"I have lost one plane, but we're still in pursuit!"
Rodan (1956) (空の大怪獣 ラドン) [literally: Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky], also known as Rodan! The Flying Monster!, is an early Japanese kaiju film and the first color kaiju film released by Toho. Rodan is directed by Ishiro Honda who directed the original Gojira (1954).
A group of miners in the outskirts of Kyushu go deeper than anyone has ever gone before, but when miners start to go missing or are found dead and mutilated they soon realize they've unearthed prehistoric creatures that haven't been seen on earth for millions of years.
[Note: this review is referencing the American, English-dubbed edit of the film.]
The English-dub for this film didn't bother me too much. It's a bit dramatic, which is in-line with the tone of many other American 50's monster movies. Unfortunately some of the main characters speak with a broken English, which today reads as pretty racist. And like any dub that tries to match the lips too closely, its got plenty of hilarious moments too.
Over all the effects in this film are pretty impressive. The color and lighting doesn't really compare to how well the black and white helped the believability of the original Gojira, and some of the models (mostly the tanks) didn't really work as well as some of the plane shots.
Unlike Gojira there's not a whole lot to Rodan. It's literally just a supernatural horror/survival film. No huge message, not a lot to it really. Now I'm not saying that's a problem, it is refreshingly simple, but this is a reason why a movie like Gojira is far superior, and will stand the test of time longer.
One of the best things about this film is the mystery and horror of it all. Rodan doesn't show up until the halfway point in the movie and the movie really builds super well up until that point! The horror of the people disappearing in the mines or returning as mauled corpses really plays well, and the mystery of what is down there is awesome. These are the things that really made me feel like Ishiro Honda was at the helm again. This film is like Gojira where the masterful editing storytelling really drags you into the film long before you even see a monster, and then even once you know what is attacking Honda is really good about only giving you brief glimpses of the monstrous kaiju initially and then gradually more and more.
One reason I really recommend people check out this film is the impressive dogfight scenes. There's a really impressive sequence about three-quarters into the film where a group of jet fighter pilots are perusing the Rodan, and the film really excelently is cutting between real stock footage, superimposed monster models and pilots shot on a set and it all works together super simply and well. I was amazed at how exciting is and well this sequence looks almost 60 years later!
4.5/5 Stars.
Happy watching!
I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' Godzilla and Kaiju films in honor of the newest Godzilla (2014), check back next time to see my review of another classic Toho kaiju and her(pre-Godzilla battle) origin film; Mothra (1961).
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