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Jan. 17th, 2007 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiDestroy All Monsters. 1968. Directed by Ishirô Honda. Written by Honda and Takeshi Kimura. Released by Toho.
At the Monster Movies: 50 Years Ago panel at Arisia, the final question the moderator ran past the panelists was, "what's your favorite '50s monster movie?" I provided the truthful answer: The Blob. But if he'd asked what my favorite '50s monster was, I'd have had a different answer: Rodan. Yes, his movies weren't even as good as his fellow Toho monster Godzilla's, but he was the first giant monster I ever saw on TV. Alas, he never achieved the same levels of popularity as Godzilla or Mothra, and as a kid, the only movies featuring him that ever aired on WPIX were his original movie and Godzilla vs Monster Zero (featuring a three-way battle between Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah).
So imagine my delight on growing up to discover that I'd missed another movie featuring all three of these guys, as well as eight others (including Mothra)!
Yes, Destroy All Monsters is like a dream come true.
As is the case with any great (or mediocre) crossover movie, the plot's not really there as an end in itself. It's just there to get all of the characters together and fighting.
In the not-too-distant "future" (last decade, 1999 AD), all of the monsters who have rampaged through Japan have finally been captured and stashed away on Monster Island. Thanks to the Wonders of Technology, the monsters aren't able to leave the island, and a bunch of scientists control and study them.
But oh noes! Contact with the island is lost, the scientists are overcome with gas, the monsters are also gassed, and next thing you know, the monsters start attacking major world cities!
I should pause here to make sure that everyone is familiar with the various monsters we'll see throughout the movie.
Monster Roll Call:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters. A giant radioactive dinosaur who was created in the wake of the atom bomb tests. By this time, Godzilla has morphed from a bad guy into a frequent defender of the planet. Aside from his strength, he also wreaks damage with his tail and with a radioactive heat beam. His only real weakness is the writing of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin.
Rodan: A giant pteradon originally found in an old mine. Aside from attacking with claws and beak, he can fly at supersonic speeds (causing damage in his wake) and can also flap his wings to create gale-force winds.
Mothra: A giant moth (although often appearing as a giant larva, a form she maintains throughout this movie), she can squirt silk to tangle up foes, and attack them with her beak. Sometimes (in larval form), she'll just attack by crawling on buildings and crushing them.
Gorosaurus: Another giant dinosaur. This guy did not, however, debut in an eponymous movie like the first three. He was actually a bad guy in King Kong Escapes (the movie best known for the infamous Mecha Kong). No real powers, other than being really strong, tough, and mean.
Baragon: A giant stegosaurus-like monster. He made his debut as the "bad guy" in Frankenstein Conquers the World. He can jump, burrow, and shoot a heat ray.
Kumonga/Spiga (name changes regularly): A giant spider, he first appeared in Son of Godzilla. He can shoot a spider web, jump on things, or inject poison into people.
Manda: A giant serpent. First appeared in Atragon (the only movie mentioned here that I haven't seen). Can swim, crush people, and that's about it.
Veran: A giant lizard who made his debut in Veran the Unbelievable*. In his own movies, he wreaks havoc. In this one, he sits on the sidelines.
Anguirus: A giant spine-covered ankylosaurus. First appeared in Godzilla Raids Again. No powers other than burrowing, but with a long tail, his shell, and those spikes, he can do plenty of damage.
King Ghidorah: A three-headed monster who made his debut in, not surprisingly, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. He's a monster with three heads. He can also fire energy beams, but he's mainly just really, really strong.
Minya: Dear fucking god, I hate this character. Minya is supposedly the Son of Godzilla (although I'd like to see a paternity test), and made his debut in the movie of the same name. He's basically a cute little lizard man who blows puffs of smoke, but occasionally finds a Rocky-like ability to find inner resources and breath real fire and do serious damage. Usually, though, he just stands there jumping around and looking goofy. He's not as annoying as Junior from the modern Godzilla movies, or the Eight Million Goddamn Ice-Skating Godzilla Babies from the Devlin/Emmerich abomination. But he's up there.
Anyway, back to the plot. Godzilla attacks New York. Rodan destroys Moscow. Mothra crawls into China. More monsters (everyone but Ghidorah) attack other cities, and no one knows how they escaped or why they're on the rampage. The heroic astronaut pilot of Japan's super-spaceship is called back to investigate the island (because his fiancee is one of the scientists and, well, sending in the marines or somesuch seemed silly), and he makes a shocking discovery: the scientists have been brainwashed! By aliens! And so have the monsters!
If anyone thinks this sounds familiar, it's because aliens also took over the monsters in Godzilla vs Monster Zero. Basically, the monsters in Toho movies are the mental equivalent of Marvel's Squadron Supreme, just waiting to be mind controlled by anyone who comes along.
