Mothra vs. Godzilla (モスラ対ゴジラ, Mosura tai Gojira^?) (also known as Mothra Against Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra, and Godzilla vs. the Thing) is a tokusatsu kaiju film, fourth in the Godzilla series, produced by Toho Company Ltd. in 1964. The film was the product of the celebrated creative team of Shinichi Sekizawa (screenplay), Ishirô Honda (human drama), and Eiji Tsuburaya (special effects). This article is about the 1992 film. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (450x620, 242 KB) This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the film or the studio which produced the film in question. ... Ishirō Honda (1911 - 1993) Japanese film director Ishirō Honda (本多 猪四郎 Honda Ishirō, May 7, 1911 in Yamagata Prefecture – February 28, 1993) was a Japanese film director. ... Tomoyuki Tanaka (田中友幸) was a Japanese movie producer, most famous for creating the Godzilla movies. ... Shinichi Sekizawa( born in Kyoto, Japan June 2, 1921- died ?/?/1992 ) was a Japanese screenwriter. ... Akira Takarada was born on April 29, 1934 in Japanese occupied Korea, Akira Takarada rose from the Toho New Face program (with Yu Fujiki and Momoko Kochi) to become one of the most recognizable men associated with the original Godzilla series, even though he appeared in only four installments. ... Yoshifumi Tajima (born 4 August 1918) is a prolific actor best known for his role as Kumayama in Mothra vs. ... Kenji Sahara (佐原 健二 Sahara Kenji) (born May 14, 1932) is a Japanese actor. ... Akira Ifukube (伊福部 昭 Ifukube Akira, 31 May 1914 – 8 February 2006) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores, perhaps best known for his work on the soundtracks of the Godzilla movies. ... The English-language version of Tohos famous logo, used from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. ... The early AIP logo. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Mothra ) is a 1961 daikaiju eiga (giant-monster movie) from Toho Studios, directed by genre regular Ishirō Honda with special effects by legend Eiji Tsuburaya. ... King Kong vs. ... Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released in Japan as San DaikaijÅ«: ChikyÅ« Saidai no Kessen lit. ... Icons of tokusatsu in the late 1970s: Spider-Man, Kamen Rider Stronger, Kamen Rider V3, Battle Fever J, Ultraman Jonias, as well as the manga and anime icon Doraemon Tokusatsu ) is a Japanese word that literally means special effects. ... KaijÅ« (怪獣) is a Japanese term that generically translates to monster. ... Godzilla is a series of giant monster films starring Godzilla, a Japanese creation usually portrayed by a man in a rubber suit. ... The English-language version of Tohos famous logo, used from the early 1960s to the late 1990s. ... Eiji Tsuburaya (1901 - 1970) Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya ) (born Eiichi Tsuburaya円谷 英一 ) on July 7, 1901 – died January 25, 1970, in Sukagawa, Fukushima) was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series. ...

Plot

A news reporter named Sakai and his photographer Junko take pictures of the wreckage caused by a typhoon. Later on that day a giant egg is discovered on the shore. The local villagers salvage it, and scientists come to study the egg. Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Shore A shore or shoreline is the land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. ...

While Sakai and Junko try to ask Professor Miura questions about the egg, an entrepreneur of Happy Enterprises named Kumayama scurries the scientists off and explains that he bought the egg from the local villagers. Instead of letting scientists study the egg, Kumayama wants to make it into a large tourist attraction. Sakai, Junko, and Professor Miura are disgusted and believe that Kumayama has no right to keep the egg. An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

While the three are discussing the egg at a hotel, they discover Kumayama checking in. Sakai wonders aloud if somebody else may be working with Kumayama and investigates the matter. Kumayama walks into Mr. Torahata's room, the head of Happy Enterprises. As the two are discussing the billion-dollar tourist attraction, two tiny twin girls, known as the Shojobin, interrupt them. The Shojobin explain that they are from "Mothra Island" (known in later Godzilla movies as "Infant Island") and that the egg belongs to a monster named Mothra who lives there. Torahata and Kumayama ignore the girls' pleas and try to capture them. This article is about the character itself. ...

