Rodan

Japan / 1956 Directed by Ishiro Honda Starring Kenji Sahara Yumi Shirakawa Akihiko Hirata Color / 72 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC) Sony Music Entertainment

Hold your mouse pointer over an image for a pop-up caption

2008 Special Edition

		Review by Brian Lindsey

6     5   10 = Highest Rating

Even if the credits didn't list Japanese names, one could tell from the rumbling, flatulent strains of Akira Ifukube's opening theme that Rodan is a Toho-produced daikaiju (giant monster) flick. It was the first to be made in color. It's also one of the best.     After some introductory padding composed of U.S. military stock footage (American A-bomb tests with voice-over narration), we meet Shigeru Kamura (Kenji Sahara), the safety engineer at a large coal mine in Kyushu. He's a bit worried about Shaft 8, which goes deeper than any of its predecessors. Then some miners go missing, including Shigeru's future brother-in-law. Two more miners and a policeman venture into the bowels of Shaft 8 to look for the missing men. Afterwards their bodies are found, "horribly mangled" by some unknown murderer. The entire village is gripped with fear over the killings. With her brother presumed dead, or even thought by some to be the killer, Shigeru's fiancee Kiyo (Yumi Shirakawa) is on the verge of a breakdown.     Shigeru is comforting Kiyo when the mystery chooses to reveal itself. A giant hippo-sized insect, a sort of prehistoric caterpillar with lobster-like claws, barges unannounced into Kiyo's house. (How rude!) Shigeru's calls for help ("There's a monster here!") summon the cops and some of the miners, who chase the chittering behemoth up the slope of a mining pit. After wasting a couple of expendable policemen, the creature slides down into the pit and disappears. (Providing some funny 'G.I. Joe stuntman' action as one of the lawmen is dragged part of the way down with it.) Examining the bodies of the dead cops, the local doctor confirms that they died from the same type of wounds seen on the other corpses. It would seem the mine complex has a serious pest control problem.     Understandably, in Japan local officials have no trouble getting higher authorities to believe them when they report monster problems. (None of that incredulous "Are you nuts?" or "Have you been drinking?" stuff that small town American mayors and sheriffs invariably have to deal with.) The Army quickly musters a company of well-armed infantrymen to the mine. Guided by Shigeru, the soldiers descend into Shaft 8 on a Bug Hunt. They are attacked by the giant insects, who prove impervious even to heavy machine-gun fire. During the retreat to the surface there's an earthquake; Shigeru is lost, buried underground with the monsters. A digging operation is commenced to rescue him but little hope is held out for his survival. Miraculously, after another earthquake, Shigeru is discovered alive in a newly opened fissure. But he has total amnesia.     So where in the heck are the giant flying reptiles? Well, just about now the movie finally gets 'round to 'em. While Shigeru is being treated for his memory loss, stories of a mysterious supersonic UFO are gripping the world's headlines. A Japanese Air Force pilot spots the intruder and attempts to intercept but his fighter jet is destroyed by some incredible unknown force. Appearing across the Pacific Rim, from Beijing to the Philippines, the UFO destroys several other planes without being identified. Photographic clues contained in a missing couple's recovered camera lead scientists to believe that the UFO is in fact a living creature — an immensely huge variant of the prehistoric pterodactyl with a 500 foot (!) wingspan. Meanwhile, Shigeru recovers his memory and we get a flashback of his experience while buried underground. His tale of a gigantic egg hatching a monstrous birdlike reptile (which feeds on the insect-creatures plaguing the mine) coincides with the appearance of the mystery UFO. Everyone's worst horror is realized when two of the flying reptiles — dubbed the "Rodan" species by the investigating scientists — appear over the city of Sasebo. The city is laid waste by the creatures, who can generate typhoon-strength winds with the buffeting of their massive wings. Japan's military springs into action but the bravery of its fighter pilots and tank crews proves useless against the Rodans. Will all of Nippon — indeed, the entire world — be destroyed by these rampaging leviathans?     Rodan is pure, unadulterated hokum that, at 72 compact minutes, chugs along at a rapid pace. It's barely even slowed down by a couple of sappy romantic interludes featuring Shigero and his girlfriend. Though the real stars of the show don't appear until well past the halfway point, the insect monsters keep the story moving along briskly. The rubber monster suits and models hold an undeniable charm even in this digitally-enhanced age; some of the model work for the destruction of Sasebo remains rather remarkable looking today. (The flick also contains one of the coolest toy car wrecks ever filmed.) Its only major faux pas is recycling some of the same special effects shots over and over. That the film's famous ending is still able to provoke an emotional response — remember, we're talking a big dumb rubber monster movie here — is a testament to the imagination and skill of the filmmakers.     As with the best of the daikaiju, Rodan is an ideal movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon, when it's time to switch off your brain and throw a few bags of popcorn in the microwave. And for me, anyway, it's always fun to hear ubiquitous American voice actor Paul Frees holding conversations with himself. (Aside from a couple of female voices only three guys dub all of the characters in the English language version, with Frees handling the lion's share.)

Rodan is presented fullframe in this Sony Region 1 release, which is apparently the way it was intended to be seen. There's some print damage and it's a bit grainy, but in general the visual quality of the disc is acceptable. There are two audio choices, a Mono track and one in 5.1 Surround. The Surround track sounded absolutely terrible on my equipment, like it was being broadcast from a cave. The Mono track is quite serviceable, however, and is the recommended selection for enjoying the movie.     There aren't any extras on the DVD, not even a trailer. A commercial for a Nintendo Gamecube title is included, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. As a 40 year-old geezer who doesn't play videogames anymore, I have to admit this one looked kind of interesting. It's a 3-D fighting game pitting lizard king Godzilla against an array of opponents from the movies (Ghidorah, MechaGodzilla, etc.), duking it out and smashing cities to rubble in the process. (Kids will probably have a blast with this thing.)     Still, as the DVD retails for around $10 (or less), I'm not complaining too much. Rodan provides fun, old-fashioned model-stomping action, Nippon style. The disc's an okay value for the price, but only marginally so. 11/10/02

UPDATE This DVD went OOP in 2005. In September 2008 Classic Media is releasing a new edition of Rodan in a 2-disc set with War of the Gargantuas (1966). The set will contain the original Japanese language track and the dubbed U.S. version of both films, plus a documentary.

HOME | REVIEWS | TOP