The aliens (a bunch of people in metallic-silver clothing who can't stand the cold) send their brainwashees to capture the super-spaceship, but they fail, and the good guys capture one of the scientists. Alas, he commits suicide before they can interrogate him, but an autopsy reveals that he's been injected with a mind-control device. Further investigation shows that there are mind-control transmitters throughout the world.
However, while this has been happening, the monsters have been making their way towards Japan, where the aliens now have a base at Mt. Fuji! It turns out that sending the monsters out to attack other countries was just a diversion so the aliens could build a base from which to wage war.
Yes, you read that correctly. They can mind-control the most powerful creatures on earth, and they use them as a distraction to build a base.
Via a mind-controlled human, the aliens threaten to keep attacking until the Earth surrenders or the aliens figure out that they could just mind control the entire planet anyway. But earth fights back against the alien invaders the way it always does -- bybuilding a computer virus bringing the fight to them. In this case, they discover the secret alien moon base, destroy it, and then use the aliens' own mind control technology to take over the monsters and attack the alien base at Mr. Fuji.
Just when all looks lost for the aliens, they bring out their secret weapon: King Ghidorah! You see, since Ghidorah's a space monster, he's controlled on a different frequency, so the aliens still have him on their side.
We now get the Epic Battle. Dropkicks, punches, biting, breath weapons, webs -- you name it, it gets used here. It's every bit the monster clusterfuck you'd expect it to be, and pretty much the money shot of this movie. Eventually, the mind-controlled earth monsters defeat the mind-controlled space monster, and all is right with the world.
Until the aliens attack again with what appears to be a remote-control fireball, destroying the human mind-control transmitter! Oh no!
But since Godzilla is still a good guy, he destroys the alien base anyway. And the human super-spaceship destroys the fireball, which, after the flames are put out, turns out to be just a normal UFO.
We get one last look at each of the heroic monsters, and once again see them ghettoized on Monster Island, to be isolated and studied like lab rats. With that solemn note on the injustices so often shown to heroes, we fade out.
Early Toho movies aren't exactly known for acting, great effects, or plot. And by the late '60s, monster movies (in Japan and the US) no longer offered anything in the way of political or social commentary (other than what the snarkier of us might read into them). But this movie does have everything I need: Lots of monsters and lots of action (I didn't even mention the scenes in which Godzilla and Rodan took out a few army battalions). Throw in that amazing Akira Ifukube score, and it doesn't matter how cheesy the movie gets. I love every minute of it.
*He's like the Tommy Flanagan of giant monsters.
At the Monster Movies: 50 Years Ago panel at Arisia, the final question the moderator ran past the panelists was, "what's your favorite '50s monster movie?" I provided the truthful answer: The Blob. But if he'd asked what my favorite '50s monster was, I'd have had a different answer: Rodan. Yes, his movies weren't even as good as his fellow Toho monster Godzilla's, but he was the first giant monster I ever saw on TV. Alas, he never achieved the same levels of popularity as Godzilla or Mothra, and as a kid, the only movies featuring him that ever aired on WPIX were his original movie and Godzilla vs Monster Zero (featuring a three-way battle between Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah).
So imagine my delight on growing up to discover that I'd missed another movie featuring all three of these guys, as well as eight others (including Mothra)!
Yes, Destroy All Monsters is like a dream come true.
As is the case with any great (or mediocre) crossover movie, the plot's not really there as an end in itself. It's just there to get all of the characters together and fighting.
In the not-too-distant "future" (last decade, 1999 AD), all of the monsters who have rampaged through Japan have finally been captured and stashed away on Monster Island. Thanks to the Wonders of Technology, the monsters aren't able to leave the island, and a bunch of scientists control and study them.
But oh noes! Contact with the island is lost, the scientists are overcome with gas, the monsters are also gassed, and next thing you know, the monsters start attacking major world cities!
I should pause here to make sure that everyone is familiar with the various monsters we'll see throughout the movie.
Monster Roll Call:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters. A giant radioactive dinosaur who was created in the wake of the atom bomb tests. By this time, Godzilla has morphed from a bad guy into a frequent defender of the planet. Aside from his strength, he also wreaks damage with his tail and with a radioactive heat beam. His only real weakness is the writing of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin.
Rodan: A giant pteradon originally found in an old mine. Aside from attacking with claws and beak, he can fly at supersonic speeds (causing damage in his wake) and can also flap his wings to create gale-force winds.
Mothra: A giant moth (although often appearing as a giant larva, a form she maintains throughout this movie), she can squirt silk to tangle up foes, and attack them with her beak. Sometimes (in larval form), she'll just attack by crawling on buildings and crushing them.
