Godzilla vs. Hedorah

2/1/19721h 25m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The Smog Monster Hedorah arrives in a shooting star! ~

Overview:

An ever evolving alien life-form arrives on a comet from the Dark Gaseous Nebula and proceeds to consume pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity nor Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.

Director:

Yoshimitsu Banno

Status:

Released

Language:

Japanese

Buget:

$250,000.00

Revenue:

$2,768,400.00

Key words:

japan
pollution
giant monster
sequel
alien
ecology
gojira
kaiju
water pollution
smog
environmental issues
acid burning
godzilla
hedorah
tadpole
tokusatsu

Cast

Akira Yamanouchi

~ as ~

Dr. Toru Yano

Hiroyuki Kawase

~ as ~

Ken Yano

Toshie Kimura

~ as ~

Toshie Yano

Keiko Mari

~ as ~

Miki Fujiyama

Toshio Shiba

~ as ~

Yukio Keuchi

Yoshio Yoshida

~ as ~

Gohei - fisherman

Haruo Suzuki

~ as ~

JSDF Officer

Kentaro Watanabe

~ as ~

Announcer B

Yukihiko Gondō

~ as ~

Mean General

Eisaburo Komatsu

~ as ~

Fisherman

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

John Chard
Written 6 year(s) ago
5
There's no place else to go and pretty soon we'll all be dead, so forget it! Enjoy yourself! Let's sing and dance while we can! Come on, blow your mind!

The 11th of the Godzilla franchise is easily the most trippy, and most divisive. Hedorah (AKA: The Smog Monster) is spawned from pollution and begins to destroy Japan. It spews poison, shoots acidic mud, tokes on smoking chimney stacks and can shape shift into the bargain. Enter the atomic lizard, Godzilla, who takes up the challenge to hopefully rescue mankind, he can even fly in this one...

There's some psychedelic animation inserted into proceedings, which couples up with the whole hippy vibe and LSD infused musical interludes. It's really a hard film to recommend with confidence, with director Yoshimitsu Banno doing an appalling job of staging action and pacing the narrative for cohesive viewing - a first line director he was not.

However, it's just nutty enough to understand why some Zilla fans love it, kind of like it's a fun off-shoot of the more potent pics of the series. Certainly the eco message is worthy, but really I'd personally have to be under the influence of strong liquor to ever watch it again. 5/10