Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko (1967)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writers:

Shinichi Sekizawa (writer)
Kazue Shiba (writer)

Release Date:

16 December 1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Japan's Greatest Foe Delivers an Heir!

Plot:

Scientists experimenting with changes in weather on a tropical island get more than they bargained for when Godzilla shows up to battle humongous insects and protect his newborn child.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Scientist | Island | Weather | Giant Spider

Cast

Tadao Takashima	...	Dr. Kusumi
Akira Kubo	...	Goro Maki
Bibari Maeda	...	Riko (Saeko) Matsumiya
Akihiko Hirata	...	Fujisaki
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Furukawa
Kenji Sahara	...	Morio
Kenichiro Maruyama	...	Ozawa
Seishiro Kuno	...	Tashiro
Yasuhiko Saijo	...	Suzuki
Susumu Kurobe	...	Navigator
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Pilot
Wataru Omae	...	Radio Operator
Chotaro Togin	...	Surveyor
Seiji Onaka	...	Gojira
Haruo Nakajima	...	Gojira
'Little Man' Machan	...	Minira
Osman Yusuf	...	Submarine Captain

Directed by
Jun Fukuda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shinichi Sekizawa		writer
Kazue Shiba		writer

Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Kazuo Yamada

Film Editing by
Ryohei Fujii

Production Design by
Takeo Kita

Sound Department
Toshiya Ban	....	sound recordist
Minoru Kaneyama	....	sound effects editor
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound effects
Shin Watarai	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Sadamasa Arikawa	....	director of special effects
Fumio Nakadai	....	special effects marionettes
Eiji Tsuburaya	....	director of special effects
Akira Watanabe	....	art director of special effects

Visual Effects by
Sadao Iizuda	....	optical photography
Kuichiro Kishida	....	special effects lighting
Yukio Manoda	....	optical photographer
Sokei Tomioka	....	director of special effects photography

Stunts
Haruo Nakajima	....	stunt choreographer

Production Companies

• Toho Company

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1970) (USA) (dubbed)
• Budget Video (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Filmax Home Video (video)
• Hollywood Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Prism Pictures (USA) (VHS)
• Video Treasures (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son
Son of Godzilla (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some sci-fi monster violence.

Runtime:

USA:84 min | Japan:86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:U | USA:PG (re-rating) | USA:G (original rating)

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

Scenes from this movie are later seen in "Godzilla's Revenge," and "Godzilla vs. Gigan."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In several scenes the strings used to manipulate the Minya, Kamacuras and Kumonga marionettes as well as Godzilla's tail are clearly visible.

Quotes:

Goro Maki: [Godzilla and Minya are close by] Riko, I think they spotted us.
Riko Matsumiya: No, it appears to be teaching its son.
Goro Maki: Teaching its son?
[Riko nods]
Goro Maki: It's teaching its son all right. And, he's teaching its son just like people teaching its children, just like a papa.
Riko Matsumiya: Well, it is a papa, isn't it?
Goro Maki: Well sure, but I wouldn't want one like that.
Riko Matsumiya: Nor I, everything's relative I guess.
Goro Maki: You're right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004)

I remember this!

This is the Godzilla which I watched as a kid, back when I was still in the States, this movie which features a hatch ling of Godzilla's kind, though goofy looking, it was cute and silly, and it blows rings of energy instead of the flame Godzilla does. It has a parent-child relationship like story between Minya and Godzilla, like when the giant monster insects attack, Godzilla helps it, and tries to show it how to really use the fire breath, but then it improves in the end, and it also shows that Godzilla really does care for the young one after all(awwwww). And of course it has its shares of giant beasts that dare challenge Godzilla, and the hapless humans who get caught in between, especially the giant spider that traps them with a web. Bad dubbing, no sfx, just extra parts to use as special effects, goofy designs, but overall a good movie, better than the US Godzilla(1998). It is worth adding to the collection for every Godzilla fan out there.