Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Mosura tai Gojira (original title)Reference View | Change View
- Not Rated
- 1h 29min
- Adventure, Fantasy
- 26 Aug 1964 (USA)
- Movie
Mothra's egg washes ashore and is claimed by greedy entrepreneurs who refuse to return it to her fairies. As Godzilla arises near Nagoya, the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.
Director:
Writer:
Award:
- 1 nomination.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast
| Akira Takarada | ... |
Ichiro Sakai
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| Yuriko Hoshi | ... |
Junko Nakanishi
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| Hiroshi Koizumi | ... |
Professor Miura
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Yû Fujiki | ... |
Jiro Nakamura
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| Kenji Sahara | ... |
Jiro Torahata
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Emi Itô | ... |
Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
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| Yumi Itô | ... |
Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
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| Yoshifumi Tajima | ... |
Kumayama
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| Jun Tazaki | ... |
Murata, Newspaper Editor
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| Kenzô Tabu | ... |
Mayor
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Yoshio Kosugi | ... |
Chief of Infant Island
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Akira Tani | ... |
Village Headman
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Susumu Fujita | ... |
JSDF General
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| Yutaka Sada | ... |
School Principal
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| Ikio Sawamura | ... |
Priest
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Ren Yamamoto | ... |
Sailor
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Kôzô Nomura | ... |
Soldier
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Yasuhisa Tsutsumi | ... |
Police Officer
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Mitsuo Tsuda | ... |
Self Defense Force Officer
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| Shin Ôtomo | ... |
Police Officer
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Senkichi Ômura | ... |
Villager
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Miki Yashiro | ... |
Schoolteacher
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Kôji Iwamoto |
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Terumi Oka |
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Wataru Ômae | ... |
Islander
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Shirô Tsuchiya | ... |
Fisherman
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Takuzô Kumagai |
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Kôji Uno | ... |
Villager
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| Yutaka Nakayama | ... |
Islander
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Toshihiko Furuta | ... |
Soldier
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Hideo Shibuya | ... |
Journalist
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Kôji Uruki |
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Kenzô Echigo |
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Yukihiko Gondô |
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Kôichi Satô | ... |
Happy Kogyosha Employee
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Hiroshi Akitsu | ... |
Fisherman
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Tadashi Okabe | ... |
Soldier
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Haruya Sakamoto | ... |
Defense Force Member
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Seishirô Kuno | ... |
Aide
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Hiroshi Takagi |
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Keisuke Yamada |
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Shinjirô Hirota |
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Shigemi Sunagawa |
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Ikuo Kawamura |
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Rinsaku Ogata |
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Haruo Suzuki |
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| Katsumi Tezuka | ... |
Mothra
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| Haruo Nakajima | ... |
Gojira
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| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Bin Furuya | ... |
Police Officer
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Ralph Jesser | ... |
U.S. Army Officer
(as Rolf Jacer)
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Yoshio Katsube | ... |
Fisherman of Shizunoura / Front Desk Clerk of Hamakazi Hotel / Firefighter at pier
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Keiichirô Katsumoto | ... |
Infanto islander / Passer-by in Nagoya
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Shigeo Katô | ... |
Native islander
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Eisaburo Komatsu | ... |
Self Defense Force Member
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Akio Kusama | ... |
Defense Force Executive, aborigine
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Keiji Sakakida | ... |
Native Islander / Nagoya Passer-by
