User Reviews

Japanese miners are killed by giant prehistoric insects awakened by nuclear testing. After dealing with the bugs, the military discovers an even bigger threat has been awakened by the tests. Yup, it's Rodan, a pterodactyl-like monster that flies at super-sonic speeds. Soon another Rodan shows up and the two wreak havoc. What in the world will Japan do?

Great Japanese giant monster movie with anti-nuke message; a classic of its type. Not on the level of the original Godzilla (or Gojira, if you insist) but better than many of the cheesy sequels that came out later. It's cool that it was filmed in color. The special effects and action scenes are lots of fun. Love the music. It's a good way to pass the time.

"Rodan" was one of the few Japanese monster movie classics that were not only heavily altered for its release into the United States, but was re-edited with respect and care for the original vision of its director Ishiro Honda. As a result, even though the Japanese and English versions are different, both are highly stimulating and tremendously enjoyable monster mashes and it's no surprise why "Rodan" was such a big hit in both countries. This is one of the most purely enjoyable, yet complex and captivating science-fiction films ever made and also boasts some surprisingly grand special effects sequences, a commendable music score, and fantastic directing by Ishiro Honda.

Rodan, a popular pterodactyl-like monster, had his debut in this 1956 film, although he does not even make an appearance until the movie is nearly over. The picture starts out with a local mining village being placed under attack by giant clawed insects crawling out of the caverns in which they harvest coal for a living. After the prehistoric arthropods brutally slaughter seven people, an investigation is conducted and a more horrifying truth is discovered. Something other than giant bugs may have resurfaced sometime after the testing of the H-bomb and at the same time, an object capable of flying at supersonic speed is spotted attacking aircraft all over the world.

It's the complexity of the story and the plot that I still find really captivating about "Rodan." If it weren't for the title, we would assume that Rodan is not even in the movie at all. We'd think it was about giant bugs. Sort of like a Japanese equivalent of "Them!" the great James Arness flick with giant ants. Rodan does not make a full-fledged appearance until the movie is nearly over and when he does show up, it's with tremendous awe and presence. The fact that Rodan is also created with some surprisingly grand special effects is another key element to his interesting qualities as a movie monster. Instead of plodding through miniature buildings like Godzilla, Rodan whips across the screen with dazzling speed and produces hurricane winds and shock waves to devastate his foes and victims. The audio track is pumped up with earsplitting shrieks as Rodan breaks the sound barrier and his trademark cry here is really a very disturbing and spine-tingling noise. Sequences such as Rodan attacking a plane (inspired by the infamous Thomas F. Mantell UFO incident) and fighting jets in a supersonic dogfight are truly exhilarating. Furthermore, we've got a cast of characters who are worth caring about. The great Japanese actor Kenji Sahara plays the titular role of Shigeru Kawamura, one of the miners who stumbles upon one horrifying event after another. And he has connections with the other characters, most notably with Yumi Shirakawa. Their relationship and chemistry is almost as fascinating as the monsters.

When the movie was distributed into the United States, like with the first Godzilla pictures, changes were made. Unlike however with that film, the changes here were more considerate and honorable. As long as you can forgive the hammy, sometimes irritating narration by Keye Luke, you can respect the distributors' decisions such as improving editing changes and addition or re-arrangement of musical cues. As an overall movie, the Japanese version feels more complete, more wholesome, and is a better picture. But its English counterpart is very nearly on par with its kinetic energy and confidence.

The cast is in terrific shape. Kenji Sahara is a truly talented actor and those who say otherwise (that no Japanese monster movie can have good acting) just look at his expression as he tries to overcome amnesia and try to say that again with a straight face. Yumi Shirakawa is also terrific as his love interest, Akhiko Hirata is once again convincing and commendable as the obligatory scientist wanting to learn the truth, and Akio Korobi not only has the physical appearance of a police chief, but plays one with presence.

