It's crazy! It's
insane! It's absolutely one of the most awesome
Godzilla movies of all time! Of course, the movie
does lack in places, especially in the area of
character development. The plot, monster battles,
effects, and overall innovation make this film
a real knockout, however, and the music, though
wacky, is brilliant in its originality. People
will often deride it for just how different it
is, but there is one thing that everyone can agree
on, and that is that this movie is creative!
As Ken Yano innocently played with his Godzilla
toys outside his home in the Fuji area, a concerned
fisherman named Gohei arrived on the premises.
He carried something very strange, and revealed
it to Dr. Toru Yano, a collector and researcher
of oddities from the sea. Dr. Yano studied what
appeared to be a huge, dark, and glimmering tadpole.
Stories of a monstrous tadpole were being reported
simultaneously on the news, and photographs revealed
an enormous, amorphous creature with diagonal,
blood red eyes. Dr. Yano and his son journeyed
to the shore, where he strapped on his scuba gear
and plunged into the murky, indigo waters. Ken,
meanwhile, busied himself ashore scraping mussels
from the jagged rocks. Below, he noticed several
crabs floating in a shallow pool, all dead. Looking
back to the sea, he watched in horror as the hateful
eyes of a cold, unnatural monster approached.
It soared overhead, as Ken sliced its underbelly
with his knife. Returning to the sea, it swam
deeper and deeper in the polluted waters, approaching
Dr. Yano and maiming the right portion of his
face with its awful, potent acids. Ken awaited
his father's return ashore with tears in his eyes...
for a stranger was lurking in the depths, and
its motives and powers were still a virtual mystery.
Dr. Yano was finally rescued, and while resting
in his home with bandages covering a good portion
of his face, he was interviewed by television
reporters. Meanwhile, Hedorah (Ken's name for
the monster) attacked and sank a freighter out
to sea. The mystery was becoming thicker and thicker
by the minute. That night, as Ken was peacefully
dreaming about his hero Godzilla, his father worked
tirelessly to find answers. The dried remains
of the tadpole that Gohei had brought earlier
was found to be a mineral that, when coming in
contact with polluted water, would thrive, grow,
and combine with other Hedorahs.
The surf was restless in Taganura Bay, and the
water lapped onto the docks. From the bay, an
enormous, four-legged Hedorah crawled from the
sea and atop a large smokestack. An unnerving,
gurgling purr emanated from the sickening abomination
as it absorbed the polluted gasses spewing from
the towering smokestacks. As its crimson eyes
slowly closed, an ear-piercing roar could be heard
close by. A swirling beam of radiation illuminated
the pitch-black night, and a roaring fire began
to dance in the distance. Godzilla had arrived.
Chirping and squealing in an intense loathing
for this new challenger, Hedorah soared toward
its victim and began to engulf Godzilla in its
polluted mass. Two reptilian claws pierced through
the unctuous torso of the repugnant invader as
Godzilla prepared to pull the monster into a centrifugal
throw. The intense forces of Godzilla's attack
tore Hedorah in two, and the two segments flew
to different parts of the city. In a nearby nightclub,
Yukio Keuchi, an acquaintance to Dr. Yano, and
Miki Fujiyama watched in horror as the drizzling,
oozing slime of Hedorah began to flow through
the entrance, and then slide away, leaving a mewing,
slime-drenched cat in its wake. Yukio and Miki
rushed to the car in the dead of night, as they
watched Godzilla pursue the crawling Hedorah through
the city streets. A clump of sludge was launched
at Godzilla's shoulder, and the corrosive substance
began to eat away at the once invulnerable monster.
Hedorah attempted to soar to safety, but its wounds
were becoming too severe. Godzilla's thermonuclear
breath scorched Hedorah; scattering sparks across
the bay area. The smog monster had endured too
much, for it retreated into the waters from whence
it came, followed by a determined and angry Godzilla.
