Gojira tai Hedorâ (1971)

Director:

Yoshimitsu Banno

Writers:

Yoshimitsu Banno (writer)
Takeshi Kimura (writer)

Release Date:

February 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Music | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Our environment is doomed!

Plot:

From Earth's pollution a new monster is spawned. Hedorah, the smog monster, destroys Japan and fights Godzilla while spewing his poisonous gas to further the damage.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Godzilla | Japanese | Pollution | Gojira

Cast

Akira Yamauchi	...	Dr. Yano
Toshie Kimura	...	Toshie Yano
Hiroyuki Kawase	...	Ken Yano
Keiko Mari	...	Miki Fujiyama
Toshio Shiba	...	Yukio Keuchi
Yukihiko Gondô	...	Mean general
Eisaburo Komatsu	...	Fisherman
Tadashi Okabe	...	Scientist
Wataru Ômae	...	Helpless police officer
Susumu Okabe	...	Interviewer
Haruo Nakajima	...	Gojira
Kenpachiro Satsuma	...	Hedora (as Kengo Nakayama)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Teruzo Okawa
Kôji Uruki

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Hedora (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (UK) (video title)
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi monster violence and brief mild language.

Runtime:

Germany:96 min | USA:87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Hedorah throws some sludge at Godzilla's eye in the Mt. Fuji scene, it hit's Godzilla right eye, but after Hedorah gets done laughing, Godzilla's left eye is the one that is damaged.

Quotes:

Dr. Yano: It probably came from a sticky, dark planet far, far away. Now go to sleep.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Godzilla and Other Movie Monsters (1998) (V)

Soundtrack:

Kaese! Taiyô wo

The weirdest, creepiest Godzilla flick of 'em all!

I've loved Godzilla for as long as I can remember, but "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" (or "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster", the original U.S. release title) has always been my least favorite - until the last time I saw it.

The 70's produced the worst of the Godzilla flicks - a series of dark, hokey, and dull films which ultimately caused the end of the Godzilla film line (until the beginning of a new series in 1984). Executive producer Tomoyuki Tanaka was in the hospital for much of the time while the film was being made, so he didn't see the different direction which "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" took. For the first time since 1964, the film had a strong social message: stop the pollution! A series of grim, grungy images show the pollution which is seeping into the air and the sea. From it rises Hedorah, the smog monster, intent on gobbling down the world's smog and pollution whilst killing off Earth's people. Bullets go through it, knives do nothing to it. Who will stop this "demon of drudge"? Why, Godzilla, of course! Yoshimitsu Banno pointed the series in a different direction (which enraged producer Tanaka upon his release from the hospital), inserting funky tunes, a scene in a revolting dance club, and entirely unnecessary animations. Then there's the creepy-looking Hedorah, which actually becomes quite scary when you see it's glowing eyes in the dark gray night sky, while the eerie bass guitar plays quietly amongst the soundtrack's instruments. This is certainly the weirdest, creepiest Godzilla flick of 'em all.

A sequel to this film was planned, hence the "And yet another one?" title at the end of the film. In it, Godzilla would travel to Africa and battle another smog monster. But the project was shelved when Tomoyuki Tanaka banned director Banno from ever coming near a Godzilla film again, claiming that Banno had ruined the series. I can't really say that I'm sorry for that decision.

"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is one of the most unique of the Godzilla films, and because of that, it's one of my favorites. It's a weird, creepy film, that becomes much more fun (and funny) when you watch it with the terrible English dubbing.