Sick Product of a Sick System

Fresh and Exciting

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the best Kaiju movies that doesn't feature Godzilla, Rodan has a special place in my heart. I first saw it with my Grandfather when I was a young kid who already saw it when he was younger. The ending is a real tear jerker too, something that is not common at all with monster films. It really broke my heart. The best part of the film is that it's not only Rodan, nor his mate (a second Rodan) that is terrorizing the city, you also have the massive caterpillar monsters, called the Meganula or Meganuera or something. They seem to do more damage to the humans while Rodan spends most of his time destroying cities just by flying over them. It's a great film, one of the best in my opinion, I love it.

Japanese miners are killed by giant prehistoric insects awakened by nuclear testing. After dealing with the bugs, the military discovers an even bigger threat has been awakened by the tests. Yup, it's Rodan, a pterodactyl-like monster that flies at super-sonic speeds. Soon another Rodan shows up and the two wreak havoc. What in the world will Japan do?Great Japanese giant monster movie with anti-nuke message; a classic of its type. Not on the level of the original Godzilla (or Gojira, if you insist) but better than many of the cheesy sequels that came out later. It's cool that it was filmed in color. The special effects and action scenes are lots of fun. Love the music. It's a good way to pass the time.

For its U.S. release, this early daikaijū (made just a few years after the original GODZILLA and the first Japanese monster movie filmed in color) had a silly narrated prologue and stock footage of atomic blasts added to the beginning, was shortened by over ten minutes, had a new music score added and was, of course, dubbed into English. Some of the familiar voices you'll hear in this version are Keye Luke, Paul Frees and a young George Takei of "Star Trek" fame. In addition, a special effects company worked on removing numerous wires that were clearly visible during many of the fx shots (though some still remain even in the 'cleaned up' version). The title of the monster itself was changed from "Radon" (a contraction of pteRAnoDON; a large flying reptile of the late Cretaceous period) to "Rodan;" possibly so there'd be no confusion between it and the atomic element of the same name.At the Osaki mines in the small town of Kitamatsu, workers are exploring unsafe depths no man has explored before in their search for coal. After part of the underground tunnel floods, a worker is found dead. And then three search party members looking for another missing man are found horribly mutilated themselves. This is followed by a massive earthquakes and landslides, as the mining company have seriously screwed up the land stability in the area. Well actually, they've managed to open up some underground world where monsters has safely resided ever since the prehistoric age. The first thing to come out of the rubble are a bunch of large caterpillar-looking bugs with pinchers and claws, which also cause a massive cave-in that only our hero - safety engineer Shigeru Kawamura (Kenji Sahara) - survives, albeit with a bad case of amnesia. But the big bugs are only the beginning...Soon after the uproar in Kitamatsu, aircraft all over the globe are being destroyed mid-air and entire villages are leveled by something too fast to make out with the naked eye. That thing is Rodan, a giant flying lizard who hatched from an egg after the cave-in and can reach supersonic speeds. Technically, "Rodan" isn't the name for the monster per se, but the (fictional) name for this particular species of the pteranodon that's much larger, much more powerful and much MUCH faster. And there are actually TWO of them in this movie: the male and its female mate. The Rodan couple's rampage includes killing a honeymooning couple at a volcano, making numerous fighter jets blow up, knocking over a huge bridge and using their wings to cause tornado- like winds that blow over cars, trees, telephone poles, buses, trains and even entire large buildings. The military is called in with their tanks and missiles for the surprisingly solemn (and actually kind of sad) ending.Modern audiences may laugh at the special effects (just as audiences 50 years from now will likely laugh at and mock the special effects from the 2014 GODZILLA) but, for the time this was made, the fx are actually top notch. The creatures are well-designed and have some personality to them and the miniature models are quite well done, too. Eiji Tsuburaya and Akira Watanabe's work compares favorably to most other 50s sci- fi flicks. Though the action is slow to get started, you're compensated with destruction and explosions galore at the finale; highlighted by the destruction of the entire city of Sasebo. As is customary with Japanese monster movies of the 50s and 60s, this was designed as a cautionary parable, both to the dangers of messing with the environment and to the horrors of war. The latter is made evident during the closing bit of narration, which pointedly references the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Rodan never got another solo starring vehicle after this one, but did make appearances (usually as a good monster and an ally of Godzilla) in some other earlier kaiju flicks like GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964), MONSTER ZERO (1965) and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968). In 1993, the monster was brought back for GODZILLA VS. MECHAGOZILLA II and later factored into GODZILLA: FINAL WARS (2004).