With thirty-five deaths, eighty-one injuries,
and millions of dollars in damage, the severity
of the situation was becoming ever more terrifying
as morning arrived in Taganura Bay. Retrieving
the scattered sparks from the night's battle,
Dr. Yano studied the segments of Hedorah and came
to the conclusion that a key substance in the
creature's body, which he dubbed "hedrium",
had the ability to convert a variety of substances
into sulfur. Putrid yellow veins of sulfur flowed
through Hedorah, and as a result, the monster
released a deadly, corrosive mist of sulfuric
acid. It was determined that only an organism
from space, perhaps attached to a meteor from
some unknown star system, could be the source
of the monster Hedorah.
The following day, Yukio Keuchi, Miki Fujiyama,
and young Ken Yano were enjoying a day at the
amusement park. Aboard the roller coaster, Ken
looked out into the distance and quickly saw the
silhouette of Godzilla contrasting the overcast
sky. When the ride came to a stop, he ran to a
payphone and called his father, informing him
of the sighting. Dr. Yano began to instruct his
son to locate his mother, but a powerful explosion
interrupted the conversation. Ken rushed off,
as his mother was instructing her exercise class
outdoors. Hedorah, flying by means of gaseous
propulsion, soared overhead, its potent mist descending
upon the class. Everyone collapsed to the ground,
choking violently as a siren screamed from the
distance. Toshie Yano helped her class find shelter
indoors as it was revealed on the news that the
main storage tank of the Japan Oil Company had
exploded. A second Hedorah, meanwhile, forced
Yukio and Miki out of their vehicle. The city
was under siege. Godzilla managed to intercept
his flying foe and land a blow, but as it began
to take off, Godzilla collapsed to the ground,
unable to find fresh air. The flesh began to melt
off the bones of those unfortunate enough to stand
in Hedorah's path. The monster's mists were becoming
more and more toxic. Ken ran away from this most
hideous sight, as Hedorah continued its reign
of terror in the Fuji area.
With 1,600 dead, and other casualties expecting
to exceed 30,000, the terror that was Hedorah
seemed unstoppable. Panic gripped the nation.
As oxygen was being considered as a capable antidote,
Dr. Yano's studies of the Hedorah remains brought
about the conclusion that exposure to electricity
would cause the moisture to evaporate and lead
to its demise. As the experiments with electricity
were being conducted, the government ordered a
halt to all operations in industrial factories
and a halt to the use of automobiles.
That evening, Yukio, Miki, Ken, and a group of
about one hundred teenagers arrived in the countryside
near Mt. Fuji, where they started fires and began
to party in one last hurrah if the event were
to occur that the invader from space would destroy
humankind. Meanwhile, Hedorah began to fly north
from Taganura, much larger than before, and moved
north toward Mt. Fuji. In response, Dr. Yano notified
the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and asked them
about the progress of the giant electrodes...
Evening turned to night as the party continued
near Mt. Fuji, but in the distance, Ken saw Godzilla
firing his thermonuclear ray. His bellowing roar
interrupted the music, and not too far away, the
towering final form of Hedorah was facing off
against his furious foe, Godzilla. It slung sludge
into its challenger's left eye, and the eye shut
in pain. In an intense glow of energy, Hedorah
transformed into its flying form and began to
fire its crimson eyebeam at Godzilla. Killing
some of the partygoers as it flew overhead, it
transformed back into its final form. Yukio Keuchi
noted Hedorah's fear of fire, and led a charge
against the monster with a barrage of torches.
Yukio was shot in the eye by sludge and was brought
to the ground. The remaining attackers were also
killed, poisoned by the monster's deadly excretions.
Hedorah began to approach the rest of the onlookers,
and as Ken attempted to procure some fire from
a large torch, a blob of slime toppled it over.
Luckily, an atomic ray fired, and in response,
Hedorah leapt over Godzilla, allowing its corrosive
sludge to fall onto the increasingly helpless
creature. Tossing a boulder aside with his tail,
Godzilla created a distraction while he sank his
right fist into the area near Hedorah's left eye.
