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 | Japanese | Gojira | Pollution | Godzilla

Cast

Akira Yamauchi	...	Dr. Toru Yano
Toshie Kimura	...	Toshie Yano
Hiroyuki Kawase	...	Ken Yano
Toshio Shiba	...	Yukio Keuchi
Keiko Mari	...	Miki Fujiyama
Yoshio Yoshida	...	Gohei - a fisherman
Haruo Suzuki	...	JSDF Officer
Yoshio Katsube	...	JSDF Engineer
Susumu Okabe	...	Announcer A
Kentaro Watanabe	...	Announcer B
Wataru Ômae	...	Police Officer
Tadashi Okabe	...	Scientist
Shigeo Katô
Takuya Yuki	...	Correspondent
Eisaburo Komatsu	...	Non Commissioned Officer
Yukihiko Gondô	...	Helicopter Pilot
Haruo Nakazawa	...	Youth
Haruo Nakajima	...	Godzilla
Kenpachiro Satsuma	...	Hedorah (as Kengo Nakayama)
Yasuzô Ogawa
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
Riichirô Manabe		(as 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:GP (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:PG

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:

Revealing mistakes: When the child notices Godzilla from far away on the roller coaster ride, it is clear that "Godzilla" in this case is just a badly drawn blotch of paint, which also appears to be far too dark for its supposed environment.

Quotes:

Dr. Yano:Do you know what a meteor is?
Ken Yano:Sure, it's a falling star that falls to earth.
Dr. Yano:Well, Hedorah (the Smog Monster) attached itself to one of those stars.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Kaese! Taiyô wo

My Favorite Godzilla movie

Anyone who says that Godzilla movies are nothing more than men in rubber monster suits, wrestling and destroying scale models of Tokyo... has not seen this film! When I first saw it, I was like 5 or 6 years old and it scared the beejeezus out of me! I agree with another reviewer, definitely not a "G" rating. What makes this a rare and exceptional Godzilla movie is the not-so subtext. Pollution was a big concern in the late sixties and early seventies, and this film has the most powerful images of anti-pollution propaganda that I have seen in any film! Add to this, a bizarre mix of dancing disco hippie chicks singing "Save the Earth", with real images of the horrendous pollution in Japan and things like spontaneous animated clips...and you have THE most unique of the Godzilla films ever made! But don't worry! There is plenty of all-monster-wrestling!! You either like Godzilla movies, or you don't. If you don't like the franchise, avoid this like the plague. If you are a huge fan of the big "G", like I am, this is the most interesting variation on the standard zilla plot. And a refreshing, bizarre and disturbing mix of imagery!! I gave it a 10 of 10 because it is my favorite of all the Godzilla movies.