Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) Gojira tai Hedorâ (original title)

Director:

Yoshimitsu Banno

Writers:

Yoshimitsu Banno
Takeshi Kimura

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 | Gojira | Japanese | Pollution

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 / Concerned Citizen
Kenpachiro Satsuma	...	Hedora (as Kengo Nakayama)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yoshio Katsube	...	JSDF Engineer
Teruzo Okawa
Kôji Uruki

Directed by
Yoshimitsu Banno

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Yoshimitsu Banno
Takeshi Kimura		(as Kaoru Mabuchi)

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Riichiro Manabe

Cinematography by
Yoichi Manoda

Film Editing by
Yoshitami Kuroiwa

Production Design by
Yasuyuki Inoue

Special Effects by
Teruyoshi Nakano	....	director of special effects

Visual Effects by
Yoichi Manoda	....	special effects cinematographer

Stunts
Haruo Nakajima	....	stunt choreographer

Editorial Department
Eli Haviv	....	editor: US version

Other crew
Salvatore Billitteri	....	supervisor: English dubbing
Lee Kresel	....	director: English dubbing

Production Companies

• Toho Company

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astral Films (1972) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Astro Distribution (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video
• Image Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Kuk Dong
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD) (As "Godzilla vs. Hedorah")
• Orion Home Video (video)
• Simitar Video (video)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Titanus Distribuzione

Other Companies

• Titan Productions  dubbing: US version
• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Gojira tai Hedorâ" - Japan (original title)
"Godzilla vs. Hedora" - International (English title) (informal literal title)

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:

In the scene where a piece of Hedora comes down the stairs of the club during Godzilla and Hedora's first battle, there is a picture of Martin Luther King hanging on the wall behind it.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dr. Yano and Yukio are discussing going to rescue Ken, fish can be seen swimming in the aquarium behind them even though all the fish in it were destroyed by the acid mist a few minutes earlier.

Quotes:

[Godzilla and Hedorah battle it out on top of Mount Fuji]
Ken Yano:Get'em Godzilla!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Eleventh Hour: Subway (#1.16)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Hedora wo yattsukero!

Godzilla up against a very strange foe.

This movie is so weird, it is almost comical. Better known as Godzilla vs The Smog Monster, this flick tries to take on a different format that resembles a poor man's James Bond movie. Seems to be put together kind of haphazardly, but really pretty interesting. Godzilla battles Hedrah or Hedora, a creature spawned from industrial pollution and rank waste material. Probably the strangest in the Godzilla series.