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Godzilla vs. Hedorah

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Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Japanese theatrical poster
Directed byYoshimitsu Banno
Written byYoshimitsu Banno
Takeshi Kimura
Produced byTomoyuki Tanaka
StarringAkira Yamauchi
Toshie Kimura
Hiroyuki Kawase
Keiko Mari
Toshio Shiba
CinematographyYoichi Manoda
Edited byYoshitami Kuroiwa
Music byRiichiro Manabe
Distributed byToho
Running time
87 min (USA)
LanguagesJapanese
English

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (ゴジラ対ヘドラ, Gojira tai Hedora), also known as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, is a 1971 film. The eleventh film in Toho Co. Ltd.'s Godzilla series, it was directed by Yoshimitsu Banno with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The score was composed by Riichiro Manabe.

Storyline

Hedorah was an alien lifeform that landed on Earth and began feeding on pollution. Thanks to his toxic nature, as well as his acidic, poisonous body, Hedorah very nearly put an end to Godzilla in their struggle. Godzilla finally put an end to Hedorah by completely drying him out using electrical generators set up by the military and his own radioactive breath. The movie contains several strange impressionistic animated scenes portraying the smog monster at his evil work.

On a side note, this was the first - and only - time we see Godzilla fly. He uses his atomic breath as jet propulsion. Banno reportedly added the scene to provide a light moment in what is otherwise a fairly dark movie compared to many of those which preceded it.

Producer's reaction to the film

Tomoyuki Tanaka, who produced the first 22 Godzilla films, was in the hospital during the time the film was made. Upon recovery and actually seeing the film, it is said that he told the director of the film he ruined the Godzilla series and that he would never direct at Toho again. Despite this claim, however, Banno is slated to produce and direct the soon-to-be released film Godzilla: 3D to the MAX, featuring the monster Deathla.

Trivia

  • Kenpachiro Satsuma was struck with appendicitis during the production. Doctors were forced to perform the appendectomy while he was still wearing the Hedorah suit, due to the length of time it took to take off. During the operation, Satsuma learned that painkillers have no effect on him.[1]
  • Rotten Tomatoes.com enjoyed this movie,giving it a fresh 67%.

Unproduced sequel

After Yoshimitsu Banno finished directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah, he began work on creating another installment in the Godzilla series. Like his first Godzilla movie, Banno had wanted the next film to have a strong message against pollution. The initial idea was that a starfish living in the polluted seas mutates into a giant Monster and ends up fighting Godzilla. However, he scrapped this idea and wrote what was going to be Godzilla Vs. Hedorah 2. In it, Godzilla was to fight another Hedorah, this time in Africa. Due to Tomoyuki Tanaka's incident on the set of filming Hedorah (see above), this was never realized.

U.S. Versions

The film was released in April 1972 by American International Pictures under the title Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster" . There were several small alterations: dialogue was dubbed to English, the song "Save the Earth" (based on the song "Ka ei sei(Return the Sun)" in the original) was added, and a few sound affects were added, for example throughout the film whenever Hedorah is struggling he is given a strange grunt and slurp sounding almost like it is coming from a full grown man.

This version was rated PG by the MPAA. A home video release of this version was cut to earn a G rating.

The AIP version has been replaced in the North American home video and television markets (including Sony's DVD) by Toho's 'International Version,' titled Godzilla vs. Hedorah. This version features a different English dub track that is considered inferior by many fans, and also lacks the "Save the Earth" song. But some bootleg DVDs still contain the AIP dub.

The film enjoys a rather deep cult in the U.S. due to its moody pacing, graphic violence and tone shifts. The -extended- climactic battle on Mt. Fuji is a rare example of 'real' cinema technique in a Godzilla film. Check the nocturnal battle between Hedorah and Godzilla as well as the rather grim tone of the film overall. It's also the only Godzilla film to end on an ambiguous note - given the defeat of the bad guy.

Box Office

In Japan, the film sold 1,740,687 tickets.

DVD Releases

Sony Pictures

  • Released: October 19, 2004
  • Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
  • Sound: Japanese (2.0), English (2.0)
  • Region 1

DigitalDisc

  • Released: Unknown
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Sound: English Mono
  • Supplements: On Double Feature DVD with Godzilla vs. Megalon
  • Region 1
  • MPAA Rating: PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language

References

  1. ^ Guy Marriner Tucker, Age of the Gods.
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah at IMDb
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah at Rotten Tomatoes
  • [1]
  • Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2, from TohoKingdom's Lost Projects Page
  • [2]
  • "ゴジラ対ヘドラ (Gojira tai Hedora)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
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