"Rodan" is an unfortunately overlooked monster movie masterpiece. Most people who know it are only so because the Rodan character would later become affiliated with the Godzilla franchise. Now that the original Japanese version has been nicely given a DVD release in the U.S., I hope people can truly appreciate how great this genuinely spectacular science-fiction classic is. It is complex, well-written, drawn-out, and the ending of the picture is surprisingly moving.

The first of the Toho "Dai Kaiju" series in colour and some of Eiji Tsuburaya's best special effects. Although shorn to a miserly 69 minutes of the original Japanese footage (plus nearly 4 minutes of actual H-Bomb test footage stuck to the beginning by the American distributors, The King Brothers) it is a fabulously made picture.

Coal miners discover gigantic insects, known as Meganurons in the original version, which attack the local village. As if that were not bad enough a monstrous flying reptile soon hatches from an egg which has also been unearthed. Rodan's appearance is a "good news/bad news" thing because he eats the giant insects, but he also causes more damage than they ever could have!

The King Brothers, who would also give us GORGO a few years later, saved money by simply repeating certain scenes and "flopping" the image on the screen so it would look (slightly) different. Rodan and its mate appear out of the same crater in the American version. In the original version the second Rodan appears with no explanation as the first one is destroying the city of Sasebo. The narration probably saved time and allowed them to use less of the Japanese footage but having seen the original version I prefer the visual aspects of it (the end sequence is just as poignant and memorable without any dialogue).

Lovers of dubbed movies will recognise the voices of Paul Frees and Marvin Miller doing almost every voice in the picture! Keye Luke, a former Number One Son in Charlie Chan movies, provides the voice of the hero and a teenaged George Takei (later Mr. Sulu on "Star Trek") can be heard also. Look carefully during the destruction of the city and you will notice one building, a camera company, is called "The Tsuburaya Company"!

In todays genres where every movie is over-laden with CGI people should pause long enough to watch this movie and see what could be done with miniatures, imagination, and heart. Eiji Tsuburaya really loved the genre and gave his best to every assignment but THIS will always be one of his best.

Oh and about the monsters name. It was originally RADON but a British toy company had a doll on the market with that name so when the movie went abroad they simply switched the vowels in the monster's name and Radon became Rodan.

OK, I know it's only a guy in a rubber suit, but I'm a sucker for those 1950's monster flic. Rodan rates as one of the favorites. Hindered by dated special effects, (you can tell the monsters are people in uniforms; the buildings are obviously miniature, cheaply built sets; the acting is, of course, awful) but it's still a fun watch. Good campy fun when you keep it in perspective. At the end, a tear even comes to the eye as the 2 Rodans share their fate together. It will always be part of my library. Try to get the original Japanese version if you can. Though expensive and not subtitled into English, it gives a story a whole different look.

So the other night I watched a film that I had not seen more than once since I was a kid, the 1956 Japanese classic "Rodan." I had seen this movie at NYC's Film Forum around 25+ years back but had very little recollection of it still. And what a fun film it is, as I was reminded again just recently. In it, miners in a small Japanese village are being killed off by a mysterious something, and that something turns out to be giant bugs that have hatched deep underground. But the community's problems grow even worse when two prehistoric eggs in the mine shaft suddenly burst open, to reveal two monstrous flying reptile creatures, which promptly do what all self-respecting Japanese kaiju do in situations like this: lay waste to the countryside and a neighboring city! This film was helmed by "Gojira" director Ishiro Honda, of course, and like that earlier film, features awesome FX by the great Eija Tsuburaya and music by Akira Ifukube. The FX range from cheesy (the two rodans look pretty silly) to spectacular (one of the bridges that gets destroyed looks so lifelike that I would swear the producers knocked down an actual bridge in the making of this film). The film's final image, of the two rodans going up in flame near an erupting volcano, choosing death together rather than fighting separately, is actually kind of sweet and lovely. Adding to the fun: the presence of "Gojira"'s Dr. Serizawa himself, actor Akihiko Hirata, minus the eyepatch here. In all, very entertaining stuff, and very nice to reacquaint myself with this childhood favorite again....

