Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

If only Toho would use this opportunity to revive Rodan in a solo film - perhaps a full-scale remake of the original.

So, on exactly what day was Rodan released theatrically in Japan? Because that would qualify as Rodan's birthday, quite literally speaking, as it was when he was actually born to life onscreen from an egg.

Rodan is awesome. No question about it. I prefer the American version, as the original, to me, is very dull and uneventful. Honda's direction was resoundingly sleepy, and there is practically no score to speak of (although to be fair, the main title theme, the air force march and the requiem are all great pieces of work). The only one in top form here was Tsuburaya. His miniatures and props are all first class. And Rodan is perhaps the coolest "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" monster ever created. He's always been one of my very favorites, and one of the only kaiju that Toho created that is known outside of Japan by name. A very popular feature creature.

The U.S. version is just great fun for me to watch, because it's so much more lively than its counterpart. The "message of nuclear disaster" prologue was always fun to watch, even if it didn't have anything directly to do with the movie. The new music isn't anything special, but like I said, it livens the picture up a great deal. The berst thing they did, I think, is how they introduced the second Rodan. MUCH better than in the Japanese version. And as someone already said, the closing monologue was touching, and compliments the scene beautifully.

Yeah, this movie is the sh*t. I'm not gonna lie. Happy 50th, RODAN!!!!

I popped in the Japanese R2 of Rodan this evening and I guess it's been a while since I've seen it, for I ended up watching it through horribly jaded eyes. I still have fond memories of the film and I think everyone did a very good job back then, but a couple of things irked me:

Wires. Wires are EVERYWHERE in this film. This is true of just about every shot of the Rodan costume and pretty much every time a plane is seen. And if you don't catch the wires, you can't miss the eyelits on the Rodan suit the wires are attatched to. And both the Rodan props and the planes seem to wobble all over the place like crazy. But I've got to give Toho credit for staging pretty much this entire movie in broad daylight, which highlights the effects shortcomings in a way the first two Godzilla films did not.

The city destruction scene is a long time in coming, way too brief and absolutely miniscule in scope. Rodan lands in one spot, moves around said spot and pretty much takes off from the same spot. After the more widespread destruction of Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again, this seems like a letdown.

Other things I noticed:

I read about this in G-Fan but this was the first time I saw it. After emerging from the river, the flying Rodan prop flies towards the painted sky backdrop...and almost CRASHES right into it. It's possible to see the prop's shadow cast on the backdrop coming closer and closer to the Rodan model. If the scene cut a second or two later I'm sure the prop would have collided with the background onscreen.

Bandai fans sometimes wonder what the company was thinking painting a vibrant green and yellow stripe on Rodan's back when they released their Rodan vinyl toy in 1991. Those with keen eyes can easily see a similar colored stripe on the second Rodan as it flies over the city towards the end of the sequence.

So in the last three years, thre of TOHO's most cherished monsters have turned 50

2004 - Godzilla
2005 - Anguirus
2006 - Rodan

As for Rodan, the movie is great in it's own right. Hopefully Classic Media will do the movie justice when they re-release it.

Rodan was a well made movie and i would put it up to par with mothra vs godzilla.