Gorosaurus: Another giant dinosaur. This guy did not, however, debut in an eponymous movie like the first three. He was actually a bad guy in King Kong Escapes (the movie best known for the infamous Mecha Kong). No real powers, other than being really strong, tough, and mean.
Baragon: A giant stegosaurus-like monster. He made his debut as the "bad guy" in Frankenstein Conquers the World. He can jump, burrow, and shoot a heat ray.
Kumonga/Spiga (name changes regularly): A giant spider, he first appeared in Son of Godzilla. He can shoot a spider web, jump on things, or inject poison into people.
Manda: A giant serpent. First appeared in Atragon (the only movie mentioned here that I haven't seen). Can swim, crush people, and that's about it.
Veran: A giant lizard who made his debut in Veran the Unbelievable*. In his own movies, he wreaks havoc. In this one, he sits on the sidelines.
Anguirus: A giant spine-covered ankylosaurus. First appeared in Godzilla Raids Again. No powers other than burrowing, but with a long tail, his shell, and those spikes, he can do plenty of damage.
King Ghidorah: A three-headed monster who made his debut in, not surprisingly, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. He's a monster with three heads. He can also fire energy beams, but he's mainly just really, really strong.
Minya: Dear fucking god, I hate this character. Minya is supposedly the Son of Godzilla (although I'd like to see a paternity test), and made his debut in the movie of the same name. He's basically a cute little lizard man who blows puffs of smoke, but occasionally finds a Rocky-like ability to find inner resources and breath real fire and do serious damage. Usually, though, he just stands there jumping around and looking goofy. He's not as annoying as Junior from the modern Godzilla movies, or the Eight Million Goddamn Ice-Skating Godzilla Babies from the Devlin/Emmerich abomination. But he's up there.
Anyway, back to the plot. Godzilla attacks New York. Rodan destroys Moscow. Mothra crawls into China. More monsters (everyone but Ghidorah) attack other cities, and no one knows how they escaped or why they're on the rampage. The heroic astronaut pilot of Japan's super-spaceship is called back to investigate the island (because his fiancee is one of the scientists and, well, sending in the marines or somesuch seemed silly), and he makes a shocking discovery: the scientists have been brainwashed! By aliens! And so have the monsters!
If anyone thinks this sounds familiar, it's because aliens also took over the monsters in Godzilla vs Monster Zero. Basically, the monsters in Toho movies are the mental equivalent of Marvel's Squadron Supreme, just waiting to be mind controlled by anyone who comes along.
The aliens (a bunch of people in metallic-silver clothing who can't stand the cold) send their brainwashees to capture the super-spaceship, but they fail, and the good guys capture one of the scientists. Alas, he commits suicide before they can interrogate him, but an autopsy reveals that he's been injected with a mind-control device. Further investigation shows that there are mind-control transmitters throughout the world.
However, while this has been happening, the monsters have been making their way towards Japan, where the aliens now have a base at Mt. Fuji! It turns out that sending the monsters out to attack other countries was just a diversion so the aliens could build a base from which to wage war.
Yes, you read that correctly. They can mind-control the most powerful creatures on earth, and they use them as a distraction to build a base.
Via a mind-controlled human, the aliens threaten to keep attacking until the Earth surrenders or the aliens figure out that they could just mind control the entire planet anyway. But earth fights back against the alien invaders the way it always does -- by
Just when all looks lost for the aliens, they bring out their secret weapon: King Ghidorah! You see, since Ghidorah's a space monster, he's controlled on a different frequency, so the aliens still have him on their side.
We now get the Epic Battle. Dropkicks, punches, biting, breath weapons, webs -- you name it, it gets used here. It's every bit the monster clusterfuck you'd expect it to be, and pretty much the money shot of this movie. Eventually, the mind-controlled earth monsters defeat the mind-controlled space monster, and all is right with the world.
Until the aliens attack again with what appears to be a remote-control fireball, destroying the human mind-control transmitter! Oh no!
But since Godzilla is still a good guy, he destroys the alien base anyway. And the human super-spaceship destroys the fireball, which, after the flames are put out, turns out to be just a normal UFO.
We get one last look at each of the heroic monsters, and once again see them ghettoized on Monster Island, to be isolated and studied like lab rats. With that solemn note on the injustices so often shown to heroes, we fade out.
Early Toho movies aren't exactly known for acting, great effects, or plot. And by the late '60s, monster movies (in Japan and the US) no longer offered anything in the way of political or social commentary (other than what the snarkier of us might read into them). But this movie does have everything I need: Lots of monsters and lots of action (I didn't even mention the scenes in which Godzilla and Rodan took out a few army battalions). Throw in that amazing Akira Ifukube score, and it doesn't matter how cheesy the movie gets. I love every minute of it.
*He's like the Tommy Flanagan of giant monsters.