The acidic ooze scorched Godzilla's hand to the
bone, as Hedorah's left eye closed due to the
severity of its wound. The two monsters grappled
with each other, spinning in circles, each trying
to gain the advantage. Hedorah's crimson eye beam
fired and the ground erupted in flames. Godzilla
began to choke on the smoke, unable to catch his
breath, and when he fell to the ground, Hedorah
airlifted him and dropped the once proud monster
into a deep ravine. With Godzilla writhing on
the ground below, Hedorah morphed into his final
form and began to unleash thousands and thousands
of gallons of toxic fluid into the valley below.
Struggling in a pool of revolting sludge, Godzilla
fired his breath, to no avail. The king of the
monsters was rendered completely helpless...
The Japanese Self-Defense Force finally began
to implement one of their more unconventional
plans. A container, filled with oxygen, was dropped
from a helicopter above, but alas, Hedorah's scarlet
beam destroyed the craft shortly after it released
its payload. Another helicopter arrived in order
to drop more oxygen, but before it could release
its weapon, it was forced to dodge another eye
beam. Meanwhile, Dr. Toru Yano and Toshie Yano
arrived to view the progress of the JSDF's giant
electrodes. The two enormous devices would send
a scorching array of electrical rays through Hedorah's
body, evaporating its moisture and drying the
monstrosity to a crisp. In order to lure the monster
to the area, headlights and supersonic waves would
be utilized. In the distance, an exchange of thermonuclear
rays and eye beams illuminated the night, and
Godzilla and Hedorah struggled with each other
as they tumbled down the side of a hill, destroying
the high tension wires so desperately needed for
the use of the electrodes. Repairs were ordered
as the two monsters continued to struggle for
dominance. Godzilla blocked an eye beam with his
left hand, but the attack was far too painful.
More eyebeams forced Godzilla to the ground, and
Hedorah took his leave. The monster flew toward
the electrodes, and though the high-tension wires
were not yet prepared, three vehicles flashed
their headlights in order to lure Hedorah closer.
The second helicopter returned for another attempt
at dropping the oxygen onto Hedorah, but was unfortunately
destroyed in the process. The craft plummeted
to the ground and erupted in flames, luring Hedorah
ever closer. When the creature was finally located
between the two gargantuan electrodes, the plasma
of Godzilla's thermonuclear ray energized one
of the massive structures and began to send an
array of electrical bolts slicing through the
smog monster's body. The ray fired again, and
the electrodes illuminated with raw, surging energy.
Hedorah's eye closed; for it appeared that only
a corpse remained...
Godzilla, heavily injured from the battle, lumbered
closer and closer to the body of his incapacitated
foe. He sank his claws into his quarry and removed
two orbs, which he promptly destroyed by setting
the electrodes ablaze with energy once more. With
Hedorah's eyes reduced to dust, it would appear
as though the menace was defeated. This was not
the case, however. Godzilla tossed a boulder into
the corpse with his tail, and another Hedorah
launched into the sky. Dr. Yano had earlier concluded
that Hedorah flew by means of nuclear reaction,
so it was not too surprising when Godzilla stretched
out his arms, turned around, and began to propel
himself into the sky with his thermonuclear breath!
His spines collided with Hedorah, and on the ground,
Godzilla lifted his enemy above the soil and began
to smash the amorphous blob into the Earth below.
Using his newfound ability, Godzilla flew toward
the electrodes once more as the final repairs
were made. The electricity was activated, to no
avail. Godzilla's powerful breath ignited the
electrodes and Hedorah's eye twitched as he dried
to a crisp. Removing every last moist piece of
alien flesh, Godzilla fired upon the electrodes
one final time, and Hedorah was completely converted
into its basic minerals. The smog monster, that
horrific incarnation who was responsible for such
death and destruction, was finally gone...
Godzilla glanced at the humans nearby and then
turned toward the sea. Ken Yano waved to his hero
as he trudged through the Fuji area, ready to
return to the ocean and heal his wounds. His job
was complete.
Though the story pulls away from tradition
as far as a Godzilla movie is concerned, the plot
is still very solid. Bringing Hedorah to the screen
within the first few minutes of the movie proves
early on that the pace is going to be much smoother
than some earlier movies. The way the monster
is shown in its entirety right away, instead of
keeping it hidden for a while, also pulls away
from the norm. This movie gets right on board
and says: this is the antagonist! The mystery
that accompanies Hedorah is instead the question:
what will it become next? Also, the use of false
assumptions throughout the movie, that Hedorah
is only a water monster, first, and then that
it will only come out at night, second, lends
to create an air of dramatic irony and uncertainty.