"Rodan" was one of the few Japanese monster movie classics that were not only heavily altered for its release into the United States, but was re-edited with respect and care for the original vision of its director Ishiro Honda. As a result, even though the Japanese and English versions are different, both are highly stimulating and tremendously enjoyable monster mashes and it's no surprise why "Rodan" was such a big hit in both countries. This is one of the most purely enjoyable, yet complex and captivating science-fiction films ever made and also boasts some surprisingly grand special effects sequences, a commendable music score, and fantastic directing by Ishiro Honda.Rodan, a popular pterodactyl-like monster, had his debut in this 1956 film, although he does not even make an appearance until the movie is nearly over. The picture starts out with a local mining village being placed under attack by giant clawed insects crawling out of the caverns in which they harvest coal for a living. After the prehistoric arthropods brutally slaughter seven people, an investigation is conducted and a more horrifying truth is discovered. Something other than giant bugs may have resurfaced sometime after the testing of the H-bomb and at the same time, an object capable of flying at supersonic speed is spotted attacking aircraft all over the world.It's the complexity of the story and the plot that I still find really captivating about "Rodan." If it weren't for the title, we would assume that Rodan is not even in the movie at all. We'd think it was about giant bugs. Sort of like a Japanese equivalent of "Them!" the great James Arness flick with giant ants. Rodan does not make a full-fledged appearance until the movie is nearly over and when he does show up, it's with tremendous awe and presence. The fact that Rodan is also created with some surprisingly grand special effects is another key element to his interesting qualities as a movie monster. Instead of plodding through miniature buildings like Godzilla, Rodan whips across the screen with dazzling speed and produces hurricane winds and shock waves to devastate his foes and victims. The audio track is pumped up with earsplitting shrieks as Rodan breaks the sound barrier and his trademark cry here is really a very disturbing and spine-tingling noise. Sequences such as Rodan attacking a plane (inspired by the infamous Thomas F. Mantell UFO incident) and fighting jets in a supersonic dogfight are truly exhilarating. Furthermore, we've got a cast of characters who are worth caring about. The great Japanese actor Kenji Sahara plays the titular role of Shigeru Kawamura, one of the miners who stumbles upon one horrifying event after another. And he has connections with the other characters, most notably with Yumi Shirakawa. Their relationship and chemistry is almost as fascinating as the monsters.When the movie was distributed into the United States, like with the first Godzilla pictures, changes were made. Unlike however with that film, the changes here were more considerate and honorable. As long as you can forgive the hammy, sometimes irritating narration by Keye Luke, you can respect the distributors' decisions such as improving editing changes and addition or re-arrangement of musical cues. As an overall movie, the Japanese version feels more complete, more wholesome, and is a better picture. But its English counterpart is very nearly on par with its kinetic energy and confidence.The cast is in terrific shape. Kenji Sahara is a truly talented actor and those who say otherwise (that no Japanese monster movie can have good acting) just look at his expression as he tries to overcome amnesia and try to say that again with a straight face. Yumi Shirakawa is also terrific as his love interest, Akhiko Hirata is once again convincing and commendable as the obligatory scientist wanting to learn the truth, and Akio Korobi not only has the physical appearance of a police chief, but plays one with presence."Rodan" is an unfortunately overlooked monster movie masterpiece. Most people who know it are only so because the Rodan character would later become affiliated with the Godzilla franchise. Now that the original Japanese version has been nicely given a DVD release in the U.S., I hope people can truly appreciate how great this genuinely spectacular science-fiction classic is. It is complex, well-written, drawn-out, and the ending of the picture is surprisingly moving.