An ever-evolving alien life form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula arrives to consume rampant pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity or Godzilla may be a... Read allAn ever-evolving alien life form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula arrives to consume rampant pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity or Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.An ever-evolving alien life form from the Dark Gaseous Nebula arrives to consume rampant pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity or Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.
- Dr. Toru Yano
- (as Akira Yamauchi)
- Directors
- Yoshimitsu Banno
- Ishirô Honda(earlier film clips) (uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Five Godzilla Movies You Need to Watch
Five Godzilla Movies You Need to Watch
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Yoshimitsu Banno has mentioned that Hedorah's eyes in the film were deliberately made to resemble female genitalia, with Banno joking that the vaginally inspired look made it more unsettling. During Godzilla's battle with Hedorah, strange white orbs are ripped out of Hedorah's dried-out body. According to Banno, they are meant to be Hedorah's eyes, which he considered the most important part of a person's body. The film has a running theme of eyes being injured with several of its characters. However, the reason they do not resemble Hedorah's actual eyes is due to rushed production and a smaller budget. Banno mentioned that not only had Toho given him less than half of the budget of the prior Godzilla films, but he was also only given 35 days to shoot the entire film (both the drama scenes and the special effects scenes). Making matters even more challenging for Banno was the fact that he had to make do with a single film crew.
- GoofsWhen Hedorah throws some sludge at Godzilla during the Mt. Fuji scene, it hits Godzilla's right eye - but after Hedorah gets done laughing, Godzilla's left eye is the one that is damaged.
- Quotes
Yukio Keuchi: There's no place else to go and pretty soon we'll all be dead, so forget it! Enjoy yourself! Let's sing and dance while we can! Come on, blow your mind!
- Crazy creditsIn the AIP version of this film, its entire cast is mysteriously uncredited.
- Alternate versionsThere are two distinct versions of the American International Pictures version of this film, which is titled "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster." The first version, presumably the original 35mm theatrical version, features an English language cartoon sequence (reworked from a similar Japanese language one in the Japanese version). A similar insert replaces a shot of a newsreader with an English language map of Fuji City. In addition, AIP removed all of the Japanese text from the scenes of various "science lessons" given by Dr. Yano. This is the version that was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Orion Home Video in 1989. The second version, however, has none of these unique shots. The Hedorah cartoon and newsreader scene are unchanged from the Japanese version and Dr. Yano's science lessons feature onscreen Japanese text. This version seems to have been the standard 16mm release for television distribution and can be seen mostly in unlicensed home video releases of the film, such as the 1990 Simitar VHS release from the U.S. and the Digital Disc DVD release from Canada.
- ConnectionsEdited into Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
- SoundtracksKaese! Taiyô wo
("Return! The Sun")
Main Title Theme
Music by Riichirô Manabe
Lyrics by Yoshimitsu Banno
Sung by Keiko Mari, the Honey Knights and the Moon Drops
The central character in this movie is a boy, played by Hiroyuki Kawase, who idolizes Godzilla. Godzilla, by this time, is portrayed as a "defender of Earth," rather than a destructive force. Mostly, there are no hints of fears from the people upon Godzilla's appearances. The line "Get'em Godzilla!" is a real charmer, making the monster look more and more like a hero and defender of Japan.
Yoshimitsu Banno did a good job directing and assembling the cast out, staging them in places like nightclubs, hills and amusement parks. The retro feel could be seen in the nightclub scene, where the singer sings the title song as blobs of retro paint move in a movie screen behind her. Also, the scene of the teenagers "celebrating" on a hill like a woodstock is also a retro feel.
Takeshi Kimura gave us a dark and scientific story, but some lighthearted scenes can be seen, like the scene where Godzilla flies (I think this is the only time we see Godzilla fly). Teruyoshi Nakano's special effects were believable; plenty of monster battles, albeit slow in some parts. Some of the problems I have with the monster battles is the part where Godzilla and Hedorah virtually move towards each other, staring at each other for several minutes. The movie's cinematography lacks a little spirit and color, making this movie look a little dull, and the overall momentum of the film was a little slow. And, this film lacks an effective music score. The music is not really harmonic or melodic and lacks charm to it. Riichiro Manabe composed a theme for Godzilla-a theme played by overblown trumpets. Though somewhat wacky, this theme sounds heroic for Godzilla.
Overall, a somewhat slow but an interesting Godzilla movie, returning you to the darker and more serious themes of the series.
Grade C+
- OllieSuave-007
- Jun 20, 2001
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $250,000 (estimated)