In regards to Godzilla, he also shows up relatively
early on, in front of a vivid, vermilion sunset,
with a heroic theme playing in the background.
This film is the first to show Godzilla as a truly
heroic figure, excluding All
Monsters Attack (1969), in which
all of the monster action takes place within a
child's imagination. However, the character of
Ken Yano, like Ichiro Miki in the previous movie,
helps to characterize Godzilla as the "good
guy" throughout the movie. All throughout,
he reveals that Godzilla will try to stop Hedorah,
and even near the beginning, recites a poem for
school about the monster's valiant efforts to
stop the world's rampant pollution problems. The
portrayal of the severity of the danger is also
increased in this movie to a disturbing level
unseen since the original. The use of sirens,
skeletons, death count figures, and other visual
and aural aids paint a vivid atmosphere of terror
and uncertainty. The matrix of television screens,
which shows up in a couple different sections
of the film, is an excellent way to portray panic,
especially with the chaotic array of sights and
sounds. To add creepy to unnerving, the use of
cartoon shorts throughout the movie adds another
disturbing dimension to the plot. The first animation
shows Hedorah drinking fuel from a ship as smokestacks
spew pollution in the background. The second and
most disturbing animation shows a dark factory
with greedy red eyes. The factory's mechanical
hands continue to absorb every sprouting plant
that they can grasp, until the facility becomes
larger and larger to the point where it is grossly
out of proportion. Then, Hedorah descends onto
the factory, eats it, and flies away. The third
animation shows Hedorah holding a sign above the
city, and below, people walk casually with gas
masks, until the corrosive gas suddenly strikes
two people. Their faces crisscross, and the image
shifts into a live-action scene showing a perimeter
of damage that oddly resembles the two faces.
The fourth and final animation is more comic relief
than anything, but its usefulness to the plot
comes later on when Godzilla engages in his famous
flying scene. In this animation, nuclear fission
is discussed with the use of atoms and subatomic
particles, each with a face, in order to explain
Hedorah's method of flight. The former three animations
are highly effective in presenting an allegorical
caricature of modern society. The first represents
the monstrous determent to humankind that pollution
creates (Hedorah feeding from the ship) while
humans continue to pour pollution into the atmosphere
(the smokestacks in the background). The second
represents the insatiable desire of modern industry
to destroy the environment in the pursuit of progress
(the factory feeding off the plants), followed
by the terrors that occur when this disregard
for homeostasis is ignored (Hedorah eating the
factory). The third animation represents just
how nonchalant society is even when faced with
destruction and disaster, and how unwilling we
are to change our ways, but how willing we our
to instead adapt to an increasingly uninhabitable
world in order to continue with our desire for
"progress". The whole movie is symbolic,
in one way or another, about the terrors of pollution
in all of its forms. Scenes of garbage floating
on the tranquil ocean are spliced throughout the
movie, and these scenes really bring home the
notion that this is a movie with a message. The
scene with the fish dying in the aquarium is eerily
reminiscent of a similar scene in Godzilla
(1954). The old men near the climax of the movie,
who watch the party, seem to represent spirits
of the old generation, witnessing what the world
has become. There has not been a Godzilla movie
that has emphasized a moral to this degree since,
and it is probably the first to really
do so after Godzilla
(1954).
Of course, a movie without acting is just a story.
The acting in this film is solid, and the individual
actors give average to above average performances
throughout. Akira Yamauchi as Dr. Yano gives a
melodramatic performance, but still manages to
keep his style natural. Toshie Kimura, who plays
his wife Toshie, plays a similar role, but manages
to add a level of sweetness to her character,
especially earlier on. Keiko Mari has so few scenes
that it is difficult to determine the quality
of her acting. Her ability to portray emotion,
such as the scream she released in the scene where
Hedorah attacks her car, is effective. Mostly,
however, her character is forced into a state
of reserved fear, especially near the end of the
movie. Toshio Shiba, who plays Yukio Keuchi gives
the poorest performance among the main actors.
