Talkback Thread #4: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

[TokyoVigilante]

Just finished re-watching this after a long while of not seeing it and it's still a great little film. Honda's direction is dynamic and engaged, Sekizawa's writing hits a level of focus that he won't quite ever achieve again, and Tsuburaya's effects are varied and show great production values.

But the greatest strength of the film is how it manages to not let the fantasy elements disrupt its grounded, real world sensibilities. Something that Sekizawa was never quite able to manage a second time (I think maybe Son of Godzilla, but barely). There aren't any swaggering space cowboys on Planet X or keen-eyed agents of Interpol to save the day, this is a real world that has been inexplicably invaded by these fantastic and destructive creatures and the world is reacting naturally to them.

Outside of its technical strengths, however, it's not exactly the most memorable. It's iconic moments are iconic because of how well they're done in regards to both the writing behind them and how well the effects for the scenes are. I remember the final battle of Ghidrah because of the pure spectacle of seeing two dinosaurs, a giant bug, and a space dragon fight. I remember the battle with the adult Mothra because of what was at stake and how well the fight was staged.

Ifukube's score is solid, as usual. But it does lean on the side of repetitive. The score for the likes of King Kong vs. Godzilla and Monster Zero displays much more variety, IMO and are interesting as a result. But his music here serves its purpose perfectly, particularly his work for Mothra; Sacred Springs is the ultimate Shobijin song for me.

It's close, but it's between King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Ghidorah, the 3-Headed Monster as my favorite films of the franchise.

[therealmccoy]

My favorite Showa Godzilla movie, and my second-favorite soundtrack. The military involvement in this movie was the best out of the majority of the Godzilla movies, IMO. Don't ask me why I think that; I couldn't give a very informative answer. It just mesmerizes me more than any other G-movie for some reason. Mothra was portrayed very well considering the fact she was up against a monster she had virtually no chance of beating.

[Gojira21]

I havent watched this one in a long time, i really need to find it and watch it again!!

[Giga Kaiju]

One of my favorites and the Second Godzilla that i watched when i was a Kid, Love it.

[therealmccoy]

Understand, I love the original Mothra, but this represents the ultimate kaiju VS kaiju film, in my opinion.

I think the fact that the two title monsters are so unevenly matched it isn't funny is one of the major reasons for this. I mean, a moth against a radioactive reptile? A novice would look at the concept and shrug it off, because it could never happen. But Toho didn't think so, and made it work beautifully, and that is why it is IMO the best Showa Godzilla movie.

[TokyoVigilante]

The battle works because there is something at stake; it's the writing of the scenes for the monster battles that make them memorable, not necessarily the actual visual part of them (despite looking really good). Mothra is fighting to defend her egg and she's willing to die for it. Then with the Larva, it's a battle of brains over brute force.

[therealmccoy]

The battle works because there is something at stake; it's the writing of the scenes for the monster battles that make them memorable, not necessarily the actual visual part of them (despite looking really good). Mothra is fighting to defend her egg and she's willing to die for it. Then with the Larva, it's a battle of brains over brute force.

Yeah, that's a good other way of looking at it. I often overlook the writing of the script as being one of the most important elements in a good movie. No matter how cool the monsters ( or other characters for that matter) are, if they aren't written in well, they won't have as much of an impact. Mothra vs. Godzilla is near flawless in this aspect. Thank you for pointing that out, TV.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

The battle works because there is something at stake; it's the writing of the scenes for the monster battles that make them memorable, not necessarily the actual visual part of them (despite looking really good). Mothra is fighting to defend her egg and she's willing to die for it. Then with the Larva, it's a battle of brains over brute force.

I completely agree with this. I can't think of many other Godzilla fights where it feels like there is something to lose. In most other Godzilla films, it just feels like the monsters are fighting for the sake of fighting. That's never the case in Mothra vs. Godzilla, where there is a reason for everything. There's actually some suspense in those fight scenes, and I love that.

[Rody]

I finally own this wonderful film, and I took the opportunity to watch the American version, Godzilla vs. the Thing.
The dub was decent; it seemed very accurate, although the voice actors had trouble getting good emotion in. I also found it very annoying to hear Mothra constantly referred to as "The Thing".
Did the American version cut any scenes? There were several moments where I felt that bits & pieces were missing. The frontier missile sequence was pretty neat, though.

