Rodan

Rating:
Summary: DVD quality could be better
Review: OK, we all know how cool this classic is. The 1st Kaiju filmed in color.

I am just going to comment on the quality of the DVD itself. It is not widescreen. It is fullscreen. I wish that was in [the product's] description. Also the source material was not the most clean print. There are countless dots and light scratches throughout the film. And my last observation, dubbed in english.

What this DVD should have been is a nice clean widescreen print in the original language.

I should have kept my VHS copy and saved my funds for something else.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Misunderstood Monster...
Review: Rodan has always been a misunderstood monster, who suffers in comparison to Godzilla, Mothra, and Gidorah. After all, Rodan doesn't really have any powers per se, such as Godzilla's radioactive fire breath. Rodan's chief weapons (other than sheer size), are flapping his wings to cause powerful gusts of wind, and flying around at supersonic speeds. As a result, Rodan comes off as a weak sister compared to the other monsters. At least Mothra can spray silk at his enemies!

I did note that, in the close-ups, it looked as if Rodan had some sort of gas spray coming from his mouth, which may have been an element abandonded by the director, or simply cut from the US release. This really is a shame, because the lack of monster power has doomed Rodan to cameos and second stringer status in the Toho monster line-up.

In any event, I like the fact that Rodan is played as a villain here, albeit a half-hearted one. The later Godzillas are fun, but to be honest, they got campier and campier as the series progressed. Here we have a big old monster wreckin' stuff just because, and teaching Mankind not to mess with Mother Nature.

The effects range from good to fair. There are numerous shadows from the miniature Rodans that appear on the backdrop used for the "sky", as well as obvious wires to help flap the wings of the Rodan creatures.

Then there's the inexplicable scene where a Rodan just stands around and squawks while the Army blasts away at it with tank fire. Other than that, the mystery behind the emergence of the flying monsters was very well handled, beginning with the strange deaths in the coal mine, and the appearance of the giant killer incects. The thoughtful voiceover throughout and at the end helps to tie up any loose threads, especially for those of us in the American audience who may not be clear on the finer points of Japanese culture or philosophy.

It really is too bad that the unedited Japanese version of "Rodan" is not currently available. And wouldn't it be nice to see a new, modern Rodan feature, like the 1990s Godzillas? Sadly, this seems very unlikely. Rodan fans will have to wander over to the Gamera camp and check out the first installment in the newer Gamera movies ("Guardian of the Universe"), in which a sinister Rodan-like monster fights the big turtle and wrecks Tokyo.

Rating:
Summary: Rodan is a great old fashioned movie
Review: Rodan is a great movie because everything is good-looking and supurbly acted. The special effects are fairly good as well.

Rating:
Summary: Best Monster Debut
Review: Rodan is my favorite kaiju. This movie is defintly one of the best!Rodan was the first movie of this genre to be filmed in color.Rodan had good special effects as well.It was nicely dubbed and had a great story.Rodan looked better in this than any other movie he starred in.Rodan could fly,walk,and swim. Rodan can fly at supersonic speed and emit an energy blast! I won't tell you how they kill him so get this DVD as soon as possible.

Rating:
Summary: superbe for the time
Review: Rodan is one of the better giant monster films from toho. exelent special efects, a solid plot, and the men in the suits for rodan do an exelent job.

the story focuses on a mining town were people are being slaughtered by unknown means. it turns out to be mansized silverfish (the insect of course) with scorpion claws. 2 are killed but the main character is cut off form the rest of his group by an earthquake. he is later found with amniesia, when he recovers his memory hge tells them of what he saw, a giant teradactyl hatching in the mine and eating the giant insects! Rodan apears - along with its mate, andf atack a nearby sity - not tokyo!. the monsters then return to the mines - and an active volcano. the military planes to bury them in mount aso. while doing so the volcano erupts and killes one of the Rodans, the other, unable to live with out its mate, dives into the lava beside it. all in all a good film