His reactions to dangerous situations seem to
be misplaced anger instead of fear, and his acting
during his character's attempts to set up the
"Go-Go of One Million" seems rather
uneven, as though he's trying too hard. Still,
his acting as a whole is solid. Toshio Shiba,
who at first glance looks as though he'll be the
stereotypical child actor, does quite well with
what the script demands of him. His reaction to
his father's disappearance is believable, as is
his horror at the skeletal remains of Hedorah's
victims. It also appears as though he isn't trying
too hard, and luckily this works out to become
a more natural performance.
Though there are only a handful of actors whose
roles are focused upon, the amount of development
given to each of the characters is unfortunately
minimal. Little to nothing is known about anyone.
One can guess that Dr. Yano is a scientist interested
in natural anomalies, perhaps caused by pollution
and other mutagens. We know only a little about
his wife, Toshie Yano, too. It is clear, especially
in scenes with Dr. Yano and Ken Yano, that she
shows caring and sweetness. However, not much
else is known. Yukio Keuchi is probably the most
perplexing character in the plot. At first glance,
he appears to be Ken's brother, but the surname
difference seems to most definitely signify that
this is not the case. Perhaps he represents an
older brother figure, or perhaps a friend to Dr.
Yano, either professionally or personally. This
is not known. What we do know is that he does
do drugs, as shown by the hallucinations of fish
heads in the bar scene. Hopefully then, his appearance
in the plot is not as a big brother figure to
Ken Yano. It appears as though the fish head hallucinations
are just another moral to the story, perhaps a
way to scare young people away from drugs. Who
knows, the fish heads are so freakish, it probably
worked. Miki Fujiyama, who appears to
be Yukio's love interest, is given the least amount
of development in the plot. In the beginning,
it appears as though she is just another singer,
in a body suit that is either supposed to or not
supposed to give the illusion of nudity (it's
not too clear). As the story progresses, it is
shown that she has connections to Yukio and Ken.
What these connections are seems to be implied,
though not very well. Of all the characters, Ken
Yano appears to be the most developed. This is
very surprising, as he appears to be the cliché
child character in the plot. But, the audience
at least knows his thoughts better than those
of the other characters. We know of his admiration
of Godzilla, his concern with the environment,
and his overall innocence when, for example, he
proudly shows his bandaged hand to the media.
Above all, character development is the one major
flaw of this movie.
The special effects, however, most definitely
make up for the character development in this
film. The suit actors do quite well here. Haruo
Nakajima plays the hero Godzilla excellently,
and makes the once antagonistic horror now a protagonist
monster with an attitude. It's actually quite
amazing to realize this is the same suit actor
from the original Godzilla film. Some of his actions,
however, lack reptilian qualities, such as the
humanlike use of his hands or the infamous chin-rub
taunt. Luckily, he finds a new way to portray
the monster: as a personified, heroic Godzilla.
The Hedorah suit actor, Kenpachiro Satsuma, also
manages to add dimension to his respective character.
He portrays his monster as cold and ruthless in
his enjoyment over the agony of Godzilla. His
motions, slow and swaying, also compliment a monster
of sludge and slime nicely. This motion also presents
the illusion of mass. As for the actual look of
the suits, Hedorah is clearly the triumph here.
The detailed, blood red eyes; the dark, unctuous
body; and the glowing head create a truly disturbing
look for Hedorah's final form. The flying form
prop is also well made, and since it lacks wings,
it is luckily not just another victim of the visually
painful "hovering flap", a big problem
with flying monsters of this era. The land form
Hedorah is also an interesting suit, especially
with its eerie, wiggly projections. The water
form is extremely well done. The simple, dark
prop with the bright red eyes, swimming through
the surface of the water menacingly, is very effective.