Another of those Japanese monster films we learned to love so well in the Fifties was Rodan. Rodan was an ancient pteranadon flying reptile who with the mere power of its wings could bring death and destruction once again to a major Japanese city set made of paper mache, cardboard, and bailing wire.

The gimmick in this film was that there were two of these big guys, only for a while we didn't know that. They were swarming over the Japanese territory, moving so fast the military couldn't keep up with them. I like to think of them as The Corsican Brothers of the monster set. The Japanese prime minister must have known exactly how Baron Colonna felt.

They made their nest in Mount Fujiyama, a place no human dare tread so the final battle of course was human long distance technology against these really mythic and noble creatures despite all the havoc they raised.

I liked Rodan, but I often wonder did Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Akim Tamiroff ever get to see the film.

When I was in fourth grade (around 1957), I had seen ads for this movie on television. I cut out a movie ad from the newspaper, and put it on my wall. There was no way I could see the movie because we would have had to go to the big city. I was surprised when I finally viewed it late at night, many years later. It's not a bad film There is a good deal of suspense, A romantic plot. A man falsely accused of murder. And some pretty neat monsters. Now, Pterosaurs weren't all that big, not like this, but these are mutants from messing with nuclear material. The movie has a nice pacing to it. When we get to the destruction scenes, we don't feel like they just threw all that at us like they did in future films (all those Godzilla versus whatever films). There is a kinship between the monsters (a mated pair) that would be a fact in the animal kingdom. The most creative thing is that the Rodans use the hurricane force of their enormous wings to level the city. I may just watch this again.

This movie has an awful lot going for it. The first half is characterized by wonderful underground mine / cave sets well rendered, with plenty of mist, shadows, and crags. There are even some scenes in the first third or so which are downright creepy and because of effective lighting, music, and pacing.

In addition, the miniature work and related practical effects are superbly rendered - just beautiful craftsmanship and photography. There are a number of shots where I found myself forgetting for a moment that I was looking at miniatures, so detailed and perfectly shot were they. I was especially impressed with some of the building miniatures, which carry an astounding attention to detail. Hundreds of tiny shingles fly off individually and in waves under the powerful wings of Rodan. Unlike in some less carefully crafted films, here they don't seem to defy physics but fly apart the way one imagines they might in real life, and because everything else around them is rendered with such attention to detail they seem all the more realistic and properly scaled. Another great example of the attention to detail are scenes in which hills and "huge" walls of soil collapse as missiles are fired into them. They are crafted into layers the way their full-scale equivalents are as such, with topsoil and vegetation sliding off the denser material beneath before the denser material itself collapses in larger chunks.

The acting is also very good throughout. You like these characters and want them to be okay, which is a bit unusual for this kind of movie, and certainly became uncommon as this series of flicks continued into the 60s and beyond.

Finally, the score is suitably somber, effectively underpinning all of the features noted above.

Highly recommended for fans of this kind of movie, but also for anyone interested in pre-CG effects and beautiful craftsmanship.

It must be tough living in Japan. After all, with Godzilla, Gamera, Gaos, and a host of other monsters trolling about, you can't insure your car or your house. Plus, traffic must be a bear. However, at least you're not living on a small Japanese atoll.

Rodan takes place in a Japanese company mining town. One could almost hear the strains of Tennessee Ernie Ford's "I owe my soul to the company store" were it not for the locals screaming in terror from large mutant bugs who seem to be distant cousins of Mothra. It seems the miners dug just a bit too far in Shaft #8, and unearthed this terror.

You would think that this fuzzy caterpillar would be Rodan, but as Warner Wolff might say, "If you had the fuzzy caterpillar as Rodan, YOU LOST!" It seems that the lead safety engineer, while trying to find his ersatz troublemaking and future brother-in-law, is trapped in an underground cavern by an earthquake. He suffers from amnesia, but soon remembers his lines to give us the backstory on the real Rodan.