Overall, this is still a pretty good film, but not as good as the original version. 8/10.
(Japanese version gets a full 10.)

[eabaker]

I finally own this wonderful film, and I took the opportunity to watch the American version, Godzilla vs. the Thing.
The dub was decent; it seemed very accurate, although the voice actors had trouble getting good emotion in. I also found it very annoying to hear Mothra constantly referred to as "The Thing".
Did the American version cut any scenes? There were several moments where I felt that bits & pieces were missing. The frontier missile sequence was pretty neat, though.

Overall, this is still a pretty good film, but not as good as the original version. 8/10.
(Japanese version gets a full 10.)

There are some trims to the American versions. http://www.historyvortex.org/GodzillaAmerica4.html

[SUPERTOHOREMIX]

To me, this film had the most menacing Godzilla.
This shot says it all.

The camera work for this scene is genious.

[Godzilla628]

My favorite Showa movie besides the original. It has my second favorite soundtrack and my #1 favorite suit.

[Tohosaurus]

Unquestionably one of the best for me, and for a reason (well, many actually).

[Jirass]

Want to hear something disconcerting? Not that it's exactly the most reliable barometer or anything, but "Final Wars" has a higher rating on imdb than Mothra Vs Godzilla. I wept a little bit.

[eabaker]

Want to hear something disconcerting? Not that it's exactly the most reliable barometer or anything, but "Final Wars" has a higher rating on imdb than Mothra Vs Godzilla. I wept a little bit.

That's the saddest news I've heard in awhile. A character driven, thematically rich, beautiful work of cinema, which had stunning special effects for its era - a classic in every sense - is rated lower than an obnoxious, shallow, ugly movie which looks absurd by the standards of contemporary cinema.

[Jirass]

Want to hear something disconcerting? Not that it's exactly the most reliable barometer or anything, but "Final Wars" has a higher rating on imdb than Mothra Vs Godzilla. I wept a little bit.

That's the saddest news I've heard in awhile. A character driven, thematically rich, beautiful work of cinema, which had stunning special effects for its era - a classic in every sense - is rated lower than an obnoxious, shallow, ugly movie which looks absurd by the standards of contemporary cinema.

Yep. Pretty disgustingly sad.

[tymon]

A character driven, thematically rich, beautiful work of cinema, which had stunning special effects for its era - a classic in every sense - is rated lower than an obnoxious, shallow, ugly movie which looks absurd by the standards of contemporary cinema.

Thematically rich? I like this movie as much as the next guy, and I feel like its themes are well-executed, but I would never call it "rich". Hell, the 54 film barely deserves that adjective IMO.

[eabaker]

A character driven, thematically rich, beautiful work of cinema, which had stunning special effects for its era - a classic in every sense - is rated lower than an obnoxious, shallow, ugly movie which looks absurd by the standards of contemporary cinema.

Thematically rich? I like this movie as much as the next guy, and I feel like its themes are well-executed, but I would never call it "rich". Hell, the 54 film barely deserves that adjective IMO.

I was overstating a little, sure. I guess I meant relative to (a.) GFW and (b.) most modern Hollywood output.

However, I do think that the 54 film well deserves the adjective.

[GodzillaSpawn]

I love Mothra vs. Godzilla, but I do think the plot is rather paper-thin like many of the Showa classics. It thankfully just doesn't leave holes.

The acting, pacing, music, editing and monster action is all an example of top-level work for the Showa series. The character development is okay, not great. You got the standard greedy characters and the morally strong characters and there is a clean line in-between. But you can start the movie, leave the room for 20 minutes, come back and still know exactly what is going on. You really don't have to pay too much attention...everything is spelled out for you. I say this only because some members here have a hard time of understanding why the series has a reputation of being silly outside of the fandom. But it doesn't help when the plots, as absent of glaring mistakes as they may be, are on a level of a ten year-old's saturday morning cartoon. This is something that just about every good Godzilla film does, and this is no exception.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

Want to hear something disconcerting? Not that it's exactly the most reliable barometer or anything, but "Final Wars" has a higher rating on imdb than Mothra Vs Godzilla. I wept a little bit.

This is why I do not trust the rating system on IMDB. If you want a much more articulate and thorough rating system for movies, I'd suggest Rotten Tomatoes and leave IMDB to the fanboys.