Godzilla, unfortunately, is not that great of
a success when it comes to his costume. During
the latter part of the movie, Godzilla's hand
is stripped to the bone, and the effect looks
realistic. Unfortunately, the rest of the costume
looks a little old and ragged, and a little wobbly
too. There seems to be no eyelid movement, and
the stance and texture give it a rather fake-ish
look. Luckily, Haruo Nakajima makes up flaws of
the suit with his performance. There are also
a few scenes where Godzilla flies, and the prop
utilized here is relatively immobile, but the
smoky breath effect (use to portray lift) is fairly
effective. Of course, the scene with Godzilla
flying is somewhat unrealistic compared to the
rest of the movie, but it is also one of the many
aspects that makes this movie unique. Although,
it is interesting to ponder how many people caught
the foreshadowing of this scene, which occurred
during the fourth animation.
Besides the physical monsters, there are several
other successes with special effects in this film.
The rotoscoping of the thermonuclear ray, though
rather simple, has somewhat of a 3d effect this
time with its circular swirling motion. Hedorah's
eyebeam resembles a very thin, crimson gravity
beam (King Ghidorah's beam weapon). The effect
is also minimal, but luckily, it works. The necessity
to quickly transform from flying form to final
form and back presents a difficult illusion. Luckily,
the animated, pulsating red glow distracts from
any visual flaws that derive from the necessary
edits during this transformation effect. There
is one major rotoscoping flaw in this film, and
that is the electricity that fires between the
giant electrodes. Although the pulsating reds
due distract somewhat from the beams, it's hard
not to notice how cartoonish and zig-zaggy the
electricity looks. There is actually some rotoscoping
aside from the beams in this movie, early on when
an animated Hedorah tadpole makes an appearance.
This is probably one of the more effective creatures
rendered through traditional animation. Though
it has the advantage of being dark, the smooth
frame rate is also a plus here. Rotoscoping aside,
the miniatures are also worth mentioning. Though
their appearance is minimal and concentrated mostly
early on during the initial battles, they are
fairly detailed. The scene that shows a building
under construction melting is a simple, yet realistic
illusion. Vehicles, especially military vehicles
like the helicopters, are also presented well.
The explosions and pyrotechnics accompanying the
helicopter crashes are vivid, and the billowing
smoke and lapping flames give the illusion of
size and power. Backdrops and matting are yet
another feature of this film that present excellent
illusions. During the final battle, the scenes
of the partygoers combined with scenes of Hedorah
and the scenes of the JSDF soldiers combined with
scenes Hedorah are realistic, and the lack of
detail that often accompanies these effects is
relatively non-existent. Unfortunately, there
are times when the monsters appear either larger
or smaller than they should, and this is especially
true when the partygoers appear to throw the torches
to spots on Hedorah a lot higher than one would
expect they could. The use of darker lighting
in this film is also an intriguing effect. Not
only does it cover some of the visual problems
with the use of water on a smaller scale, but
the darkness helps to make everything look larger,
giving an impression of size unseen in quite some
time. One cannot go through the list of special
effects without mentioning the sludge. The mixture
that is shown on screen is absolutely disgusting:
pitch black, glimmering, high-viscosity, unctuous
globs of pure grossness that truly enhance the
horror of Hedorah's character. The illusion is
positively excellent. Finally, the use of certain
sound effects is an intriguing aspect of this
film. Hedorah's roar, which sounds like a mix
between tapes screeching, cats purring, and slime
gurgling (although it is doubtful that they derive
from these respective sources), makes the character
very repugnant and detestable, just as the filmmakers
desire. Godzilla's cough: a repetitive, heavy
release of air, is a very uncomfortable effect.
It makes the audience feel what Godzilla is supposed
to be feeling. Hedorah's transformation sound
is eerie and spacey, and compliments the strangeness
of its character nicely. Silence, though perhaps
not a sound effect per se, is also successfully
utilized in some scenes such as the initial moments
after the explosion that rocked the phone booth.
It creates a deep sense of mystery and uncertainty.
The special effects, as a whole, are brilliant
in their simplicity.
One aspect of this film, which is a concept that
is somewhat difficult to describe, is atmosphere.
