Godzilla vs. Gigan

"Defeat the evil space monsters! You can protect the Earth, Godzilla!"

1972 1h 29m JA

😐

6.4

MID

🍅

67%

FRESH

⭐

5.6

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 238🍅67%Rotten Tomatoes★5.6IMDB · 6,720

ActionAdventureScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the message and begin their own plan of action.

“Defeat the evil space monsters! You can protect the Earth, Godzilla!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HBO Max Amazon ChannelSubscription

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cinemax Amazon ChannelSubscription

HBO MaxSubscription

Cinemax Apple TV channelSubscription

Cast

Hiroshi Ishikawa
Gengo Odaka
Tomoko Umeda
Machiko Shima
Yuriko Hishimi
Tomoko Tomoe
Minoru Takashima
Shosaku Takasugi
Zan Fujita
Chairman Fumio Sudo
Toshiaki Nishizawa
Director Kubota
Kunio Murai
Takeshi Shima
Gen Shimizu
Commander of Defense Forces

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jun Fukuda
Writers: Shinichi Sekizawa, Takeshi Kimura
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

54 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 Jun Fukuda, shot by Kiyoshi Hasegawa. 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 Kunio Miyauchi. 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 Yoshio Tamura 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

Hiroshi Ishikawa and Tomoko Umeda and Yuriko Hishimi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Defeat the evil space monsters! You can protect the Earth, Godzilla!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jun Fukuda directs. Kiyoshi Hasegawa behind the camera. Kunio Miyauchi scores. Yoshio Tamura 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.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Godzilla (Showa) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Jun Fukuda, shot by Kiyoshi Hasegawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kunio Miyauchi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Yoshio Tamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Hiroshi Ishikawa and Tomoko Umeda and Yuriko Hishimi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Defeat the evil space monsters! You can protect the Earth, Godzilla!".
9IMDB entry: tt0068371 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "japan", "peace", "giant monster", "cockroach".
11Released under 26 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kiyoshi Hasegawa
Original score: Kunio Miyauchi
Editing: Yoshio Tamura
Production design: Yoshifumi Honda
Costume design: Jiro Shirasaki
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $1,780,000
Original language: JA
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 5.6/10 · 6,720 votes
MPAA: PG

Part of

Godzilla (Showa) Collection

Film series featuring Godzilla from the Showa era.

Also by

Jun Fukuda

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-06-19
★ 6/10
His appearance is a necessary part of the plan. We have to attract him here, and then we can kill him. For this, the 12th Godzilla film, a monster theme park worker learns that his new employers are actually aliens who plan to use Ghidorah and Gigan to destroy earth. Time for Godzilla and Anguirus to step forward to defend mankind! By the time the 1970s had arrived, Toho had decreed that Godzilla should be more family friendly. Gone was the once mighty atomic beast that stomped down on the human race, in his place was the mighty saviour of mankind. Godzilla would be pitched against - or turn up along side - various other beasties, the smack downs being the highlight of pretty lightweight plotting. Here we have a fun tag-team like scenario where Zilla teams up with Anguirus to stop the three headed might of Ghidorah and the new monster on the block, Gigan. Gigan is sure funny looking but with hooks for appendages and a buzzsaw blade in its belly, it's a quality foe and is sure to dish out some bloody damage. Plot is hopelessly weak, a rehash job yet again, and the use of stock footage becomes annoying. And yes! this is the series entry where Zilla and Anguirus have a brief conversation, which is quite surreal and something no series fan should have to endure. Thankfully the action is great fun, including a wonderful moment when Zilla bobs and weaves as a pugilist whilst fighting Ghidora. Anguirus, not for the first time, is more of a diversionary tactic ally than a bona fide fighting menace, but who cares as the big lizard sets about once again proving he's the king of the monsters. 6/10

Production companies

Who made it

TOHO
JP
TO
Toho Eizo Bijutsu
JP
Tokyo Laboratory
JP

Key crew

ProducerTomoyuki Tanaka
EditorYoshio Tamura
Production DesignYoshifumi Honda
Production ManagerTakahide Morichi
Visual Effects DirectorTeruyoshi Nakano
Visual EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
Special EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
VFX Director of PhotographyMotoyoshi Tomioka
Special EffectsMotoyoshi Tomioka
MusicAkira Ifukube
SongsKunio Miyauchi
LyricistShinichi Sekizawa
LyricistJun Fukuda
VocalsSusumu Ishikawa
First Assistant DirectorFumisake Okada
Visual Effects Art DirectorToshiro Aoki
Special EffectsTadaaki Watanabe
Visual Effects Art DirectorJiro Shirasaki
Special Effects AssistantJiro Shirasaki
Costume DesignJiro Shirasaki
ModelingJiro Shirasaki
Costume DesignNobuyuki Yasumaru
ModelingNobuyuki Yasumaru
SculptorNobuyuki Yasumaru

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

japan
peace
giant monster
cockroach
sequel
alien invasion
amusement park
theme park
gojira
kaiju
tag team
anguirus
monster island
king ghidorah
godzilla
mangaka
manga
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1977-08-19G· English dubbed, 88-minute edited version. From Cinema Shares.
Theatrical1978-01-01G· Re-released in a triple bill with "Godzilla vs. Megalon" and "Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster". Date outside of the year is currently unknown.
Physical2004-10-19PG· Tristar DVD

Also known as