Directed by:
Ishirō HondaScreenplay:
Shinichi SekizawaComposer:
Akira IfukubeCast:
Kenji Sahara, Susumu Fujita, Yutaka Sada, 星由里子, Akira Takarada, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yû Fujiki, Jun Tazaki, Ikio Sawamura, Senkichi Ômura, Yoshio Kosugi, Akira Tani (more)VOD (4)
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Godzilla faces off against the benevolent insect monster-god Mothra in this clash of the titans, a crossover battle between two of Toho Studios’ most popular monsters—the last in which Godzilla would figure as a malevolent villain rather than a fearsome hero. Mothra vs. Godzilla marks a creative high point in the Godzilla series, with pointed social commentary from director Ishiro Honda, a masterful score by Akira Ifukube, and astonishing special-effects work by Eiji Tsuburaya. (Criterion)
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6) GODZILLA vs MOTHRA – ORIGINAL SHOWA SERIES 1954-1974. Of all Godzilla’s enemies, Mothra is the most fun. It has an interesting backstory (a divine origin, a mythical island, a refined appearance) and her children, her heralds and verbal contact with humanity (two little fairies in orange dresses with fur over their shoulders) always get me. Here, for the first time in the Godzilla franchise, they’re given space and use their sweet chant of "Mosuraja, Mosuraja" to convince Mothra to help humanity destroy Godzilla. What follows are many fights between Godzilla and Mothra, with humans, and with two larvae (which hatch from a giant egg washed up from the sea and hidden in a giant incubator), one of which bites Godzilla's tail and the other, hidden among the rocks ambushes him squirting a yellow gooey secretion. So, all in all, an enjoyable episode an ode to a plush moth, models of tanks, planes, helicopters, rocket launchers, and an island, all of which look like a picture in an issue of Watchtower, plus the overacting, lots of pathos and an ubiquitous serious tone :o)
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The problem with kaiju films of this era is that Ishirô Honda and his collaborators filmed at an incredibly fast pace, so the filming had to be adapted accordingly. This is reflected in the fact that animatronics essentially disappeared, at least in the case of Godzilla, because he is mostly portrayed by a person in a suit, which doesn't look as good. There are very few shots of Mosura or Mosurai together. It's a shame because animatronics give these films an incredible charm.
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Gallery (17)
Photo © Toho Company
![Godzilla vs. The Thing - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/158/483/158483376_c36869.jpg)
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