Destroy All Monsters
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- For the 1970's anti-rock band see Destroy All Monsters (band).
| Destroy All Monsters | |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Written by | Ishirō Honda Takeshi Kimura |
| Starring | Akira Kubo Jun Tazaki Yukiko Kobayashi Yoshio Tsuchiya Kyôko Ai |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Taiichi Kankura |
| Editing by | Ryohei Fujii |
| Distributed by | Toho AIP (US) |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 1968 May 23, 1969 (US) |
| Running time | 88 min (US) |
| Language | Japanese English |
| Preceded by | Varan the Unbelievable, Atragon, Frankenstein Conquers the World, Son of Godzilla, King Kong Escapes |
| Followed by | All Monsters Attack |
| IMDb profile | |
Destroy All Monsters, released in Japan as Kaijū Sōshingeki (怪獣総進撃? lit. "All Monsters Charge"), is a 1968 daikaiju eiga (Monster Movie). The ninth in Toho Studios' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa. While the plot resembles that of Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965), this entry is significant in that it showcases 11 daikaiju, a record for the Godzilla series until Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), and Godzilla: The Series Monster Wars trilogy, which was a paid tribute. Several of these (Gorosaurus, Baragon, Manda, Varan) had only appeared in their debut films at this point; others (Anguirus, Rodan, Mothra, Minilla, Kumonga) returned from previous Godzilla films.
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[edit] Plot
This film takes place in 1999, so it is considered the last movie of the "Showa Series". By the pre-millennium year, most of Earth's monsters are captured by the United Nations and confined to a place called Monsterland, the core land mass of the Ogasawara Islands. A special control center is built underneath the island to ensure of the monsters' safety. If anything should go wrong, the spaceship known as the Moonlight SY-3 will go to action. Suddenly all communications are cut off at the island. When SY-3 intervenes, the space crew finds out all of the Monsterland workers have become mental slaves of an alien race known as the Kilaaks. The monsters too have become controlled. Godzilla attacks New York City. Rodan invades Moscow. The Mothra larva lays waste to Beijing and a dinosaur called Gorosaurus destroys Paris. The UN and its top bases built on the moon make a risky but necessary attempt to regain control of the Monsterland workers and the monsters. The Kilaaks' head facility is actually at the moon itself, where the crew of SY-3 destroys a machine responsible for manipulating the monsters. The Kilaaks release their last-minute help, King Ghidorah, once the Monsterland monsters wake up from their trance. The three-headed space dragon battles the ten monsters at Mt. Fuji, where the Kilaaks are finally defeated. As for Godzilla and his friends, they return to Monsterland peacefully.
[edit] U.S. Version
American International Pictures released the film theatrically in the North America in 1969. There were some small alterations:
- Dialogue was dubbed to English.
- Deleted: The opening credits.
- Deleted: a shot of Minilla covering his eyes while King Ghidorah drops Anguirus. This was restored in the ADV Films VHS and DVD release.
This version has been replaced on home video and television by Toho's 'International Version.' This version is uncut and widescreen, but features a different English dub track considered by fans to be inferior to the one done by AIP.
[edit] Critical Reception
The New York Times did not review the film on first release, but film critic Howard Thompson gave it a positive review on a re-release at a children's matinee with the Bugs Bunny short, Napoleon Bunny-Part, in December of 1970. He commented, "...the feature wasn't bad at all of this type. The trick photography and especially the blended sweep and skill of the miniature settings provided the visual splash. The human beings, with good dubbed English voices, were a personable lot as they wrestled with some outer space culprits who had rounded up Japan's favorite monsters and turned them against the planet earth."
[edit] Cultural refrences
- The title is similar to "destroy all humans".
[edit] Trivia
- This was the last Godzilla film in which Tsuburaya had any direct involvement, and was originally intended to be the final Godzilla film, the closing scene a tribute both to the special effects director and to the daikaiju. Toho changed their minds following the success of this film at the Japanese box office.
- The band Destroy All Monsters took their name from the title of this film.
- Gainseville, Florida screamo band I Hate Myself payed homage to the movie in their song "Destroy All Monsters" on the album 10 Songs.
- NWOBHM band Raven homaged the movie using its title to release a live album recorded during a string of Japanese concerts.
- The Nintendo game Godzilla uses "Destroy all monsters" as a secret password.
- There was originally going to be a scene in which Baragon attacks Paris by burrowing under the ground. However, because of the amount of damage and wear the suit was subjugated to in the process of being refurbished numerous times to portray different monsters for Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman and Ultra Seven television series, Baragon was replaced by Gorosaurus (who incidentally was never before shown to be able to burrow underground as he has very small limbs). This is evinced by the fact that a news anchor in the film states that Paris has been attacked by Baragon, which contradicts the footage actually showing Gorosaurus attacking Paris.
- Originally in the scene where Tokyo is attacked by Godzilla, Rodan, Manda and Mothra, Godzilla and Manda encountered one another and fought briefly. This was cut because it didn't make sense to the plot for two Kaiju under Kilaak control to be fighting each other.
- In Godzilla: The Series, the Monster Wars trilogy was a paid tribute of this movie.
- The game "Godzilla: Destroy all monsters" was given this name because of its plentiful army of monsters.
- Baragon and Varan are the least seen monsters in the movie.
- This movie marks the first time Godzilla attacks New York City; thirty years later, New York became the primary setting for destruction in the American Godzilla (1998 film) and also the target for Rodan in Godzilla: Final Wars.
- There was an original script for the film was known as “All Monsters Attack Directive”, which would have many of the same elements, which would be used in the eventual film. However the difference was that the film would have ten monsters, instead of eleven.
- This first draft for the project included monsters that would appear in the final film, such as Godzilla, Mothra (Larva), King Ghidorah, Rodan, Baragon, Varan, Kumonga and Manda.
- The other two monsters were Ebirah from Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966) and the giant walrus Maguma from Gorath (1962), were also put into early script.
- The roles for the two monsters, are unknown, excerpt that Maguma was to be one of the guardians of the Kilaak base with Baragon, who would have been the ones to fend off the SDF.
- The film’s title was later changed to All Monsters Attack (the Japanese title of Destroy All Monsters), and Ebirah and Maguma were replaced with Anguirus, Minilla, and Gorosaurus.
- SPOILER WARNING - Since King Ghidorah dies in this movie, many fans claim the one in the 1972 film Godzilla vs. Gigan is a different Ghidorah. Many others state he resurrected. However, Destroy All Monsters takes place in 1999, whilst Godzilla vs. Gigan 1972. Therefore, King Ghidorah would be controlled by the Nebula M Spacehunters before he would be manipulated by the Kilaaks.
[edit] Box Office
In Japan, the film sold approximately 2,580,000 tickets.
[edit] Alternate Titles
- All Monsters Attack Directive (original title)
- Attack of the Marching Monsters
- Destroy All Monsters (USA)
- Gojira dengeki daisakusen (Japan) (reissue title)
- Monster Attack March
- Kaiju Soshingeki (Japanese title)
- Monster Invasion (literal English title)
- Operation Monsterland (UK)
- The March of the Monsters
- Charge of the Monsters
[edit] DVD Releases
ADV Films
- Released: February 22, 2000
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) letterboxed
- Sound: English
- All Regions
- Note: Contains the Toho's 'International Version'; No interactive menu
ADV Films
- Released: May 18, 2004
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) letterboxed
- Supplements: CD soundtrack album
- Region 1
- Note: Contains Toho's 'International Version'; No interactive menu; "50th Anniversary Edition"
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Thompson, Howard. Destroy All Monsters (film review). The New York Times. December 14, 1970.
