Mosura (1961)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takehiko Fukunaga (novel)
Yoshie Hotta (story)

Release Date:

10 May 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Incredible! Inconceivable! World wrecked as monster hunts human mates!

Plot:

Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru, an island previously used for atomic tests. Amazingly free of radiation effects...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Moth | Shobijin | Editor | Monster

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Frankie Sakai	...	Journalist Senichiro 'Sen-chan' Fukuda (AKA: 'Bulldog')
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Dr. Shin'ichi Chûjô
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Photgrapher Michi Hanamura
Ken Uehara	...	Dr. Harada
Emi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yûmi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Jerry Ito	...	Clark Nelson
Takashi Shimura	...	News Editor
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Nelson's Henchman
Akihiro Tayama	...	Shinji Chûjô
Obel Wyatt	...	Dr. Roff
Akihiko Hirata	...	Doctor
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	General
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Military Advisor
Robert Dunham	...	Rolisican Cop

Also Known As:

Daikaijû Masura
Mothra (USA)

Runtime:

101 min | Japan:62 min (re-issue) | USA:88 min | USA:91 min (re-issue) | Germany:86 min (TV)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:G

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Jerry Ito's slow stilted delivery of his Japanese dialog fit his character as a foreigner speaking Japanese. This was not an intentional part of his performance. At the time this was made, Jerry Ito had been studying the Japanese language for over six months and was not completely fluent.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Dr. Shinichi is showing the symbols he discovered in the cave to Senchan, you can see someone in black pants and shoes walking down the stairs behind Senchan's head.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004)

Soundtrack:

MOSURA NO UTA

An anti-monster movie. Lots of fun.

MOSURA (1961, released in the USA as MOTHRA) is like no other monster movie. It's colorful. Most of it's settings are bathed in storybook like colors, has a pleasent, happy ending where the monster lives!

A greedy showman/explorer Clark Nelson (Jerry Ito) finds twin fairies on an island off Japan. He displays them on the Tokyo stage, where they sing what sounds like a lullaby. It is actually a telepathic distress call to their god and protector, Mothra, a giant caterpillar. Mothra comes to Tokyo, searching for the girls and Nelson, destroying most of the city in it's path. The chase goes from Tokyo to Newkirk City (I guess this is suppose to be a little real life hamlet just south of Yonkers!) What I really love about MOTHRA is that it has many things most other monster movies don't. The hero is a comical, older, tubby reporter, a sort of Japanese Lou Costello. The monster is actually pretty. In the Japanese version, there is some wonderful slapstick and odd humor. THese elements make this film so unique. Director Inoshiro Honda was best friends with more famous and more respected Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa loved Honda's monster movies and according to rumor, yearned to make one himself.