is a 1964 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the fourth film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, and Emi and Yumi Itō, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, humans beseech the aid of the divine moth Mothra to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan.
Due to the success of Mothra (1961) and King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Toho chose to pair Godzilla against Mothra for the following film. The film was intended for children as well as adults, as a way to compete with television's growing popularity in Japan. A new Godzilla suit and Mothra prop were built although the 1962 Godzilla suit was used for water scenes. At Tsuburaya's insistence, Toho purchased an Oxberry 1900 optical printer to remove damages in composite photography shots. It is the final film in the franchise's Shōwa era to depict Godzilla as the antagonist.
Mothra vs. Godzilla was released theatrically in Japan on April 29, 1964. An edited version titled Godzilla vs. the Thing was released by American International Pictures in the United States on August 26, 1964. The film received generally positive reviews from early and contemporary American critics. American film historians have praised the film's themes of unity, greed, and Honda's depiction of Godzilla as a "specter of nuclear annihilation" and a symbol of moral judgement.
The film was followed by Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released on December 20, 1964.
Plot Kurata Beach is stricken by a typhoon. The following morning, reporter Ichiro Sakai and his photographer Junko Nakanishi find a strange blue-gray object amongst the wreckage. Later, a giant egg is found floating near Nishi Beach in Shizunoura. Professor Miura attempts to investigate the egg, only to be pestered with questions by Sakai. They soon learn that the villagers had sold the egg to businessman Kumayama for exploitation purposes for his firm Happy Enterprises. At a local hotel, Sakai, Junko, and Miura discuss how to legally counter Kumayama's plans, and find him at the lobby. Kumayama meets with his financial backer Jiro Torahata, who reveals his plans to build the Shizunoura Happy Center around the egg. They are visited by the Shobijin, tiny twin fairies, who attempt to convince them to return the egg but have to escape when the businessmen try to capture them. The Shobijin run into Sakai, Junko, and Miura, and reveal to them that the egg belongs to the colossal insect god Mothra, the recent typhoon caused it to wash up on Japanese waters, and destruction will follow when the larva emerges. The trio agree to help them retrieve the egg, and try to plead with Kumayama and Torahata but are met with resistance. The Shobijin eventually return home to Infant Island without the egg.
Later, Sakai writes scathing articles about Happy Enterprises' insensitivity towards the Shobijin. However, the firm dismisses the articles as slander and open the Shizunoura Happy Center to the public. Kumayama is confronted by the villagers for not paying in full for the egg and renting from their land. Torahata agrees to loan Kumayama additional funds in exchange for putting the egg up as collateral. Kumayama reluctantly accepts and begins incubating the egg. Miura decontaminates Sakai and Junko after examining the object they found in the wreckage and determining it to be highly radioactive. The trio return to Kurata beach to investigate further, but the giant reptilian monster Godzilla emerges from the buried mud, revealing the object to be one of its scales. Citizens evacuate as Godzilla wreaks havoc on Yokkaichi and Nagoya. The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) are deployed to lead Godzilla to the coast to minimize casualties.
At the suggestion of a colleague, the trio travel to Infant Island to appeal to the Shobijin for Mothra's help. When they arrive, they are horrified by the desolation left behind by past nuclear tests. They are captured by the natives and reveal their intentions to ask for Mothra's help against Godzilla. The Shobijin and natives refuse, seeing it as divine retribution on outsiders for ravaging their island with nuclear tests, and not returning the egg. Junko and Sakai plead that the innocent are also in danger, that they have no right to decide who deserves to live or die, and that civilization is flawed, but is trying hard to make the world better. Mothra agrees to help, but the Shobijin warn that she is on her deathbed.
Back in Japan, the JSDF launch multiple campaigns against Godzilla but to no avail. After losing his fortune, Kumayama confronts Torahata at his hotel, attacks him, and steals his secret funds. Torahata shoots Kumayama, and attempts to escape with the money, but is crushed to death as Godzilla destroys the hotel. Godzilla reaches Nishi Beach, and prepares to destroy the egg until Mothra intervenes and engages Godzilla in battle. Mothra initially gets the upper hand, but is defeated by Godzilla's atomic breath. Mothra uses her last strength to fly to the egg and die next to it.
As the JSDF resume their attacks on Godzilla, the trio and the Shobijin remain with the egg as the twins attempt to make the egg hatch more quickly via musical incantations. On Infant Island, the natives join in a ritual dance, in response to the twins' music. Twin larvae emerge from the egg and follow Godzilla to Iwa island. As the monsters battle, the trio join a rescue party to retrieve students and their teacher left behind on Iwa Island. Godzilla is entrapped by the larvas' silk, tumbles into the sea and sinks. The students and teacher are returned to safety, and the larvae and Shobijin return to Infant Island. Sakai asserts that humanity will thank them by building a better world.
Cast
Cast taken from Japan's Favorite Mon-Star, except where cited otherwise.
