8]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special features: Audio commentary for Godzilla vs. The Thing by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, Akira Ifukube featurette (13 minutes), poster slideshow
  • Notes: Godzilla vs. The Thing has a cropped 1:78:1 aspect ratio. It also features the original "Godzilla vs. The Thing" title card in place of the "Godzilla vs. Mothra" card used in previous releases. Reissued in 2012; both releases are out of print.

Madman DVD (2006)

  • Region: 4

Toho Blu-ray (2010)

  • Region: A/1
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: Audio commentary by Kenji Sahara, theatrical trailer, 1980 reissue cut, 8mm promotional footage for Mothra, "Mothra Attacks Tokyo" narrated Sonorama storybook, interview with Yuji Sakai, behind the scenes photo gallery, storyboards gallery

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

Toho 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray (October 25, 2023)[10]

  • 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 Kenji Sahara, 8mm behind-the-scenes footage, unused tokusatsu footage, "Mothra Attacks Tokyo" narrated Sonorama storybook, "The World of Godzilla Modeling", "Mothra vs. Godzilla Battle Sketch", Japanese teaser, textless teaser, Japanese trailer, textless trailer, Champion Festival teaser, Champion Festival trailer, new edition 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.[11]

Novelization

A novelization of Mothra vs. Godzilla written by Takamasa Ueda was published by Kodansha in 1984. In the novelization, it is mentioned that there is a nuclear power plant on Iwa Island that has the potential to contaminate the majority of the Japanese archipelago if it is destroyed. There is a scene where the Chief Cabinet Secretary holds a press conference and warns people to evacuate.

Manga adaptation

A manga adaptation of the film illustrated by Fumio Hisamatsu was published in the May 1964 issue of the children's comic magazine Adventure King.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese trailer
Textless trailer
Japanese 1980 trailer
Japanese teaser
Textless teaser
U.S. Godzilla vs. The Thing trailer
U.S. Godzilla vs. The Thing TV trailer
U.S. Godzilla vs. The Thing TV spot
U.S. Godzilla vs. The Thing radio spots
West German Godzilla vs. The Thing trailer
Simitar Godzilla vs. Mothra VHS trailer

Miscellaneous

Ken Films Super 8 digest version of Godzilla vs. The Thing
Opening of the 1980 re-release
8mm footage by Tomoyuki Tanaka of the drama unit filming and Japanese moviegoers waiting in line for the film

Trivia

  • Mothra vs. Godzilla was theatrically released in Japan as a double feature with Operation Anti Hell.[12]
  • Mothra vs. Godzilla was re-released in an abridged 74-minute version on December 19, 1970, as part of the Winter Toho Champion Festival, alongside Attack No. 1: The Tearful World Championship, The Fragile Planet, and episode 1 of The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee. As had been done with King Kong vs. Godzilla's reissue earlier the same year, the re-editing was carried out on the original camera negative of the film, resulting in home video releases of the uncut version being sourced from a lower quality duplicate element.
  • The upper lip on the Godzilla suit in this film has a slight wobble. This was originally an accident; during the filming of the scene where Godzilla smashes into the Nagoya Castle, Haruo Nakajima fell and the suit's head slammed into the miniature, loosening the teeth and damaging the jaw. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya actually liked this effect and kept the suit like that for the rest of filming. The scene where Godzilla's head gets set on fire by a Curtiss C-46D bomb was also accidental, with Nakajima continuing to perform the scene as the script required.[13] By the next film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, the suit's head had sustained so much damage that it had to be replaced.
  • Mothra vs. Godzilla is one of only three Toho Godzilla movies to be released in Japanese and American theaters the same year, the others being Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One.
  • In the third episode of Godzilla Singular Point, "Tigerish", a billboard in Nigashio City promotes Happy Enterprises. In the same episode, Mei Kamino meets Takehiro Kai at a Happy Enterprises amusement park.

External links

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 The American version of the film additionally credits Sanezumi Fujimoto as an executive producer, which has been repeated in American sources including Japan's Favorite Mon-Star and A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series. However, neither the film's Japanese version nor any press materials from Toho make mention of Fujimoto.

References

This is a list of references for Mothra vs. Godzilla. 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 1.2 Craig, Rob (2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 169. ISBN 9781476666310.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Past Box Office-Topping Films: 1980 (January-December)". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, Inc. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 モスラ対ゴジラ|ゴジラ 東宝公式サイト (official Godzilla.jp page)
  4. Monsters From An Unknown Culture: Godzilla (and friends) in Britain 1957-1980 by Sim Branaghan – Part 1
  5. "Mothra Vs. Godzilla". BBFC. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. Amazon.com: Godzilla Vs Mothra (1964)
  7. Amazon.com: Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964)
  8. Amazon.com: MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (1964)
  9. Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975 | The Criterion Collection
  10. Sato, Toshiaki (18 July 2022). "7 "Godzilla" works released in 4K remastered UHD for 3 consecutive months!". Note.
  11. [1]
  12. Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. 28 September 2012. p. 78. ISBN 4864910138.
  13. Haruo Nakajima Interview

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