Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
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| Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. | |
|---|---|
 Original Japanese theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | Jun Fukuda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Written by | Shinichi Sekizawa Peter Fernandez (English dubbing) |
| Starring | Akira Takarada Kumi Mizuno Chotaro Togin Hideo Sunazuka Toru Watanabe Toru Ibuki Akihiko Hirata Jun Tazaki Ikio Sawamura Pair Bambi Eisei Amamoto |
| Music by | Masaru Satô |
| Distributed by | Continental Distributing Inc. and Columbia TriStar Home Video |
| Release date(s) | December 17, 1966 (Japan), 1969 (USA) |
| Running time | 87 min. (83 min. dubbed) |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | unknown |
| Preceded by | Invasion of Astro-Monster |
| Followed by | Son of Godzilla |
| IMDb profile | |
Godzilla versus the Sea Monster, released in Japan as Godzilla Ebirah Mothra: Nankai no Daikettō (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘 Gojira, Ebira, Mosura Nankai no Daikettō?, lit. "Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Sea"), is a 1966 tokusatsu film, directed by Jun Fukuda, and was released by Toho studios. The movie is also known by its International English title, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. The special effects were by Eiji Tsuburaya (although his direct involvement was limited) and Sadamasa Arikawa. It also features supporting monsters Mothra and Ebirah. It was the first Godzilla film since Godzilla Raids Again not directed by Ishiro Honda and shows a turn toward a more action-adventure approach to the Godzilla films instead of Honda's customary science-fiction approach. Set mostly on a tropical island, the film also required fewer miniatures and therefore had a lower budget than the previous Godzilla films.
The concept was originally intended for King Kong under the title Robinson Crusoe Sakusen: King Kong tai Ebirah (ロビンソン・クルーソー作戦 キングコング対エビラ Robinson Kurūsō Sakusen Kingu Kongu tai Ebira?, lit. "Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah")[1] The film was planned as a co-production with the American production company Rankin-Bass to coincide with their animated series The King Kong Show. However, Rankin-Bass rejected this script. The King Kong project was eventually made from a different script as King Kong Escapes, but Toho salvaged Operation Robinson Crusoe by re-writing it to feature Godzilla instead of King Kong. Some of Godzilla's unusual behavior in the film, such as receiving power from electricity, and taking notice of a beautiful native girl, reveal the script's origin as a King Kong vehicle.
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was released directly to U.S. television syndication through the Walter Reade Organization. It was the first Godzilla film to forgo a theatrical release in the United States. For the television version, the film's title was written as Godzilla versus the Sea Monster.
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[edit] Synopsis
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 asleep inside a cavern. In a desperate bid to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape from the Island, they plan to wake Godzilla.
[edit] Cast
- Toru Watanabe ............... Ryota
- Akira Takarada ............... Yoshimura
- Kumi Mizuno ............... Daiyo
- Chotaro Togin ............... Ichino
- Hideo Sunazuka ............... Nita
- Akihiko Hirata ............... Captain Yamoto
- Toru Ibuki ............... Yata
- Jun Tazaki ............... Red Bamboo Commander
- Ikio Sawamura ............... Elderly Slave
- Pair Bambi ............... Mothra's Little Beauties
- Hisayo Ito ............... Red Bamboo Scientist #1
- Tadashi Okaba ............... Red Bamboo Scientist #2
- Eisei Amamoto ............... Red Bamboo Captain
- Haruo Nakajima ............... Godzilla
- Hiroshi Sekita ............... Ebirah
[edit] Trivia
- The U.S. television version and early video versions have a different opening to the film. The opening scenes of Ryota at the Maritime Safety Agency searching for news of his brother have been replaced with a scene supposedly showing Ebirah destroying Yata's boat. This sequence was created by editing a later scene in the movie. The current DVD version of the film restores the Japanese cut.
- The Japanese singing duo Pair Bambi play the tiny twin Mothra priestesses known as the shobijin ("little beauties"). In earlier movies, these characters were 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.
- The name Ebirah is derived from the Japanese word for shrimp, ebi and ra was a common add on two Japanese monster names. (GojiRA MosuRA)
- 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. The running gag of the episode was that Joel and the robots arrived in the theater late, and did not catch the movie's title card; therefore because of that oversight, they lacked knowledge of the title even though the movie blatantly featured Godzilla fighting with a sea monster.
- In 1991, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was distributed under the Film Ventures International name. The company replaced the opening with a generic credit sequence, using footage from Son of Godzilla.
- In the Japanese version the characters referred to Ebirah and the Red Bamboo by their actual names instead of the American print referring to them as "That Monster" and "Those Soldiers".
[edit] U.S. version
In 1967, the film was released directly to television in North America by the Walter Reade Organization - it was the first Godzilla film to not receive North American theatrical distribution.
There were several small alterations made:
- Dialogue was dubbed to English.
- Deleted: the opening credits sequence. The American version features only the title card, Godzilla versus the Sea Monster
- Deleted: A scene where Ryoto goes to the Maritime Safety office and sees a poster on the wall for a dance contest.
- Deleted: rock music that played in the Japanese version during Godzilla and Ebirah's battle.
The American version runs 83 minutes, four minutes shorter than the Japanese version.
[edit] Box office
In Japan, the film was released on December 17th and sold approximately 3,450,000 tickets. It was re-released on July 22nd 1972 and sold approximately 760,000 tickets.
[edit] Alternate titles
- Gojira, Ebirah, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (Japanese title)
- Big Duel in the North (International: English title)
- Big Duel in the North Sea (International: English title)
- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (UK)
- Ebirah, Terror of the Deep
- Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster (USA)
- The Great South Seas Duel
- Ebirah vs. Godzilla
[edit] DVD releases
Sony Pictures
- Released: February 8, 2005
- Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic
- Sound: Japanese (2.0), English (2.0)
- Supplements: Trailers for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., MirrorMask, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, and Steamboy
- Region 1
- Note: Contain's Toho's 'International Version'