Themes The film historian Steve Ryfle calls Mothra vs. Godzilla a "classic good-versus-evil stand-off". He says the film raises philosophical questions about unity and humanity's will to put aside their differences for the greater good. Ryfle refers to Godzilla as a "specter of nuclear annihilation", metaphorically casting its shadow over Japan. Ryfle also describes Godzilla as a symbol of moral judgement after indirectly killing the film's villains. The director Ishirō Honda had directed the original Godzilla (1954) and Mothra (1961) films, and the actor Hiroshi Koizumi said Honda was able to emphasize his themes better through Mothra than Godzilla, stating, "Mothra's role was a messenger of peace". Kenji Sahara said his character Torahata symbolized greed. Honda purposely chose to portray the film's version of Infant Island as a partial wasteland as a way to "visualize the terror and the power of the atomic bomb".
The film historian David Kalat writes that the film brings the shame of civilized man to the forefront, and says that the film's Japanese characters do little to nothing to return Mothra's egg yet travel to Infant Island to ask Mothra for more. Kalat writes that Mothra is the first to respond to Sakai's speech about the brotherhood between mankind, adding that Mothra "possesses a more developed faculty of forgiveness than her subjects," thus making Mothra "morally and spiritually superior" than humans.
Production Crew
Ishirō Honda – director Eiji Tsuburaya – special effects director Kōji Kajita – assistant director Boku Norimoto – production coordinator Sadamasa Arikawa – special effects photography Akira Watanabe – special effects art director Takeo Kita – art director Hiroshi Mukoyama – optical effects
Personnel taken from Japan's Favorite Mon-Star.
Development After having success with King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Toho Co., Ltd. wanted to pair Godzilla with another popular monster and chose Mothra, following the success of her debut film in 1961. Honda and Toho aimed the film towards a general audience due to the rise of television at the time. To prepare for his role, Sahara spent time around "pushy" real-estate agents by posing as a buyer. Tanaka cast the twin sisters Emi and Yumi Itō as the Shobijin due to their popularity as the singing duo The Peanuts, as this would create publicity for the film.
The story in Mothra vs. Godzilla was originally intended to pick up after Mothra, with the Rolisicans, the fictional people of the fictional country Rolisica, re-cast as the villains. The screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa's earlier drafts have several key differences from the final version: the villain Torahata did not exist; Sakai was accompanied by two scientists, a colleague and a friend's mentor; Godzilla's body washes ashore rather than Mothra's egg; the leads offer themselves as hostages to the Infant Island natives in exchange for Mothra's help; Rolisica was to be attacked by Godzilla; the Frontier Missiles were to be used by the Rolisican military; Himeji Castle was to be destroyed; Godzilla was to move East until reaching close to Tokyo; The artificial lightning tactic is conceived when Godzilla is repelled by electrical towers in Tokyo; Mothra attacks Godzilla when he becomes immune to electricity; Mothra engages Godzilla in a final battle when he stalks the lead characters on a beach. Honda changed much of Sekizawa's original script to accommodate his own vision. Sakai's speech about the brotherhood of man was not in Sekizawa's script, but was later added by Honda during filming. The film marks the last time Godzilla is depicted as the antagonist during the franchise's Shōwa era.
Music The film score was composed by Akira Ifukube. Ifukube adapted elements from Yuji Koseki's "Song of Mothra" theme from the 1961 film into his score. Honda and Ifukube were regular collaborators and held planning sessions to discuss which scenes would feature music. They had a disagreement over a scene which featured Godzilla rising behind a ridge-line. Honda asked for aggressive music for the scene but Ifukube refused, feeling that it was unnecessary due to Godzilla being "impressive enough". Godzilla's theme was eventually added to the scene, which upset Ifukube. The track "The Sacred Springs" was the only track Ifukube wrote for The Peanuts and was intended to lament Infant Island's destruction. For the 1980 re-release, the Japanese pop and rock band Talizman recorded a new song simply titled "Godzilla", which was later included as a bonus feature on Toho's 2014 Blu-ray.
Special effects Mothra vs. Godzillas special effects were directed by Eiji Tsuburaya. Teruyoshi Nakano served as the assistant special effects director. Mechanical props and puppets were built for both monsters. The Godzilla suit was constructed by Teizo Toshimitsu two months prior to filming, with input from the actor Haruo Nakajima whenever he visited the workshop. The new suit was lighter than previous ones and allowed Nakajima to make more fluid movement. Reinforced heels gave Nakajima freedom to roll and flip without losing his footing. The 1962 Godzilla suit was recycled for water scenes and a shot with Godzilla tumbling off a cliff. For Mothra, a new prop was built, similar to the 1961 prop, with Y-shaped braces attached to the back that allowed the wings to flap. High-powered fans were used to create wind for Mothra's wings. The wing-span for the new Mothra prop was 15 feet. Mechanisms were added that allowed the prop's head and legs to move via remote control.