Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
|
|
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘) is a 1966 tokusatsu film, directed by Jun Fukuda, and was released by Toho studios. The original Japanese title was Gojira, Ebirâ, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (English translation: Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Large Duel in the South Seas), and is also known as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. The special effects were by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa. The concept was originally intended for King Kong, but Godzilla ultimately received the "starring" role instead. It also features Mothra and Ebirah.
| Contents |
Story
After his brother Yata is lost at sea, young Ryota steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber. This motley crew runs afoul of sea monster Ebirah, and washes up on the shore of an island, where a terrorist organization manufactures heavy water for their nefarious purposes, as well as a chemical that keeps Ebirah at bay. The organization, Red Bamboo, has enslaved a native population to help them, but the natives hope to awaken a dormant Mothra to rescue them. In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a native girl, stumble across Godzilla, snoring in a cavernous mountain. How will these unlikely heroes find Yata, free the slaves, escape the island, and defeat both a terrorist group and a sea monster, without getting stepped on accidentally by Godzilla?
Trivia
- This Godzilla film also features a brief turn by Japanese singing duo Pair Bambi as the tiny twin Mothra priestesses known as "Mothra's Little Beauties" here. (In other Mothra movies, these characters were called the "Twin Fairies" and played by twin sisters Emi and Yûmi Ito of The Peanuts, another Japanese singing duo.)
- In the scene right after he destroys the Giant Condor, Godzilla rubs his nose. This was a reference to Toho's popular Wakadaisho/Young Guy movie series, in which the titular character, Yuichi Tanuma (played by Yuzo Kayama), was known for doing the same thing.
- Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was one of the two Godzilla films used as episodes of American television comedy show Mystery Science Theater 3000, which frequently mocks monster movies. The other one was Godzilla vs. Megalon.