Gojira no gyakushû (1955)

Director:

Motoyoshi Oda

Writers:

Shigeaki Hidaka (writer)
Shigeru Kayama (novel)

Release Date:

21 May 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Godzilla battles an irradiated Ankylosaur and destroys Osaka in the process.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Godzilla | Pilot | Island | Fishing

Cast

Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Shoichi Tsukioka
Setsuko Wakayama	...	Hidemi Yamaji
Minoru Chiaki	...	Kôji Kobayashi
Takashi Shimura	...	Kyohei Yamane-hakase
Masao Shimizu	...	Zoologist Dr. Tadokoro
Seijiro Onda	...	Captain Terasawa of Osaka Defense Corps
Sonosuke Sawamura	...	Hokkaido Branch Manager Shingo Shibeki
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Tajima, Member of Osaka Defense Corps
Mayuri Mokusho	...	Radio Operator Yasuko Inouye
Minosuke Yamada	...	Chief of Civil Defense
Yukio Kasama	...	Koehi Wamaji, President of the Fishery
Senkichi Ômura	...	Small Escaped Convict
Ren Yamamoto	...	Commander of Landing Craft
Shin Otomo	...	Convict Leader
Takeo Oikawa	...	Osaka Municipal Police Commissioner

Also Known As:

Counterattack of the Monsters (USA) (promotional title)
Fire Monster
Gigantis
Gigantis the Fire Monster (USA)
Godzilla Raids Again (USA) (video title)
Godzilla's Counter Attack (International: English title) (literal title)
Gojira Strikes Again
Gojira's Counterattack
The Return of Godzilla
The Volcano Monster

Runtime:

82 min | USA:78 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya wanted the fight scenes filmed in slow motion, but a camera technician accidentally undercranked the camera instead of overcranking it, resulting in the action appearing faster than reality. Tsuburaya liked the effect, and decided to use it in the film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the climactic scene where fighting planes are trying to start an avalanche by firing missiles, the strings holding the plane models are visible in several instances.

Quotes:

[last line; Japanese version]
Shoichi Tsukioka: Kobayashi... we beat Godzilla for you.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 2: The Deuce (2006) (V)

The Strange History

This film is a decent follow up to the original film. It pretty much shows that you don't have to be a scientist or a major military figure to be a hero. The only thing negative criticism I have about it is that it tends to slow down when it gets to the scenes that feature only the human characters. However, the film really picks up steam when the fight between the two monsters begins.

Also, there is an interesting fact about this film. When it was first proposed that this film would be released in the United States, the title was for the American version was to be called "The Volcano Monsters" and it was to be written by noted schlock master Ib Melchior, the man behind such B classics as "Reptilicus" and "The Angry Red Planet", and his partner Edwin Watson. The proposed production would have used some of the footage from "Godzilla's Counterattack." The premise for the story was to involve the discovery of a tyrannosaurus (Godzilla) and an ankylosaurus (Angillas) in a cave on a remote island. The two monsters are then brought to San Francisco (the Japanese buildings would have been explained as being San Francisco's Chinatown) and then escape and start to fight all over the city. The ankylosaurus is killed during the battle and the tyrannosaurus is then left to rampage all over the city until it escapes to the Artic Circle where in the climatic battle it is covered in ice and preserved forever.

An interesting note, Melchior used several of the intended plot devices for "The Volcano Monsters" in Reptilicus, including the ending which showed the claw of another monster, which was poking out of the cave where the two monsters were found.