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Even
if the credits didn't list Japanese names, one could tell from
the rumbling, flatulent strains of Akira Ifukube's opening theme
that Rodan is a Toho-produced daikaiju
(giant monster) flick. It was the first to be made in color.
It's also one of the best.
After some introductory padding composed
of U.S. military stock footage (American A-bomb tests with voice-over
narration), we meet Shigeru Kamura (Kenji Sahara), the safety
engineer at a large coal mine in Kyushu. He's a bit worried
about Shaft 8, which goes deeper than any of its predecessors.
Then some miners go missing, including Shigeru's future brother-in-law.
Two more miners and a policeman venture into the bowels of Shaft
8 to look for the missing men. Afterwards their bodies are found,
"horribly mangled" by some unknown murderer. The entire
village is gripped with fear over the killings. With her brother
presumed dead, or even thought by some to be the killer, Shigeru's
fiancee Kiyo (Yumi Shirakawa) is on the verge of a breakdown.
Shigeru is comforting Kiyo when the mystery
chooses to reveal itself. A giant hippo-sized insect, a sort
of prehistoric caterpillar with lobster-like claws, barges unannounced
into Kiyo's house. (How rude!) Shigeru's calls for help ("There's
a monster here!") summon the cops and some of the miners,
who chase the chittering behemoth up the slope of a mining pit.
After wasting a couple of expendable policemen, the creature
slides down into the pit and disappears. (Providing some funny
'G.I. Joe stuntman' action as one of the lawmen is dragged part
of the way down with it.) Examining the bodies of the dead cops,
the local doctor confirms that they died from the same type
of wounds seen on the other corpses. It would seem the mine
complex has a serious pest control problem.
Understandably, in Japan local officials
have no trouble getting higher authorities to believe them when
they report monster problems. (None of that incredulous "Are
you nuts?" or "Have you been drinking?"
stuff that small town American mayors and sheriffs invariably
have to deal with.) The Army quickly musters a company of well-armed
infantrymen to the mine. Guided by Shigeru, the soldiers descend
into Shaft 8 on a Bug Hunt. They are attacked by the giant insects,
who prove impervious even to heavy machine-gun fire. During
the retreat to the surface there's an earthquake; Shigeru is
lost, buried underground with the monsters. A digging operation
is commenced to rescue him but little hope is held out for his
survival. Miraculously, after another earthquake, Shigeru is
discovered alive in a newly opened fissure. But he has total
amnesia.
So where in
the heck are the giant flying reptiles? Well, just about
now the movie finally gets 'round to 'em. While Shigeru is being
treated for his memory loss, stories of a mysterious supersonic
UFO are gripping the world's headlines. A Japanese Air Force
pilot spots the intruder and attempts to intercept but his fighter
jet is destroyed by some incredible unknown force. Appearing
across the Pacific Rim, from Beijing to the Philippines, the
UFO destroys several other planes without being identified.
Photographic clues contained in a missing couple's recovered
camera lead scientists to believe that the UFO is in fact a
living creature —
an immensely huge variant of the prehistoric pterodactyl with
a 500 foot (!) wingspan. Meanwhile, Shigeru recovers his memory
and we get a flashback of his experience while buried underground.
His tale of a gigantic egg hatching a monstrous birdlike reptile
(which feeds on the insect-creatures plaguing the mine) coincides
with the appearance of the mystery UFO. Everyone's worst horror
is realized when two of the flying reptiles —
dubbed the "Rodan" species by the investigating scientists
—
appear over the city of Sasebo. The city is laid waste by the
creatures, who can generate typhoon-strength winds with the
buffeting of their massive wings. Japan's military springs into
action but the bravery of its fighter pilots and tank crews
proves useless against the Rodans. Will all of Nippon —
indeed, the entire world —
be destroyed by these rampaging
leviathans?
Rodan is pure, unadulterated hokum
that, at 72 compact minutes, chugs along at a rapid pace. It's
barely even slowed down by a couple of sappy romantic interludes
featuring Shigero and his girlfriend. Though the real stars
of the show don't appear until well past the halfway point,
the insect monsters keep the story moving along briskly. The
rubber monster suits and models hold an undeniable charm even
in this digitally-enhanced age; some of the model work for the
destruction of Sasebo remains rather remarkable looking today.
(The flick also contains one of the coolest toy car wrecks ever
filmed.) Its only major faux pas is recycling some of the same
special effects shots over and over. That the film's famous
ending is still able to provoke an emotional response — remember,
we're talking a big dumb rubber monster movie here — is a testament
to the imagination and skill of the filmmakers.
As with the best of the daikaiju,
Rodan is an ideal movie for a rainy
Saturday afternoon, when it's time to switch off your brain
and throw a few bags of popcorn in the microwave. And for me,
anyway, it's always fun to hear ubiquitous American voice
actor Paul Frees holding conversations with himself. (Aside
from a couple of female voices only three guys dub all
of the characters in the English language version, with Frees
handling the lion's share.)
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Rodan
is presented fullframe in this Sony Region 1 release, which is
apparently the way it was intended to be seen. There's some print
damage and it's a bit grainy, but in general the visual quality
of the disc is acceptable. There are two audio choices, a Mono
track and one in 5.1 Surround. The Surround track sounded absolutely
terrible on my equipment, like it was being broadcast from a cave.
The Mono track is quite serviceable, however, and is the recommended
selection for enjoying the movie.
There aren't any extras on the DVD, not even
a trailer. A commercial for a Nintendo Gamecube title is included,
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. As a 40 year-old
geezer who doesn't play videogames anymore, I have to admit this
one looked kind of interesting. It's a 3-D fighting game pitting
lizard king Godzilla against an array of opponents from the movies
(Ghidorah, MechaGodzilla, etc.), duking it out and smashing cities
to rubble in the process. (Kids will probably have a blast with
this thing.)
Still, as the DVD retails for around $10 (or
less), I'm not complaining too much. Rodan
provides fun, old-fashioned model-stomping action, Nippon style.
The disc's an okay value for the price, but only marginally so.
11/10/02 |