Plus, to make matters worse, there are TWO Rodans. Yup, Mr. & Mrs. Rodan spent their days flying at supersonic speeds, disrupting air & sea traffic, as well as doing several million yuan worth of improvements to a Bejing suburb. Without Godzilla, Gamera, or a bunch of 10 year olds in tight shorts to save the day, the military pretty much has to suck it up and kill the Rodans themselves. Overall, a well done flick.

Sterno says reserve a Saturday afternoon for Rodan.

A small Japanese coal mining town is terrorized by giant caterpillars. This is just the beginning. After a major earthquake, two very large flying prehistoric monsters cause their share of havoc.

Very good effects compared to most other sci-fi of this era. Worth watching again.

This film is one of the best of the kaiju eigas that Toho ever made. The reason for this is that it is played much like the movie that in a way inspired it, "Them". The way the film begins plays almost like them did, the police and mine workers wondering who, or what, is responsible for the deaths of four men. The tension builds and builds from the first appearance of the giant insects to the destruction of Fukuoka (for some reason called Sasebo in the American version). Even though Rodan the monster did not become as successful as Godzilla, the film is more of a thrill ride and definitely should be hailed as a great science fiction film.

A great monster movie, this time in color. A similar plot to Godzilla sees nuclear testing wake up an over sized Pteranodon. In a sleepy mining village a series of mysterious attacks lead to the discovery of giant killer caterpillar. Greater darkness soon arrives in the form of an extinct beast that can flip jeeps with the swoosh of its wings. The model work is once again astounding from Toho. Even in color this looks great. It mixes live action, puppets, models, for some truly exciting aerial combat. It has less human drama than the first 2 Godzilla movies, but there is still some from the wife of a man believed to be committing the initial attacks. Rodan is great in his swooping and screaming, and the aerial footage means we aren't just getting a repeat of his more famous cousin.

The first movie to introduce rodan--a giant flying reptile. At a deep mine in Japan large prehistoric insects appear and start attacking a nearby town. To make things worse two giant flying reptiles appear also. They can fly at supersonic speed and fly all around Japan destroying cities and killing people. How can they be stopped? The first Toho monster movie in color and considered by some to be its best (next to "Godzilla"). I liked some of it but this film has some huge problems. First the lousy dubbing really hurts the film. Second are the dramatic tone shifts--first it's a horror movie, then a love story, THEN a war movie! It never settles on a consistent theme. Third, the special effects are pretty bad. The large prehistoric insects are laughable. The rodans (who don't appear until almost an hour in) look somewhat impressive but their flying sequences are so obviously rubber dummies held up by strings it's more funny than scary. Fourth, the same war footage and flying footage of the rodans is used again and again and AGAIN! It gets boring.

On the plus side this film is fast-moving and pretty exciting and filmed in BRIGHT color. Also it's only 72 minutes long so it goes by quickly. All in all this is best for kids. I give it a 5.

Rodan was Toho's first color monster film. It is a great movie starring one of Toho's most famous monsters.

Rodan begins in a village that has a mining colony. Soon giant insects appear(meganuron) and terrorize the village. A man named Kenji goes after the giant insects but disappears in the mining tunnels. Later he is found again but his memory is shot and he is unable to speak, even to his girlfriend Yumi. Airplanes begin to experience problems when they are destroyed by a mysterious flying object that travels faster than the speed of sound. Kenji, after watching his girlfriends bird hatch, begins to remember what he saw in the mining tunnels. He saw a giant egg hatch into a flying reptile from the prehistoric age and devour several of the giant insects. Thus it is believed that it is this species, Rodan, that is responsible for the attacks on the airplanes. Soon not one, but two Rodan emerge and begin to attack Japan. Nothing seems to stop them as they create terrible wind storms and sonic booms and shockwaves that leave Japan in rubble.

Rodan is easily one of the best Toho Films ever. I love how the threat of the giant insects disappears as Rodan hatches and devours them all. There is a lot of tension that builds up as the audience wonders why Kenji can not remember anything and as airplanes are mysteriously destroyed.

Rodan is one of my favorite Toho Monsters, especially from this film. His immense wingspan, high speed flying, armormed hide, and awesome roar all make him one of the most easily recognizable monsters ever. Other than Godzilla's roar I think that Rodan's is by far the coolest.

