Mothra vs. Godzilla

"A massive Mach 3 moth! The heavy missile tank Godzilla! The sky, sea, and land quake in the fierce battle of the century!"

1964 1h 29m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 360🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes★6.5IMDB · 11,501

DramaActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.

“A massive Mach 3 moth! The heavy missile tank Godzilla! The sky, sea, and land quake in the fierce battle of the century!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Akira Takarada
Ichiro "Ichi" Sakai
Yuriko Hoshi
Junko Nakanishi
Hiroshi Koizumi
Professor Shunsuke Miura
Yū Fujiki
Jiro Nakamura
Kenji Sahara
Jiro Torahata
Emi Ito
Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yumi Ito
Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Jun Tazaki
Editor Maruta

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ishirō Honda
Writers: Shinichi Sekizawa
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Godzilla (Showa) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ryôhei Fujii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Akira Takarada and Yuriko Hoshi and Hiroshi Koizumi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A massive Mach 3 moth! The heavy missile tank Godzilla! The sky, sea, and land quake in the fierce battle of the century!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ishirō Honda directs. Hajime Koizumi behind the camera. Akira Ifukube scores. Ryôhei Fujii cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
262 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Godzilla (Showa) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ryôhei Fujii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Akira Takarada and Yuriko Hoshi and Hiroshi Koizumi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A massive Mach 3 moth! The heavy missile tank Godzilla! The sky, sea, and land quake in the fierce battle of the century!".
9IMDB entry: tt0058379 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "japan", "monster", "giant monster", "giant insect".
11Released under 24 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hajime Koizumi
Original score: Akira Ifukube
Editing: Ryôhei Fujii
Production design: Takeo Kita
Costume design: Eizo Kaimai
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $10,000,000
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 11,501 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

1 nomination total

Part of

Godzilla (Showa) Collection

Film series featuring Godzilla from the Showa era.

Also by

Ishirō Honda

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Skeleturtle2020-08-17
★ 9/10
The Definitive Giant Monster Fantasy Among the plethora of Godzilla sequels Mothra vs Godzilla is simply one of the finest. The best of the Godzilla films work by having a thematic purpose underneath the spectacle of kaiju mayhem. Godzilla, an unstoppable force of destruction against the benevolent Mothra, a fragile and delicate creature. A frequent motif in the films of Ishiro Honda was the notion of the brotherhood of man. Here this is put to the test as greed and mistrust take a hold of our characters. Our human villain seeks to exploit Mothra for profit while the islanders of Mothra's island are reluctant to help humanity in their fight against Godzilla. In many ways it shares many similarities to it's predecessor, King Kong vs Godzilla, though this film executes its themes in a more thoughtful manner. Its story and characters may be simple, but the actors give charismatic performances that really make them enjoyable. The human villains in particular are some of the finest in the series. Tsuburaya's effects are at their apex here. Godzilla's design is imbued with a menacing personality along with a fantastic performance by suit actor Haruo Nakajima. Mothra is once again is brought to life through some stunning wirework. Her wings, head, and legs all wiggle and bob making her feel alive. The film has some of the finest hand made tokusatsu craftsmanship of the original series. Add to that a phenomenal soundtrack by Akira Ifukube and you have what is undoubtedly one of Godzilla's finest moments.

Production companies

Who made it

TOHO
JP

Key crew

Executive ProducerSanezumi Fujimoto
Production DesignTakeo Kita
Production ManagerBoku Morimoto
Special EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
EditorRyôhei Fujii
Lighting TechnicianSeishichi Kojima
Sound EffectsSadamasa Nishimoto
Executive ProducerTomoyuki Tanaka
Sound RecordistFumio Yanoguchi
Art DirectionTakeo Kita
Special EffectsSadamasa Arikawa
Special EffectsYôichi Manoda
Sound RecordistHisashi Shimonaga
First Assistant DirectorKoji Kajita
Visual Effects DirectorEiji Tsuburaya
Special EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
Special Effects AssistantTeruyoshi Nakano
Visual Effects DirectorTeruyoshi Nakano
Visual EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
VFX Director of PhotographySadamasa Arikawa
Special EffectsMotoyoshi Tomioka
VFX Director of PhotographyMotoyoshi Tomioka
Visual EffectsYukio Manoda
Visual Effects CameraYukio Manoda

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

japan
monster
giant monster
giant insect
sequel
dinosaur
moth
nuclear threat
kaiju
mothra
godzilla
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1964-11-25· American International Pictures (AIP) release titled "Godzilla vs. The Thing". Shortened to 88-minutes, includes all-new "Frontier Missile Assault" sequence. Dubbed by Titra Sound Studios.
Physical1999-02-23· Simitar Entertainment DVD set titled "Godzilla: 5 Rampaging Movies". Packaged w/"Godzilla, King of the Monsters!", "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero", "Godzilla's Revenge", and "Terror of Mechagodzilla". 5 discs, same features as 1998 disc.
Physical1998-05-06· Simitar Entertainment DVD. EN audio, only includes the US version, uncropped in 2.35:1. Disc is 2-sided and includes a cropped 1.33:1 version on the opposite side.
Physical2012-08-28· Classic Media DVD. Reissue of the 2007 DVD, all features included.
Physical2002-09-17NR· Classic Media/Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Wonder DVD. Only includes the cropped 1.33:1 AIP cut.
Physical2019-10-29· The Criterion Collection Blu-ray set titled "Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975". In Japanese with English subtitles.
Physical2007-04-03NR· Classic Media DVD. In Japanese w/EN subs. Packaged with AIP's "Godzilla vs. The Thing" (1964) (one disc). AIP version is cropped to 16:9.