Gigantis, the Fire Monster

"Nothing like it ever before! The fantastic war of the giant fire monsters!"

1959 1h 18m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 40

ActionHorrorScience FictionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A prehistoric monster called Gigantis emerges alongside another creature named Angurus.

“Nothing like it ever before! The fantastic war of the giant fire monsters!”

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Cast

Hiroshi Koizumi
Tsukioka
Setsuko Wakayama
Hidemi
Minoru Chiaki
Kobayashi (as Mindru Chiaki)
Takashi Shimura
Dr. Yamane
Masao Shimizu
Dr. Tadokoro
Seijirô Onda
Commander (as Serjiro Onda)
Sonosuke Sawamura
Shibeki
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Tajima

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hugo Grimaldi
Writers: Hugo Grimaldi, Ib Melchior, Shigeaki Hidaka
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, 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

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hugo Grimaldi, shot by Seiichi Endo. 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 Masaru Satō. 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 Hugo Grimaldi 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

Hiroshi Koizumi and Setsuko Wakayama and Minoru Chiaki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hugo Grimaldi directs. Seiichi Endo behind the camera. Masaru Satō scores. Hugo Grimaldi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America, Japan. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
267 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.
4Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Hugo Grimaldi, shot by Seiichi Endo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Masaru Satō. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Hugo Grimaldi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Hiroshi Koizumi and Setsuko Wakayama and Minoru Chiaki carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Nothing like it ever before! The fantastic war of the giant fire monsters!".
10IMDB entry: tt9247554 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Seiichi Endo
Original score: Masaru Satō
Editing: Hugo Grimaldi
Production design: Takeo Kita
Costume design: Teizô Toshimitsu
Runtime: 78 min · 1h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)

Part of

Americanized Godzilla Collection

Because of the Godzilla franchise success in Japan, heavily re-edited "Americanized" versions of some films were made for a theatrical release more suitable for the American audience.

Also by

Hugo Grimaldi

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

Warner Bros. Pictures
US
RY
Ryder Sound Services, Inc.
US
TOHO
JP
TO
Toho Laboratory
JP

Key crew

ProducerPaul Schreibman
Original StoryIb Melchior
Music EditorRex Lipton
Lighting TechnicianMasaki Ônuma
Associate ProducerEdmund Goldman
ProducerTomoyuki Tanaka
Production ManagerKazuo Baba
Production DesignTakeo Kita
Production DesignTeruaki Abe
NovelShigeru Kayama
Special EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Visual EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Visual EffectsSadao Iizuka
EditorHugo Grimaldi
First Assistant DirectorEiji Iwashiro
Sound Effects EditorAl Sarno
Sound EffectsIchirô Minawa
EditorKazuji Taira
MusicBert Shefter
MusicPaul Sawtell
Costume DesignTeizô Toshimitsu
Costume DesignKanju Yagi
Costume DesignYasuei Yagi
Costume DesignEizo Kaimai

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

giant monster
dinosaur
alternate version
stock footage
kaiju
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1959-05-21
Physical2006-11-07· Classic Media DVD. Uses the updated title card from Toho that reads "GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN". Packaged with "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955) (one disc).

Also known as