The Shojobin escape the room and meet with Sakai, Junko, and Professor Miura outside the hotel. The girls beg them to bring the egg back too and the three promise to try as hard as they can to bring the egg back to Mothra Island. The girls explain that if the egg is not returned, a larva will hatch and will cause great destruction to its surroundings. Sakai tries to write editorials but "...public opinion is powerless against the law."

The girls soon leave and even though they could not get the egg back, they thanked Sakai, Junko, and Miura for their kindness. While the three are testing for radioactivity in an industrial area, Godzilla suddenly pops out of Kurada Beach (where he had been blown ashore by the storm and buried under mud) and begins to attack Nagoya.

The editor of Sakai's newspaper believes that the military cannot do anything against Godzilla and discusses it with Sakai and Junko. Jiro, another reporter who loves to eat eggs, walks in and suggests that Mothra might be able to defeat Godzilla. Sakai and Junko are skeptical that the island would agree because atomic testing had destroyed most of their island, and they had failed to return the egg to them.

The two go to Mothra Island anyway with Professor Miura. They are captured by the local villagers and are brought to the tribe’s chief. The three ask for assistance but, as expected, are turned down because of the atomic testing that destroyed their island, and Japan's failure to return the egg.

The Shojobin are heard singing and everyone walks towards them. Sakai, Junko, and Miura ask the Shojobin for Mothra's assistance but they are also turned town. Junko then pleads to all the villagers that not everyone from Japan should be blamed for what happened to their island. Godzilla is killing everyone and refusing their country assistance Sakai then adds that "we're all human" and that everyone is connected and must help each other. Mothra's screech is soon heard and the Shojobin ask everyone to follow them. They convince Mothra to help Japan but the monster is weak. Even if the fight between Godzilla and the monster is over, the monster will have no power to return to the island.

The next day, Kumayama barges into Torahata's room and demands Torahata to give him his money back that Torahata had recently swindled from Kumayama. The two get into a fistfight and Kumayama knocks Torahata down. Kumayama crawls into Torahata's money cabinet and begins to steal the money from it. Torahata wakes up and sees Godzilla approaching the hotel. He then grabs a gun and kills Kumayama. Torahata tries to escape with his money but Godzilla destroys the hotel, killing Torahata in the process.

Godzilla walks towards the egg and tries to destroy it until Mothra shows up. The two fight a tough battle where Mothra seems to have the upper hand. While on the ground, Godzilla fires his atomic ray into Mothra's face and kills her. Mothra dies with her wing resting on top of the egg. Godzilla walks away. The Shojobin then explain to Sakai, Junko, and Miura that the egg can be hatched today. The tiny twins soon begin to sing.

Meanwhile, the military tries to fight Godzilla by electrocuting him with "artificial lighting" but fail. The Shojobin continue singing and the monster egg finally hatches with not one, but two Mothra larvae. The Mothra larvae follow Godzilla to Iwa Island and use cocoon spray on Godzilla to wrap the giant monster up in a cocoon. Godzilla struggles as he becomes fully wrapped up and plunges into the ocean. The Mothra larvae celebrate and return to their island. Larvae are the plural of larva, juvenile form of animals with indirect development. ...

Titles

• Mothra vs. Godzilla (International)
• Godzilla vs. the Thing (US Theatrical)
• Godzilla against Mothra (Translation of the Japanese Title)
• Godzilla vs. Mothra (US-Video and TV)
• Godzilla vs. the Giant Moth (UK Theatrical)
• Godzilla vs. the Moth Monster (Original UK Television Title)

Distribution

American International Pictures originally released the film in the United States in September of 1964, and it opened in New York City on November 25, 1964. Retitled Godzilla vs. the Thing, Mothra's appearance was kept out of promotional material, which hinted that Godzilla's opponent would be a hideous tentacled creature and referred to it only as "The Thing". New York Times film critic Eugene Archer reacted to the film and its title: "Well, there are three things, not counting the movie. One has wings and looks like a big bee. The other two are hatched from the first Thing's egg, after quite a bit of worshipful kootch dancing from a pair of foot-tall native goddesses...". New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ...