I have an issue with the people who made Rodan's costume in this film. Why on Earth did they make him look so awesome in this film and then in later films (Destroy All Monsters, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro Monsters) make him look way less cool. Rodan is awesome looking, he has a tooth filled beak and evil looking head. In latter films he has more of a bird like head. Why did they not use this costume over and over and over and over and over? Oh well.

Thats besides the point though. In this film Rodan looks amazing. He flies around so fast causing destruction. This film is similar in style to Godzilla King of the Monsters. However while Godzilla is created by nuclear testing's Rodan is just a species of flying reptile that just reappears. The color is very good considering that this is the first Toho MOnster Film to use color.

One complaint that I have is the ending to this film. I do not want to to give too much away but if you thought that Titanic, Old Yeller, or Escape From the Planet of the APes had a sad ending then you have not seen anything yet.(Maybe I am being a little dramatic but this film has probably the most sad ending of any Toho Monster Film.) Be sure to have a box of tissues with you.

You have to see this film. It is Rodan's best moment in a film. Rodan is one of the best Toho Monsters ever and if you watch this film you will begin to realize why.

Ishiro Honda directed this film, which starts off in a small Japanese mining community beset by mysterious killings and disappearances that turn out to be caused by giant insects who are later found to be sealed up in a cavern with Rodan, a giant flying prehistoric bird/lizard that escapes, then attacks Japan(still recovering from Godzilla!) It proves difficult to kill, and as it turns out, isn't alone, and has an egg it's guarding to boot... First film appearance of Rodan(and it's only solo film) has an imaginative opening sequence with the mine subplot, though picks up when Rodan finally appears, even though it's just an airborne version of Godzilla. The surviving Rodan would make return appearances in the Godzilla series, starting with "Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster".

Toho monster movies are hardly well crafted films, but nobody can ever argue that they weren't groundbreaking.

With Godzilla absent we see Rodan get his own movie, as nuclear weapons seem to awaken him as well as an army of giant insects that assault a nearby mine.

It's up to the military to combat the situation, but how can you fight a bird of Rodans size?

With the laughable sfx (Which were incredible at the time) wafer thin plot and considerably weaker script than usual Rodan is a pretty messy affair. It's not that a film of this type can't manage without Godzilla, it's just that this is a poorly thought out mess.

And though I liked narration I have to say for the me the finale was detrimental, it was horrible and would have killed the movie in my eyes even if the rest of it had been exceptional (Which it really really wasn't).

For those who can get past the ending this may be considered a passable 50's monster film, for me I'm glad it's over.

The Good:

Narration

The Bad:

Finale is just plain horrible

Poorly constructed

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

There are electronic computers!

Rodan has more interesting human characters than Godzilla. The use of voice over is quite effective, and used at appropriate times. The technology in this 1956 movie is impressive (rockets, jet fighters, 1952 Chevrolets, etc.)

Being an early Toho monster film, I was particularly disappointed by this one – which, despite the addition of color, is a definite comedown from GOJIRA (1954). To begin with, it's padded with irrelevant scenes (involving mine accidents and grieving widows – but, especially, the presence of another monster in the form of a clutch of giant caterpillars!). Also, it seems to me that Rodan's look here differs from the pterodactyl's later incarnations (judging from its appearance in DESTROY ALL MONSTERS [1968], which I've just watched); besides, its capacity to achieve supersonic speed in flight is rather laughable!

All things considered, the monster's inevitable rampage on a Japanese city is spectacular enough…but, then, the film resolves itself in a frustratingly blah ending – with the pterodactyls (yes, we get two for the price of one) deciding to commit hara-kiri during a volcanic eruption! The version of RODAN that I've watched features the original Japanese dialogue: at 83 minutes, it's longer than the 72-minute release prepared for U.S. consumption; even so, the accompanying Italian subtitles seem to have used the English version as source, since several lines of translated dialogue appear on screen (usually during longshots) when no one is actually speaking!