Rodan (1957)

Right behind the 1956 monster epic "Gojira" (Godzilla) came this tale of huge flying monsters called "Rodan". The back story explains that Rodans were a carnivorous prehistoric species and members of the snake family. Over twenty million years old, they have the destructive power of a typhoon, but even though the Rodan in the movie managed to topple over a bridge with the force of it's wind shear, it had no similar effect on the Japanese Air Force planes sent to intercept it. As Spock would say - "Fascinating".Well look, there was a time and a place for these kinds of flicks back in the Fifties when movie monsters took center stage and kids of all ages would marvel at their exploits. Watching today, the dated effects and miniature toy props lend a comically surreal aura to this tale of reawakened monsters from the depths of their underground home. The first of these to make their appearance, the wide-eyed gigantic caterpillars, have a certain pre-Star Trek sensibility to them. I was reminded of that Horta episode where the rock creature was defending it's eggs against the intruding humans.Part of this story is told in flash back style with narrator Shigeru (Kenji Sahara) explaining how the caterpillar monsters were originally discovered. Later on he relates how he came across a gigantic egg in an underground coal mine, precisely at the moment one of the Rodans was hatching. I thought it rather creative that when examined by scientists, the egg shell proved to be a good half foot thick. Obviously, there was some thought put into this at just the right spots.I guess it would be pretty easy to come down hard on this picture for it's cheesy special effects and goofy looking monsters, but you have to keep in mind this was put together almost sixty years ago with no technology to speak of. The film makers managed to tie the monster angle in with the world's fascination with UFO's at one point by describing the yet unseen creature as traveling at supersonic speed with immense destructive power. If you've got a little over an hour to kill, this trip back in time might be worth your while to check out the origins of the Japanese monster genre (along with Godzilla), leaving me with only one question - how does Rodan manage to leave a vapor trail?

When a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home... a giant flying creature that resembles a prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a second Rodan appears and the two monsters begin to destroy Japan.I turned this movie on for a little cheese to enjoy after dinner. I find that films in the Japanese monster genre tend to be short and are easy to watch casually, with very little need to focus on details. A monster shows up and destroys things. And the reason is connected to atomic bombs.I found this to be a bit better than average. It had a slower start, with the caterpillars not being particularly interesting to me. But once the Rodans showed up, all heck broke loose. Is Rodan better than Godzilla? Possibly so. Certainly he seems to be more powerful and is more mobile. I look forward to seeing more of them on screen together.Oh, and George Takei lends his voice to the American dub.

***SPOILERS*** Released right after the mega Japanses monster hit "Godzilla" the movie "Rodan" equaled it in both drama suspense as well as destructive power and on top of all that was filmed in color a first in Japanses monster movies.It's after a number of US Military nuclear test dubbed "Mission Gigantic" in the South Pacific that things started happening in the far off Japanese mining town on Kyushu island. The water level started raising in the mine and miners started disappearing in it. Trying to get to the bottom of the problem local mining engineer Shigeru Kawzmura, Kenji Sahara, in checking out the damage is attacked together a with number of miners by a hoard of prehistoric Meganulons, dragon flies, who end up almost wiping out the entire group! Deciding to take matters into his own hands Shigeru pushes a coal cart into one of the attacking prehistoric monsters killing it but at the same time setting off an earthquake that ends up burying him together with the remaining Meganulons.It's later when Shigeru is found mindlessly wondering around outside the now no longer in existence mine that it's discovered that he completely lost his memory. It's not until he's in the hospital and his girlfriend Kiyo, Yumi Shirakawa, shows Shigeru a nest with bird eggs in it just about the hatch that his memory finally comes back to him with shocking results! It's the hatching eggs that reminded Shigeru of the two monster prehistoric flying reptiles the Rodans that he saw and caused him to black out. And those two birds, the Rodans, at first mistaken for UFOS are now on the lose and causing death and destruction by whipping of typhoon like wilds all across the Pacific rim!Eye popping special effects that rival anything we see now without the use of computer enhancement makes "Rodan" a classic among 1950's Japanese monster films. The Rodans after annihilating the Japanese city of Fukuoka are tracked down to their secret nesting place on the foot of Mt. Aso and then given the business or treatment, a massive artillery and rocket barrage, that causes Mt. Aso a volcano thats been inactive s for hundreds of years to finally erupt.The explosive final sequence has Shigeru give a truly touching and heartfelt epilogue about how he both fears and admires the Rodans in their both destructive power, the birds have a 500 foot wingspan and weigh over 100 tons, and love and dedication to each other. With one of the Rodans dying in the volcanic eruption the remaining one, in not wanting to live without its mate, joins it in the fiery holocaust that the massive Japanese Army & Airfrce caused. As an almost weeping and relived, in that the danger of the Rodans destroying the world has finally ended, Shigeru ends his his speech, that's dubbed in English by an 18 year old University of California student, and future TV Star Trek cast member, George Takei, by saying these dramatic words about the Rodans demise:Are there other prehistoric monster waiting to emerge and battle the human race in the future? And can we be able to beat them back a second time? At least for now those fears, with the Rodans dead and buried in the lava pumping out of Mt. Aso, have now gone up in smoke!

While mining further under the earth, a giant Prehistoric insect is unearthed from the deep, going on a brief rampage through the Japanese village nearby. A giant earthquake capsizes the earth on top of the humongous insect—which certainly reduces the Japanese populace before its demise—but a much scarier creature is released from a very large egg, a massive Prehistoric bird called Rodan. A miner, missing for a period of time, returns with amnesia, soon reliving that horrific event where he watched Rodan hatching from its egg, actually eating those giant insects, like snack treats to the beast (remember, just one of the insects sent the decent-sized Japanese village into a panic, imagine the scale of terror and population decimation when Rodan is free to fly about, sweeping down to snatch humans for tasty treats).Even worse there's a *second* Rodan to contend with. Rodan have a wingspan, while in flight, that causes a shockwave with the deadly force of a Tsunami; even their breath can topple buildings! If you love Toho Studios, rubber monsters destroying toy tanks and army trucks, along with a giant model city full of buildings to wipe out, then RODAN is ideal for you.The story once again condemns the Americans for the H-bomb disaster by including in the storyline an experimental bomb, its effects tested in the ocean, responsible for the earthquakes which free the Rodan from captivity."Operation Rodan", where missile explosions into a mountain cause an avalanche, that trap the Prehistoric birds into their resting places, may be the Japanese only hope for survival. The film also has the military conducting strategy sessions with scientists and those associated with the mining disaster; fighter squadrons are sent on missions of flight to combat the Rodan. The film was narrated in a very serious tone throughout by Star Trek's George Takei! RODAN was directed by kaiju eiga specialist, Toho legend, Ishirô Honda. Future Toho monster movies are more concerned with mayhem and destruction than stories (which is why so many of the story lines are so preposterous, childish, and juvenile).