Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
"Kaijû daisensô" (original title)

Aliens from Planet X request the use of Godzilla and Rodan to fight off King Ghidorah, but have a better use for the three monsters.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writer:

Shin'ichi Sekizawa

Stars:

Nick Adams, Akira Takarada, Jun Tazaki

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Adams	...	Astronaut Glenn Amer
Akira Takarada	...	Astronaut K. Fuji
Jun Tazaki	...	Dr. Sakurai
Akira Kubo	...	Tetsuo Teri
Kumi Mizuno	...	Miss Namikawa
Keiko Sawai	...	Haruno Fuji
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Controller of Planet X
Takamaru Sasaki	...	Chairman of Earth Committee
Gen Shimizu	...	Minister of Defense
Kenzô Tabu	...	Commander from Planet X
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	General
Nadao Kirino	...	Military Aide
Kôji Uno	...	Namikawa's Associate
Tôru Ibuki	...	Xian
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Xian

Storyline

Aliens from the mysterious Planet X, which resides on the dark side of of Jupiter, come to Earth asking its people to help them save their world from the dreaded King Ghidrah by letting them "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan. The aliens are actually planning to use the three monsters to take over our planet.

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Plot Keywords:

rodan | godzilla | alien | astronaut | space exploration | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

29 July 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

Filming Locations:

Lake Myojin, Kochi, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, United Productions of America (UPA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 74 min (re-issue)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Japan Import DVD has Super-8mm version (Japanese Audio), as a special feature.

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Goofs

In several shots, the track on which the military vehicles move, along with support beams holding them in place can clearly be seen. In some cases these supports hold the vehicles up so high that their tires don't touch the ground.

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Quotes

Controller of Planet X: We need an exterminator, one that would drive away King Ghidorah. We need from you Monster Zero 1 and Monster Zero 2, Godzilla and Rodan.
Astronaut K. Fuji: Are you serious?
Controller of Planet X: Of course. Deadly serious. King Ghidorah was driven from Earth only with the combined strengths of Godzilla and Rodan. Would you help us?
Astronaut K. Fuji: Well, your request is quite unusual. We do not know how to answer that.
Glenn: Plus, we did not know where Godzilla and Rodan are. If we did, how are we suppose to catch them and bring them here?

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Connections

Follows Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

User Reviews

Underrated Godzilla film

I always thought "Monster Zero" (along with the one after, "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster") was a bit underrated in the Godzilla film list. King Ghidrah makes his second appearance, and it is a lot more fun and interesting than his first ("Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster" from 1964).

This definitely isn't the fastest moving Godzilla film, but there are a lot of cool things to look at as the plot goes along slow at times. And the alien invasion/takeover plot is pretty decent if not overly original. The aliens look pretty cool and their hardware is 60's sci-fi retro, you gotta love it.

Nick Adams is pretty decent enough and gives the film a certain flair. It's a shame he had to leave us so soon, as it would have been a blast to have him return in a future Godzilla film.

The special effects are totally mid-60's Godzilla, with all the obvious miniatures being stomped on by the guys in the monster suits. There's one great shot where a doll of an astronaut gets lowered onto Planet X via an open elevator outside the spaceship, and as the doll is lowered to the ground in one lengthy camera shot, you can't help but laugh a little realizing that there was no attempt whatsoever to make that shot look real, or to hide the fact it's so fake with quick silly editing. But that's part of the charm of the early Godzilla films.

I always thought it was odd when, on Planet X underground, as the leader shows the astronauts the screen showing Ghidrah wildly attacking on the surface, that Ghidrah is in essence attacking nothing but rocks and dirt because that's all there is on the planet's surface. And also how Ghidrah flies past that huge painting of a planet in the distance a few times.

Godzilla and Rodan eventually save the Earth and that's what it's all about in a 1965 Godzilla film. Godzilla by this time was definitely all hero protecting his home planet. It's such a shame that unless a movie looks like a silly music video, so many kids won't watch it. Hopefully a lot of parents are introducing their kids to these old Godzilla films via DVD and video, because they sure aren't on TV much anymore.