RODAN (1956)
Director: Ichiro Honda
Genre: Daikaiju movie
Note: This profile is based on the English dubbed version of the movie which may have been re-edited for American audiences, although not to the degree of some of Toho’s other movies.
THE MOVIE
After the disappointing Godzilla Raids Again, Toho Studios had retired the giant lizard in favor of exploring some new kaiju. The first of these moives was Rodan from 1956 which is the story of a pair of giant irradiated Pteranosaurs that attack Japan. Rodan has the distinction of being the first kaiju movie ever to be filmed in color as well as introducing us to one of the most popular monsters in Toho’s pantheon. Rodan would later be incorporated into the Godzilla series and go on to costar in numerous Godzilla movies over the years.
What? It's perfectly normal for a pterodactyl to walk upright like this.
As one of the earlier Japanese giant monster movies Rodan also has a tone that is still somewhat grim and horrific and an ending that is downbeat to say the least. It begins oddly for a movie about aerial monsters with some miners in rural Japan who discover the mutilated bodies of some of their compatriots. They soon discover that these deaths are due to the presence of some large and irradiated prehistoric insects called Meganulons. These insects are apparently the food source for a pair of Pteradactyls dubbed Rodans. The Rodans are large and powerful and capable of producing hurricane force winds by flapping their wings. In order to save Japan and the world from the pair, lest they reproduce, the scientists come up with a plan to lure them into a volcano where they perish rather gruesomely.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
I have a soft spot for flying kaiju. When they are done well it is really cool. Unfortunately it took Toho a really long time to get this effect right.
I’m talking 2003.
Rodan is the very first stab at making this work and the results are very crude. Usually Rodan is seen gliding through the air on visible wires. When he flaps his wings he never does it enough to believably keep himself airborne (an affliction I have dubbed Rodanitis which has stricken Mothra, King Ghidorah and the Gaos birds among others). When he stands, he does so in a very manlike way. In Rodan, you can see the limits of suitmation for realizing certain kinds of creatures.
"I will drag my wings all over this damn city if I have to!"
Rodan is one of the nobler kaiju. While not benign by any means, from his original appearance and from the later Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II, one gets the sense that Rodan has a sense of family. Here, the two creatures die together tragically. In the later movie Rodan adopts Baby Godzilla and sacrifices his life to protect him. Perhaps this is why he has remained so popular despite not being featured in many movies in the last thirty years or so.
MONSTERS FEATURED
A pair of Rodans as well as some man-sized insects called Meganulons.
DVD AVAILABILITY
The English dubbed “Rodan” is available in a five pack with some Showa Godzilla movies. The Japanese version is available as an import.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
The ending of the movie is surprisingly tragic and effective.
SEQUELS
While this was Rodan’s only solo film he was a popular character in the Showa series and appeared in Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster (1965), Invasion of the Astro Monster (1966), and Destroy All Monsters (1968.) Rodan was also featured in the 1993 movie Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla II as well as in 2004’s Godzilla Final Wars in which he is realized with a mix of suitmation and CGI. His attack on New York is amazingly cool and probably his shining moment to date.
Rodan has also been prominently featured in numerous Godzilla video games, most recently in the fighting game, Godzilla Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii.
THE TRAILER
SEE ALSO:
Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla II (1993), Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
TRIVIA:
This is the only movie to feature multiple Rodans. In all of his other movies there are only one which has become known simply as Rodan.
The Meganulons make an appearance in 2001’s Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, as the basis for the Megaguirus monster.
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