Rodan

1957 "Born from a volcanic crater, the crimson monster bird Rodan tramples the Earth"
6.2| 1h12m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 07 November 1957 Released
Producted By: TOHO
Country: Japan
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Mining engineer Shigeru investigates the disappearance and death of his fellow coworkers when prehistoric nymphs are discovered emerging from the mines. After an attack on the local village, Shigeru heads deeper into the mines only to make a more horrifying discovery in the form a prehistoric flying creature. Soon a second monster appears as the two converge in Fukuoka.

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Reviews

Micitype Pretty Good
XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.
Dotbankey A lot of fun.
Cooktopi The acting in this movie is really good.
jacobjohntaylor1 The R.O..D.A.N sequels all have Godzilla. They are all very good movies. This is the first R.O.D.A.N movie. It is the only R.O.D.A.N movie that does not have Godzilla. This is the best R.O.D.A.N movie of all. Mind you I can think Godzilla movies that did not have R.O.D.A.N that were better then this movie. The plot is that a nuclear bomb wakes up two ancient fire breathing dragons. They mean to destroy the world. This is a great movie see it. It is very scary. See it. See all the R.O.D.A.N movies. There are great movies Great movies Great movies. This is the beast one. See it. see it see it see it see it see it. Great movie great movie great movie. Old monster movies are so very very cool.
JoeKarlosi This is the third giant monster film made by Toho, and is the first to be shot in color, following the success of two previous black and white Godzilla features. This review is based on the longer preferred Japanese language edition of the movie. The story begins interestingly as coal miners working underground in Japan are getting mysteriously slashed to death, and all tensions rise as employees start suspecting each other. The mystery is solved when the workers encounter over-sized bug creatures in the caverns, and ultimately face a flying pterodactyl that hatches out of a giant egg and gets christened "Rodan" (or "Radon" in Japanese). Two Rodans eventually appear in the skies to wreak havoc on Japan, causing destruction in their wake. A pretty good Japanese monster classic, though perhaps bogged down at times with a few too many explosions and filler. **1/2 out of ****
gavin6942 When a village is besieged by giant caterpillars, a more horrifying discovery is made in their underground home... a giant flying creature that resembles a prehistoric pterodactyl. Soon after, a second Rodan appears and the two monsters begin to destroy Japan.I turned this movie on for a little cheese to enjoy after dinner. I find that films in the Japanese monster genre tend to be short and are easy to watch casually, with very little need to focus on details. A monster shows up and destroys things. And the reason is connected to atomic bombs.I found this to be a bit better than average. It had a slower start, with the caterpillars not being particularly interesting to me. But once the Rodans showed up, all heck broke loose. Is Rodan better than Godzilla? Possibly so. Certainly he seems to be more powerful and is more mobile. I look forward to seeing more of them on screen together.Oh, and George Takei lends his voice to the American dub.
sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** Released right after the mega Japanses monster hit "Godzilla" the movie "Rodan" equaled it in both drama suspense as well as destructive power and on top of all that was filmed in color a first in Japanses monster movies.It's after a number of US Military nuclear test dubbed "Mission Gigantic" in the South Pacific that things started happening in the far off Japanese mining town on Kyushu island. The water level started raising in the mine and miners started disappearing in it. Trying to get to the bottom of the problem local mining engineer Shigeru Kawzmura, Kenji Sahara, in checking out the damage is attacked together a with number of miners by a hoard of prehistoric Meganulons, dragon flies, who end up almost wiping out the entire group! Deciding to take matters into his own hands Shigeru pushes a coal cart into one of the attacking prehistoric monsters killing it but at the same time setting off an earthquake that ends up burying him together with the remaining Meganulons.It's later when Shigeru is found mindlessly wondering around outside the now no longer in existence mine that it's discovered that he completely lost his memory. It's not until he's in the hospital and his girlfriend Kiyo, Yumi Shirakawa, shows Shigeru a nest with bird eggs in it just about the hatch that his memory finally comes back to him with shocking results! It's the hatching eggs that reminded Shigeru of the two monster prehistoric flying reptiles the Rodans that he saw and caused him to black out. And those two birds, the Rodans, at first mistaken for UFOS are now on the lose and causing death and destruction by whipping of typhoon like wilds all across the Pacific rim!Eye popping special effects that rival anything we see now without the use of computer enhancement makes "Rodan" a classic among 1950's Japanese monster films. The Rodans after annihilating the Japanese city of Fukuoka are tracked down to their secret nesting place on the foot of Mt. Aso and then given the business or treatment, a massive artillery and rocket barrage, that causes Mt. Aso a volcano thats been inactive s for hundreds of years to finally erupt.The explosive final sequence has Shigeru give a truly touching and heartfelt epilogue about how he both fears and admires the Rodans in their both destructive power, the birds have a 500 foot wingspan and weigh over 100 tons, and love and dedication to each other. With one of the Rodans dying in the volcanic eruption the remaining one, in not wanting to live without its mate, joins it in the fiery holocaust that the massive Japanese Army & Airfrce caused. As an almost weeping and relived, in that the danger of the Rodans destroying the world has finally ended, Shigeru ends his his speech, that's dubbed in English by an 18 year old University of California student, and future TV Star Trek cast member, George Takei, by saying these dramatic words about the Rodans demise:Are there other prehistoric monster waiting to emerge and battle the human race in the future? And can we be able to beat them back a second time? At least for now those fears, with the Rodans dead and buried in the lava pumping out of Mt. Aso, have now gone up in smoke!