From: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Jim Mann)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.movies
Subject: REVIEW: Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964)
Date: 25 Jan 1993 14:39:36 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer Inc, Marlboro MA
Reply-To: jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: gondolin.pubs.stratus.com

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964 version)

Producer: Tomoyuki Tanak
Director: Ishiro Honda  
Japanese title: Mosura tai Gojira
Original US Title: Godzilla vs. the Thing

After having watched Godzilla vs. Biolante last week, I decided to go
back and watch a GOOD Godzilla vs. another monster movie.  So I 
pulled out my tape of Godzilla vs. Mothra (aka Godzilla vs. the 
Thing).

I should start by saying that I feel very nostalgic about this movie.
It is one of the first movies that I ever got to see in a theatre by
myself. More importantly (to me), it is the first film that I 
actually waited for. Ads showed up in the paper a week in advance. I 
looked at the ads (which stated "The face of the Thing is too 
horrible to show in this ad. You must go to the theatre to see it.") 
every day for a week, waiting for the Saturday matinee. I wasn't 
disappointed then, and I wasn't disappointed now.

Godzilla vs. Mothra stands head and shoulders above the other 
battle of the monsters movies. It has a reasonable story line, is 
well paced and well directed, has good special effects, and a 
wonderful score (by Akira Ifakube). 

The movie starts with the appearance of a giant egg in the waters 
off Japan. The egg, it turns out, is the egg of Mothra (a giant moth, 
who had appeared in the movie Mothra (1961)).  Japanese 
industrialists decide to keep the egg and make money by charging 
admission. Meanwhile, Godzilla has resurfaced, and sets about laying 
waste to much of Japan. Japan's only hope is to appeal to Mothra for 
help.  Mothra, though near death, comes to Japan, battles Godzilla 
to a standstill, but dies. However, the egg hatches, two caterpillars 
emerge, and battle and defeat Godzilla.

Why is this movie better than the others of its type? Well, for one
thing, there is real tension built up. This happens in a number of 
ways. First of all, it is the only Godzilla movie in which the army 
actually seems to be on near equal footing with Godzilla. It isn't 
just Godzilla stomping the tanks.  The tanks and planes have an 
effect, herding Godzilla toward a prepared trap: an artificial 
lightning setup. The lightning nearly defeats Godzilla, knocking him 
from his feet. Only when the impatient general orders the power to 
be turned up, thus overloading the generator, does Godzilla manage 
to break free. In the battles with Mothra (both mother and children), 
the monsters are on equal footing (unlike other movies when it is 
apparent from the start that Godzilla is going to stomp the other 
guy in the rubber suit).

Tension is built up in other ways: Godzilla threatens the giant egg, 
for example. Also, at the time of the final battle, Godzilla is 
threatening an island to which a number of school children have gone 
for a field trip. Thus, scenes of the battle are intercut with 
scenes of the heros going to the island to rescue the children.

The pacing and editing is also good. After about 15 minutes of setup,
the rest of the movie zips along, helped by good editing.  As we head
toward the climax, there are several cuts in which we flip back and 
forth between Godzilla heading toward the island where the climactic 
battle will take place and the Mothra egg, which is about to hatch.  
This contributes to the tension that I mentioned above.

The special effects are good.  The scene of Godzilla destroying an
oil refinery is one of the best of its type ever done.  But what 
makes the effects in this movie good is more than just their 
technical quality: the effects are well directed. The battles between 
Godzilla and Mothra are not just random, unfocused wresting
as is the case in so many of the other Godzilla vs. somebody
movies.  Other nice scenes include a panicking crowd fleeing the 
city; after about five seconds of crowd shots, the top of Godzilla 
appears over some buildings in the background.

Godzilla himself looks reasonable. Raised ridges over the eyes
give him an evil look that was abandoned in future movies (in which
Godzilla was to become Earth's hero). The eyes, often a real
embarrassment in later movies, are reasonably well done.

The music is also nice, and is some of Ifakube's most memorable. 
He uses some of the themes from the original Godzilla, but changes 
them enough to make them distinctive.

Overall, this is a reasonably good movie. A juvenile, certainly, 
and not for everybody. But if you like monster movies but avoid 
the Godzilla movies as simply "championship wrestling in rubber 
suits," take a look at this.  In the Godzilla series, only Godzilla 
is better.

--
Jim Mann            
Stratus Computer   jmann@vineland.pubs.stratus.com