Godzilla vs. Hedorah

Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Japanese theatrical poster
Directed by	Yoshimitsu Banno
Written by	Yoshimitsu Banno Takeshi Kimura
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka
Starring	Akira Yamauchi Toshie Kimura Hiroyuki Kawase Keiko Mari Toshio Shiba
Cinematography	Yoichi Manoda
Edited by	Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Music by	Riichiro Manabe
Distributed by	Toho AIP
Running time	87 min (USA)
Languages	Japanese English

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (ゴジラ対ヘドラ, Gojira tai Hedora), also known as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, is a 1971 film. The eleventh film in Toho Co. Ltd.'s Godzilla series, it was directed by Yoshimitsu Banno with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The score was composed by Riichiro Manabe.

Storyline

Hedorah was an alien lifeform that landed on Earth and began feeding on pollution. Thanks to his toxic nature, as well as his acidic, poisonous body, Hedorah very nearly put an end to Godzilla in their struggle. Godzilla finally put an end to Hedorah by completely drying him out using electrical generators set up by the military and his own atomic breath. The movie contains several strange impressionistic animated scenes portraying the smog monster at his evil work.

On a side note, this was the first - and only - time we see Godzilla fly by himself. He uses his atomic breath as jet propulsion. Banno reportedly added the scene to provide a light moment in what is otherwise a fairly dark movie compared to many of those which preceded it.

Producer's reaction to the film

Tomoyuki Tanaka, who produced the first 22 Godzilla films, was in the hospital during the time the film was made. Upon recovery and actually seeing the film, it is said that he told the director of the film he ruined the Godzilla series and that he would never direct at Toho again. Despite this claim, however, Banno is slated to produce and direct the soon-to-be released film Godzilla: 3D to the MAX, featuring the monster Deathla.

Unproduced sequel

After Yoshimitsu Banno finished directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah, he began work on creating another installment in the Godzilla series. Like his first Godzilla movie, Banno had wanted the next film to have a strong message against pollution. The initial idea was that a starfish living in the polluted seas mutates into a giant Monster and ends up fighting Godzilla. However, he scrapped this idea and wrote what was going to be Godzilla Vs. Hedorah 2. In it, Godzilla was to fight another Hedorah, this time in Africa. Due to Tomoyuki Tanaka's incident on the set of filming Hedorah (see above), this was never realized.

U.S. Versions

The film was released in April 1972 by American International Pictures under the title Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster" . There were several small alterations: dialogue was dubbed to English, the song "Save the Earth" (based on the song "Kaese Taiyo wo (Return the Sun)" in the original) was added. This version was rated PG by the MPAA, however a home video edition was cut to earn a G rating.

The AIP version has been replaced in the North American home video and television markets (including Sony's DVD) by Toho's 'International Version,' titled Godzilla vs. Hedorah. This version features a different English dub track that is considered inferior by many fans, and also lacks the "Save the Earth" song.

Reception

Critical reaction to the film has been mixed, with some embracing its eccentricity and others deriding it. Popcorn Pictures said, "This is one of the worst in the series. The whole thing seems like an acid trip from start to finish. Very bad indeed, and easily one of Godzilla's worst hours." Conversely, Toho Kingdom called the film "one of the greats in the series," saying that "the plot, monster battles, effects, and overall innovation make this film a real knockout ... and the music, though wacky, is brilliant in its originality," but added: "Of course, the film does cater to a particular taste, and if one cannot find acceptance for a very contemporary early-70s style, then one won't enjoy this film."

Japan Hero said the film is "recommended for Godzilla fans, but don't expect much out of it," adding that while "the special effects appear to be pretty good" and "watching it in its original [Japanese] language does make the movie more tolerable," "the character designs ... are bad" and "the music ... really kills the movie." Monster Zero criticized the film's production values and said that it "succeeds in carrying the series over the edge into strictly kid's stuff" and "begins the series' inexorable slide into oblivion." Stomp Tokyo said the film has "many obvious, crippling flaws" but added that "there are some good things," praising the monster action in particular.

1000 Misspent Hours said, "Of all the movies I've yet reviewed, [this] has proven one of the most difficult to rate. I'm not sure I've seen such an intractable tangle of the laugh-out-loud stupid and the chills-up-the-spine disturbing in one movie, ever. ... I rather like how it turned out, but I'm not the slightest bit surprised that Banno never got a second crack at a monster movie." American Kaiju called the film "a confused Godzilla non-epic that doesn't seem to be sure just who it was made for in the first place." DVD Talk said it "earns points for trying something new, to break away from what was fast becoming a tired formula. The film isn't as entertaining as Godzilla vs. Gigan or Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, but it is more original and daring, and ... fans will want to pick [it] up."

Box office

In Japan, the film sold 1,740,687 tickets.

DVD Releases

Sony Pictures

• Released: October 19, 2004
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Japanese (2.0), English (2.0)
• Supplements: Trailers for Kaena: The Prophecy, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and Steamboy
• Region 1

DigitalDisc

• Released: Unknown
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Sound: English Mono
• Supplements: On Double Feature DVD with Godzilla vs. Megalon
• Region 1
• MPAA Rating: PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language

Trivia

• Kenpachiro Satsuma was struck with appendicitis during the production. Doctors were forced to perform the appendectomy while he was still wearing the Hedorah suit, due to the length of time it took to take off. During the operation, Satsuma learned that painkillers have no effect on him.
• Some deleted scenes include Godzilla getting hit square in the chest by one of Hedorah's beams, extra destruction scenes, a brief kiss between Yuki and Miki at the party on Mt. Fuji, and a cut cartoon sequence.
• The male chorus singing in many of the theme song renditions throughout the movie is the anime and tokusatsu vocal group Honey Nights.

External links

• Godzilla vs. Hedorah at IMDb
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah at Rotten Tomatoes
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2, from TohoKingdom's Lost Projects Page
• Godzilla vs. Hitodah
• "ゴジラ対ヘドラ (Gojira tai Hedora)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-18.