The War of the Gargantuas

"A crisis, striking from the mountains and the sea! Greater Tokyo is the battlefield of death!"

1966 1h 28m JA

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 109

ActionHorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Gaira, a humanoid sea beast spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster, attacks the shores of Tokyo. While the Japanese military prepares to take action, Gaira's Gargantua brother, Sanda, descends from the mountains to defend his kin. A battle between good and evil ensues, leaving brothers divided and a city in ruins.

“A crisis, striking from the mountains and the sea! Greater Tokyo is the battlefield of death!”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

HBO MaxSubscription

Cast

Kenji Sahara
Dr. Yuzo Mamiya
Kumi Mizuno
Akemi Togawa
Russ Tamblyn
Dr. Paul Stewart
Jun Tazaki
General Hashimoto
Kipp Hamilton
Singer
Yoshibumi Tajima
Officer Hirai
Nobuo Nakamura
Professor Kita
Hisaya Ito
Chief Izumida

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ishirō Honda
Writers: Reuben Bercovitch, Takeshi Kimura, Ishirō Honda
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, United States of America

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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Frankenstein (Toho) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 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#05

6 / 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#06

7 / 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#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kenji Sahara and Kumi Mizuno and Russ Tamblyn carry the top of the cast.

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, United States of America. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
260 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.
4Part of the "Frankenstein (Toho) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ryôhei Fujii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Kenji Sahara and Kumi Mizuno and Russ Tamblyn carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A crisis, striking from the mountains and the sea! Greater Tokyo is the battlefield of death!".
10IMDB entry: tt0060440 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 27 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hajime Koizumi
Original score: Akira Ifukube
Editing: Ryôhei Fujii
Production design: Takeo Kita
Costume design: Teizô Toshimitsu
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): G
IMDB: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Part of

Frankenstein (Toho) Collection

During WWII, a human heart taken from Dr. Frankenstein's lab and is kept in Japan where it gets exposed to the radiation of the bombing of Hiroshima. The heart grows in size, mutates and eventually becomes an indestuctable humanoid. Later, a reptilian monster goes on a rampage. Eventually the Frankenstein creature and the reptile face off in a terrible battle. An experimental lab animal called a gargantua escapes from his captors and is suspected to be the creature that is killing people all over the countryside. But when the gargantua from the lab appears at the same time as the evil gargantua, the two begin to battle across Japan.

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

Production companies

Who made it

TOHO
JP
BE
Benedict Pictures Corp.
US
United Productions of America
US
HE
Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc.
Tokyo Laboratory
JP

Key crew

Production DesignTakeo Kita
EditorRyôhei Fujii
Production ManagerShoichi Koga
Production SupervisorRichard Krown
Special Effects AssistantTeruyoshi Nakano
Sound Effects EditorSadamasa Nishimoto
Visual EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Sound RecordistNorio Tone
First Assistant DirectorKoji Kajita
Executive ProducerTomoyuki Tanaka
Executive ProducerKenichiro Tsunoda
Executive ProducerHenry G. Saperstein
Executive ProducerReuben Bercovitch
Visual Effects DirectorEiji Tsuburaya
CharactersMary Shelley
VocalsKipp Hamilton
Special EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Special EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
Visual EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
Visual Effects DirectorTeruyoshi Nakano
Special EffectsSadamasa Arikawa
VFX Director of PhotographySadamasa Arikawa
Special EffectsMotoyoshi Tomioka
VFX Director of PhotographyMotoyoshi Tomioka

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

monster
airport
octopus
giant monster
sequel
kaiju
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1970-07-29G· UPA/Maron Films release. Adds new footage totaling to 92-mins., written by Riley Jackson, edited by Frederic Knudtson, supervised by Richard Krown, stock music composed by Philip Green, and dubbed by Glen Glenn Sound. Released on a double bill with "Monster Zero" (1970).
Physical2008-09-09· Classic Media DVD. Packaged with "Rodan" (1956) and both films' U.S. edited releases. Two discs, Rodan cuts and WotG cuts together on each disc.

Also known as