This movie combines a darkness unseen since Godzilla
(1954), but also adds a carefree style like some
of the later-60's Godzilla movies. The music also
creates this eclectic atmosphere, representing
the darkness during the Hedorah theme, for example,
and representing the carefree style during the
contemporary late-60's early-70's themes. It is
this fact about the movie that makes it so enjoyable
on a personal level. Without the use of lighter
styles in order to counteract the darker qualities
of this film, the movie would be too dark and
difficult to watch. Without the use of darker
styles, there would be no moral and no message
to this story. Yoshimitsu Banno has succeeded
in creating a very unique balancing act.
Music is often touted as one of the negative
aspects of the film. Quite the contrary, Riichiro
Manabe gives the audience a very unique score,
and perhaps it requires an open-minded ear to
truly enjoy it. Throughout the film, there are
many tracks that deserve recognition. Godzilla's
heroic theme is just one. It would be used again
in Godzilla
vs. Megalon (1973), but this is the movie
where it got its start. It is far more grounded
in the late-60's early-70's than an Akira
Ifukube theme, but it has a certain charm
all its own. Hedorah's theme is a very quiet,
yet high pitched theme that is has a minimalist
approach to the instruments. It creates a very
creepy tone to whatever scene it accompanies.
The Save the Earth song is very fun to
listen to, and it is an enjoyable, upbeat way
to start the film. A modified version, which shows
up later on in the nightclub scene, is also a
great addition. The flying-Godzilla theme, which
sounds oddly like a standard, old school superhero
theme, also makes an interesting appearance in
the track. It is somewhat strange, but it does
grow on the viewer, and the use of the track as
the movie comes to a close seems appropos. The
light percussion that plays when Hedorah attacks
the boat early on creates a perfect level of suspense.
One theme, which sounds like someone plucking
banjo strings, accompanies one of the floating-islands-of-garbage-scenes.
The theme is actually rather fitting in a strange
way, as its rather unusual, mocking style seems
to caricature human folly. The particular style
of woodwind instruments and the use of guitars
throughout the movie do ground the film in a late-60's
early-70's era, but the style is still very enjoyable
if one is open to something different. The guitar
theme that plays near the end when the party is
just starting is somewhat sullen and represents
the darker nature of this film, especially due
to the fact that the color is faded from the film.
However, when Toshio Shiba's character strikes
the guitar, and vivid color returns to the screen,
it heralds the return of the more carefree qualities
of the film, especially with the fun contemporary
music that follows. Probably the worst theme of
the movie is one that plays during a montage of
space, where Akira Yamauchi's character explains
that Hedorah arrived on a shooting star. It starts
out well with what sounds like xylophones, and
fades into a brief string piece. The string piece
has a lullaby quality to it, and the overall sound,
though not quite out of place, isn't very good.
All in all, the film does excel in the music department,
as long as the audience does have a more open-minded
view about how a Godzilla film should be scored.
Since this review does concern the American International
release, it would be wise to briefly discuss the
dubbing. As far as dubbing goes, this film actually
excels beyond many previous and many subsequent
attempts. The tone of the voices fit each character
within a certain margin of acceptability, and
the voice actors are given dialogue that luckily
moves well with the flow of the silenced Japanese
dialogue. The only thing that is out of place,
at least from a modern perspective, is the pronunciation
of Hedorah. In this dub, the monster is pronounced
"Hedrah", much like the way Ghidorah
used to be pronounced "Ghidrah". It
is actually a rather miniscule detail, and this
movie, of all the 70's movies (and several 60's
movies), has just about the best English audio
track.
In the end, Godzilla vs. Hedorah is
one of the greats in the series that doesn't get
the recognition it should. Of course, the film
does cater to a particular taste, and if one cannot
find acceptance for a very contemporary early-70's
style, then one won't enjoy this film. It is unfortunate
that Yoshimitsu Banno's plans for a direct sequel
never came to fruition. Fans of the movie will
be pleased, however, with the upcoming IMAX project
director Yoshimitsu Banno has proposed. Perhaps
the style that Godzilla vs. Hedorah fans
love so much won't fade with only one movie. Perhaps
someday soon, Godzilla will fly again! |