Cast:
Akira Takarada (Kazuo Fuji), Nick Adams (Glenn), Kumi Mizuno (Namikawa), Jun Tazaki (Dr. Sakurai), Akira Kubo (Tetsuo Torii), Keiko Sawai (Haruno Fuji), Yoshio Tsuchiya (Controller of Planet X), Takamaru Sasaki (Chairman of Earth Committee), Gen Shimizu (Minister of Defense), Yoshifumi Tajima (General), with Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla), Masaki Shinohara (Rodan), and Shoichi Hirose (King Ghidorah) Directed by Ishirō Honda (#167 - Godzilla, #711 - Mothra, #1092 - Gorath, #1223 - Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, #1224 - King Kong vs. Godzilla, #1225 - Mothra vs. Godzilla, and #1226 - Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster)
Review:
The sixth film in the Godzilla franchise continued the progression of the series into keeping with the times and desires from audiences and promoters in more ways than one. The film started as a co-production between Toho and America, a most unusual venture. Henry Saperstein had acquired United Productions of America (known for its animation shorts such as Mister Magoo, which reportedly was the reason Saperstein bought it, as he specialized in tie-in merchandise) and marketers eventually wanted monster movies for distribution in America. After doing research about who was proficient in doing such films and doing training in Japanese, he talked to Toho about doing a venture together, and he provided a significant portion of funding and input. For one thing, the budget would be a bit smaller, with a variety of footage re-used from earlier films to make up for less elaborate models, while the script would take different cues from the usual conference meeting type of movie like the previous ones, where it takes place later in the film after one has already seen a new face to the film: aliens. When it came for distribution in America, there would not be as many edits this time around (i.e. no Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) kind of staging), with a few edits and dubbing from Marvin Miller (alongside Nick Adams retaining his voice) being the key points by Glen Glenn Sound. This version (called Monster Zero) wasn't released until 1970. The advent of home media has evolved since VHS and dubs, since one can find it on DVD and Blu-Ray in its original version (Criterion Collection even did an entire box set of the first fifteen films just two years ago, for the collectors that are curious).
Oh, so what is the plot about? Aliens are in trouble on the hidden planet by Jupiter, so a Japanese-American space ship (which flies both flags alongside one from the United Nations) that lands there is approached to bring them Godzilla and Rodan to fight the not quite mole people in exchange for the cure for cancer (the edit changed it to all known diseases, as if to make it even more suspicious). The film continues the monster mash-up from before in returning Godzilla with Rodan and King Ghidorah, albeit in the year 196X, and this was the fourth straight film written by Shinichi Sekizawa. The core is composed of seven actors, with Takarada and Adams playing the opening, Mizuno playing the alien love interest, Tazaki playing the main conference room focus, Kubo and Sawai playing the would-be couple, and Tsuchiya playing the main alien. The cast generally does well in this regard, since Takarada has to just make sure he keeps a collected presence without seeming wooden. When it comes to Adams, it is interesting to note his career trajectory through a career plagued by highs and lows (after struggling to self-promote himself) and a life cut short at the age of 36. He is most known for his starring role in The Rebel (1959-1961), and he starred for Toho with Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), which also featured Mizuno, Tsuchiya, Tajima, and Sawai while Honda directed. He seems to be having a good time with this role, one that leaves him some room to roll with the others and not be constrained by being dubbed (unless one sees the edit) too much, and while the parts with Mizuno may be easy to see coming, they go off without a hitch. Tazaki plays the exposition decently enough, while Kubo does alright with light relief next to Sawai. Tsuchiya made the hand gestures for his character on improvisation while combining a few languages for the alien dialect at Honda's request, and while he is playing the role with a black visor around his eyes (amid a whole bunch of stuff that means only his face isn't all covered in black or grey garments), he does well with keeping a balance of deceptive benevolence and cold menace for what is needed enough to make a worthy adversary in a franchise that a greedy entrepreneur and an assassin for adversaries in previous sequels (besides the obvious big-headed monster).
Of course not everything is toned to serious space opera stuff. It was Tsuchiya that suggested the "Godzilla dance", doing so to a supportive effects man in Eiji Tsuburaya, which won out over the objections of Honda. This dance was inspired by a dance done in a manga called Oso Matsu-kun (although at least Godzilla doesn't shot "Shie!" like the manga). This happened to be the last time that Tsuburaya served as the director of special effects (he would serve as the supervisor with his own company for Ebirah, Horror of the Deep the following year while Sadamasa Arikawa directed the effects, however). For me, the dance is fine, because we are talking about a quasi-space opera with aliens that harmed by soundwaves and other strange things, which is a far cry from the original but still just as interesting. Honda lamented the film in later years, calling the production a "vicious cycle of time and budget", since the recycled scenes could only fool audiences for a while before they would eventually notice. At least the effects look well enough to keep me interested, and the film runs efficiently at 94 minutes to not drag before settling on Godzilla. Honestly, I thought the movie worked fine in keeping consistency, where it keeps the exposition concise enough to not seem slogged down in repetition, and the space sequences seem refreshing without looking ridiculous (this is 1965, after all). When comparing the film to the previous three films released in the 1960s, I would say that this one ranks right up with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) in keeping the entertainment value consistent with a refreshing story to make a worthwhile successor to the series without leaving any seams of doubt to start tearing up. Regardless of the troubles that Honda had with the film, it serves as a good effort from a director proficient in balancing effects with fair drama into well entertainment for audiences across the globe.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
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