Rating:
Summary: One of Toho's best creations is born.
Review: Rodan is one of the very best films released by Toho Studios(that's saying a lot). The story, though still very much influenced by American sci-fi, is very well done and exciting. Director Ishiro actually evokes sympathy for the Rodans in the film's climatic scenes, something that distinguishes Rodan from say "The Blob" or "The Deadly Mantis." Eiji Tsubaraya's spfx work is top-notch and easily shames many other sci-fi efforts of that time. The great Kenji Sahara heads up a good cast. He would go on to become one of the most recognizable and popular people in Toho's stable of actors. Unfortunately, Akira Ifukube's score is not up to par with his previous work on Godzilla. Only at the firey climax do we experience Ifukube's trademark mournfully stirring music. That aside, this film is a classic that will continue to endure!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining movie, bad DVD
Review: Rodan remains one of the most entertaining of all Japanese monster movies, with nice color photography and more consistent special effects than the original Godzilla. This DVD, though, is a disappointment. The print that was used is by no means the cleanest you'll ever find--lots of scratches and dirt on the image--and there really aren't any extras. No effort appears to have been made to find better source material, and that makes for a less-than-stellar DVD experience. They could have done much better.

Rating:
Summary: It was not as good as I thought it would be.
Review: Sorry, but it's true. I did not like waiting for Rodan while that giant insect subplot was happening. But the double trouble idea was brilliant!

Rating:
Summary: Giant flapping doom!
Review: synopsis: Workers are being killed left and right deep within a Japanese mine. First, some of the minors are suspected, but it soon becomes clear that the mine is infested with giant prehistoric bugs! A team is sent in to battle the bugs, and one is killed by sending a mine car into it. One of the team's members is lost. He is found later in shock and stricken with amnesia. Soon, his memory returns, just as unidentified flying objects begin wiping out jets and eating innocent people. According to the ex-amnesiac's memory, he witnessed an enormous bird hatch from a gargantuan egg! Scientists quickly name the monster Rodan and identify it as a prehistoric Teranadon, somehow having survived many years of hibernation. As the military prepares to destroy the creature and cities are evacuated, another Rodan appears! The two giant birds wreak massive havoc with the wind created from the flapping of their wings and then disappear. The military decides to bury them allive in a volcano. The Rodans try to escape, but one is overcome by the flames and fumes. While the other...I won't blow everything!
Rodan is basically a 50's B movie, not much more or less. The major thing which sets this movie apart from other giant monaster movies is that it's monster returned numerous times (in the Godzilla series).
The script isn't the greatest, but it is fun at times, especially the long build up to the twin terrors' flight of doom late in the film. Of course that is part of the problem as well. The rodans have only one destructive run before being defeated by the military, moments later.
The characters are fun and interesting as is the film, but it just never rises very far above the other SciFi films of the day. The special effects are fairly good and the fear can be felt early in the film with the mystery of the miner deaths, but the fear is gone as soon as the Rodans begin their rampage.
Something about this film makes it feel somewhat intelligent but it falls short of the mark.
I would like to give this film 2 1/2, but it probably deserves a 3, though just barely. Unfortunately, Rodan would be reduced to a poorer character when he/she returned in the Godzilla series.

Rating:
Summary: A little disappointing...
Review: The DVD is nice for the price. But, I wish, with this and other Toho films, that we had the original full-length Japanese release with subtitles. I think the original Japanese versions of Godzilla, Rodan, Monster Zero and Mothra would be big sellers. Certainly, Japanese language Godzilla VCDs are sell well on Ebay.

Some other Ishiro Honda classics, like the Mysterians and Battle in Outer Space would also do well. The bootleg copies are always selling out on Ebay.

I like Rodan. I think the storyline has merit. Its a good "popcorn" film. Rodan appears to be the first Japanese "big" monster movie to carry a sympathetic theme toward the monster.

This CD is worth the price of purchase. It is the best Rodan available.