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.

---

Plot Keywords:

rodan | godzilla | alien | astronaut | space exploration | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi

---

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

In the scene where Glenn and Fuji meet with the Planet X Controller, Glenn refers to Rodan and King Ghidorah by their Japanese names, Radon and Kingughidorah.

---

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.

---

Quotes

Tetsuo: You? Well this is a funny place to meet. Yah, I'm gonna die laughing.

---

Connections

Follows Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

User Reviews

You can dance if you want to....

This film is close to the last of the quality Godzilla films where a budget is evident, and the future of the series became apparent. This film is a sequel to GHIDDORAH: THE THREE HEADED MONSTER and story elements went into the classic, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. Goji completely went into his Earth defender mode in this story of alien domination against our planet.

This film is a great representation of the series and and Japan's desire and attitude for the times, coupled with our realization that everything is completely impossible. The best way to watch any Godzilla film is to believe that you are watching an alternate universe where all nations are equally powerful and those future dreams of the past did become possible.

For Godzilla fans, there is a lot of love about this film. There are interesting characters and many consider this Nick Adams' best film; which may not be true, but his co-star is BIGGER. For me, it is the images of the two monsters being lifted from the lake and hauled off to Planet X. The battle on the planet is now considered a classic moment too, as Goji does a victory dance(referred to as The Godzilla Shie). Godzilla always seemed to have a personality, but that dance cemented this notion, as he also demonstrates emotions in this story.

The fact that you are reading this review, demonstrates that you may have your own ideas and feelings about this film. This review is for the cinefile who believes in Godzilla and many of the other movies that came from Toho Studios. My recommendation is that you watch DESTROY ALL MONSTERS after this film, and then go play the two Godzilla video games that are now available.