In video releases of the 1980s, the film was titled simply Godzilla vs. Mothra. However, Mothra is still repeatedly called "The Thing" in the film, confusing many film-goers who thought "The Thing" and "Mothra" were two separate monsters.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• The upper lip on the Godzilla suit in this film has a slight wobble. This was originally an accident; in the filming of a scene where Godzilla smashes into the Nagoya Castle, the actor in the suit (Haruo Nakajima) fell, and the suit's head slammed into the castle, loosening the teeth. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya liked this so much that he wanted to keep the suit like that for a while.

• The claw of Godzilla was made by FRP for the first time by this movie.

• Another highlight of the film is the "Frontier Missile" sequence, where Godzilla was being attacked on a beach by American battle cruisers. This scene was featured in American International Pictures' United States version, Godzilla vs. the Thing. But this was actually a deleted scene in Japan (and not made exclusively for AIP, contrary to legend), and included only in prints outside Japan for international marketing. It was seen briefly in the original Japanese trailer. The reason for its deletion was that Japanese viewers, who were still sensitive after World War II, were supposedly offended by seeing American missiles hit Japanese ground.

• This film marks the first appearance of Mothra in a Godzilla film. Mothra would go on to be Godzilla' most frequent kaiju co-star, appearing in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, GMK, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., and Godzilla: Final Wars.

• Although not mentioned as such, this movie along with Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster are made as Godzilla's 10th anniversary.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Nagoya Castle Nagoya Castle (名古屋城; -jō) is located in Nagoya Aichi, Japan. ... Haruo Nakajima (born January 1, 1929 in Yamagata, Japan) is a Japanese actor. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Mothra ) is a kaiju, a type of fictional monster who first appeared in the novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Takehiko Fukunaga. ... Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released in Japan as San Daikaijū: Chikyū Saidai no Kessen lit. ... Toho, 1966 Original title: Gojira Ebira Mosura Nankai No Daiketto Translation: Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Large Duel in the South Seas Director: Jun Fukuda Special effects: Eiji Tsuburaya Originally intended for King Kong Godzilla was substituted. ... This article is about the film. ... This article is about the 1992 film. ... Godzilla vs. ... Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack ), or GMK, is a tokusatsu movie, and the 25th film in the Godzilla movie series. ... Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla, released in Japan as Godzilla vs. ... Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) is the 50th anniversary film in the Godzilla series of films. ... Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (San Daikaiju Chikyu Saidai no Kessen) is a 1964 film. ...

Box Office

The film sold approximately 3,510,000 tickets in Japan.

DVD Releases

Simitar Entertainment

• Released: May 6, 1998

• Aspect Ratios: Widescreen (2.35:1) letterboxed; Full frame (1.33:1)

• Sound: English (1.0), English (5.1)

• Supplements: Godzilla trailers; Godzilla art gallery; Trivia game; Film facts; DVD-ROM (screen savers, printable art gallery, web access)

• All Regions

• Note: Contains the U.S. release

Sony Wonder (Classic Media) The inner box (green) is the format used in most pre-1952 films and pre-widescreen television. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... A screensaver is a computer program originally designed to conserve the image quality of computer displays by blanking the screen or filling them with moving images or patterns when the computers are not in use. ...

• Released: September 17, 2002

• Aspect Ratio: Full frame (1.33:1)

• Supplements: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters melee video game trailer

• Region 1

• Note: Contains the U.S. release

Sony Wonder (Classic Media)

• Released: November 7, 2006

• Aspect Ratio: U.S. version - Widescreen (1.78:1; cropped from 2.35:1); Japanese version - Widescreen (2.35:1)

• Supplements: Audio commentary by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, original Japanese theatrical trailer, poster slide-show, Akira Ifukube biography featurette

• Region 1

• Note: Contains the U.S. and original Japanese versions

Akira Ifukube (伊福部 昭 Ifukube Akira, 31 May 1914 – 8 February 2006) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores, perhaps best known for his work on the soundtracks of the Godzilla movies. ...

External links

• Mothra vs. Godzilla at the Internet Movie Database
• Mothra vs. Godzilla at Rotten Tomatoes
• Stomp Tokyo Review
• Detailed Movie Review
• モスラ対ゴジラ (Mosura tai Gojira) (Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.