Mothra

This is a review of the 2021 Region B2 Blu-ray from Eureka! Entertainment Ltd, in their premium ‘Masters of Cinema’ series. This has all the gorgeous high quality bonuses one expects from 'Eureka!': a meaty, nicely illustrated, booklet; commentaries and interviews; and the film in either the original Japanese language release from 1962, or the contemporary dubbed English language version, released by Columbia in the US. The Japanese version has occasional English language scenes. It is 101 minutes long and there are very superior English subtitles. The US release was edited down to 90 minutes. We watched the original Japanese version ~ the overall picture and sound quality is excellent.‘Mothra’ is technically a ‘kaiju’ film, a very Japanese film genre of horror~Sci Fi~fantasy films, featuring giant monsters. The original kaiju was of course ‘Godzilla’(1954). Mothra is also from parent studio Toho’s kaiju stable, and the director is the same: Ishirō Honda. In between these 2 films he also introduced the Japanese film-going public to ‘Rodan’(1956), a sort of giant Pteranodon. Over the years, there have been others, and sometimes they have arrived two at a time, fighting each other or other giants, like King Kong. Many of the Japanese monsters also have a somewhat allegorical role, reflecting ongoing disquiet in post-War, post-Atom Bomb, Japan. That is true both of ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Mothra’.Interestingly, whilst most of these kaiju are pretty destructive, scary, and mindlessly violent, Mothra is rather different. Developed for the film at the behest of Toho, Mothra is female, sentient, and based essentially on the silk worm, within the species of moths called Saturniidae. And she is a somewhat heroic character, protecting her home island, its people and guardian spirits. In later appearances, she also acts to protect Japan, and Earth.This film is considerably more complex than 1954’s Godzilla. It is altogether more confident, suggesting a more confident Japan, more willing to point an accusatory finger at unsavoury foreign practices. The adversary here is a businessman from a fictitious country called Rolisica, actually an amalgamation of America and Russia. Like in Godzilla, there are references to radiation, clearly caused by atom and hydrogen bomb tests. But the film is also critical of corporate greed, the unbridled pursuit of profit, and the looting of cultural treasures. Nations, but also individuals, are being criticised. There are also (in the Japanese original, but largely edited out in the US version) some interesting religious references.That said, the film is emphatically not preachy. It is actually huge fun. Apparently, Honda deliberately set out to make it more family-friendly than earlier kaiju films. There are plenty of really good special effects, and some early and effective use of Blue Screens (made so famous by Andy Serkis’s Gollum in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy). Remember, this is 1962, long, long, before CGI.The cast is good. It includes Kyōko Kagawa as a female journalist. She is a major figure, appearing in many iconic films including Mizoguchi’s ‘Sansho the Bailiff’(1954) and Kore-eda’s ‘After Life’(1998). Takashi Shimura, who plays her editor, was in 21 of Kurosawa’s films, including the title role in ‘Ikiru’(1952), and also ‘Godzilla’.So, colourful, great fun, often funny, quite pointed, perhaps a little too twee at times. ‘Mothra' is worth 4 ambitious, but slightly over-cute, Stars.

Mothra is a 1961 monster movie straight from Japan. The film is directed by Ishiro Honda, the legendary director that helmed Godzilla 1954 and another fan favourite, Rodan. Tomoyuki Tanaka handled production and the film stars Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa and the vocal group The Peanuts, the duo who played Mothra's twin Fairies.The first film outing for Mothra is a genre classic. After a ship crew find themselves rescued from infant island, a land known for the atomic tests performed on it. A group of scientists go to study the land after one of the survivors (who should be dead from radiation poisoning) talks of natives on the island. Events turn interesting after the expedition find the natives and two small fairies. As it turns out, the head of the expedition has other motives and returns to the island specifically to kidnap the fairies. This results in the little duo calling for their saviour Mothra to help them. Mothra makes her way to civilisation and as expected, all hell breaks loose.Of all the 1960s Japanese monster movies, this is one of the best ones. Without any doubts. The protagonists are rather likeable and their attempts to rescue the fairies from the bad guy is highly entertaining. Talking of the bad guy, Jerry Ito plays it up perfectly. He definitely meets the "love to hate" standard that movies should aim for. The special effects are all pretty good for their time. The blue screen effects aren't very convincing but the model work and Mothra herself look really good. I particularly enjoyed the first rampage from the Mothra larvae. The lighting of the crumbling models look fantastic.The new Eureka/Masters of Cinema release of Mothra is a pretty nice package. The film is held in an extremely colourful hardcover sleeve. Inside is the bluray case with a changeable front cover, an interesting booklet and a pretty cool poster. The actual film quality isn't the best but far better than any previous copy I've ever seen. It's about as good looking as the recent Criterion Godzilla release and the '60s Gamera films from Arrow. There's a little print damage here and there but nothing major. It also gives the films a very distinct look and some form of consistency with other monster movie releases.I honestly think that Mothra is a great film. It's great fun and this bluray release has plenty of extras to keep you going after the film has finished. The front cover looks amazing, it at least makes for a fantastic display piece. If you're into the Japanese Kaiju films, this is a must buy and one I would recommend purchasing soon. It is very limited after all.