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Junnosuke Suda | ... |
Military Official
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Masaaki Tachibana | ... |
Kuratahama Polder Man / Self-Defense Forces Member / Hotel Guest Evacuee
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Kamayuki Tsubono | ... |
Aboriginal / Fleeing hotel guest
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Sôji Ubukata | ... |
Morning Newspaper Employee
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Harold Conway | ... |
Weapon's Expert on US Ship (uncredited)
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| Robert Dunham | ... |
US Navy Soldier (uncredited)
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Kazuo Hinata | ... |
Prefectural Assembly Secretary / Morning Newspaper Reporter (uncredited)
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| Osman Yusuf | ... |
Missile Surveyor on US Ship (uncredited)
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Directed by
| Ishirô Honda | ||
Written by
| Shin'ichi Sekizawa | ... | (written by) |
Produced by
| Sanezumi Fujimoto | ... | executive producer |
| Tomoyuki Tanaka | ... | producer |
Music by
| Akira Ifukube | ||
Cinematography by
| Hajime Koizumi | ||
Editing by
| Ryôhei Fujii | ||
| Ishirô Honda | ... | (1970 Champion Festival reissue) |
Production Design by
| Takeo Kita | ||
Production Management
| Boku Morimoto | ... | production manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Kôji Kajita | ... | chief assistant director |
Sound Department
| Hiroshi Mukoyama | ... | sound mixer |
| Sadamasa Nishimoto | ... | sound effects editor |
| Hisashi Shimonaga | ... | sound effects / sound technician |
| Fumio Yanoguchi | ... | sound recordist |
Special Effects by
| Kaimai Eizo | ... | special effects |
| Hiroshi Mukoyama | ... | special effects opticals |
| Keizô Murase | ... | special effects |
| Teruyoshi Nakano | ... | assistant director of special effects |
| Teizô Toshimitsu | ... | special effects suit designer |
| Eiji Tsuburaya | ... | director of special effects |
| Akira Watanabe | ... | art director of special effects |
Visual Effects by
| Sadamasa Arikawa | ... | director of special effects photography |
| Sadao Iizuka | ... | visual effects |
| Kyuichirô Kishida | ... | special effects lighting |
| Yukio Manoda | ... | optical photographer |
| Minoru Nakano | ... | optical effects animation |
| Yoshiyuki Tokumasa | ... | optical photography |
| Sokei Tomioka | ... | special effects cameraman |
Stunts
| Haruo Nakajima | ... | stunt choreographer |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Shoshichi Kojima | ... | lighting technician |
Additional Crew
| Samuel Z. Arkoff | ... | presenter |
| Jason Franzman | ... | English subtitles |
| James H. Nicholson | ... | presenter |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Toho (1964) (Japan) (theatrical)
- American International Pictures (AIP) (1964) (United States) (theatrical) (dubbed)
- Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (1965) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Paramount Film Service (1967) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Universal Pictures (1967) (Brazil) (theatrical)
- American-International Television (AIP-TV) (1967) (United States) (tv) (syndication)
- Gloria Filmverleih (1974) (West Germany) (theatrical)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (1983) (United States) (VHS)
- Simitar Entertainment (1998) (United States) (DVD) (widescreen)
- Simitar Entertainment (1999) (United States) (DVD) (widescreen)
- Sony Music (2002) (United States) (DVD)
- Astro Distribution (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
- Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
- Classic Media (2007) (United States) (DVD)
- Genius Products (2007) (United States) (DVD)
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (United States) (DVD)
- Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2007) (United States) (DVD)
- Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2008) (Japan) (tv)
- Inskie Lato Filmowe (2012) (Poland) (theatrical)
- Anderson Digital (2013) (United States) (video) (Digital)
- Anolis Entertainment (2019) (Germany) (DVD)
- The Criterion Collection (2019) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- i-catcher media (2019) (Germany) (DVD)
- HBO Max (2020) (United States) (video) (VOD)
- MonsterVision (United States) (tv)
- The Criterion Channel (2022) (United States) (tv) (streaming)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Gekidan Asunaro (extras)
- Titra Sound Corporation (sound re-recording)
- Toho Studios (sound stages)
- Waxwork Records (soundtrack available from)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko Nakanishi cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found by local villagers. The pair joins up with Professor Miura and discover that the egg has been sold off to Mr. Kumayama of Happy Enterprises. Backed by the greedy Jiro Torahata, the businessmen seek to commercially exploit the egg. Mothra's fairies soon arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for the egg's return to Mothra and Infant Island. As their requests are denied, Godzilla emerges from the typhoon wreckage and heads toward Nagoya. Having lost their good will, Sakai, Junko, and Miura must make a plea of their own to Mothra and the people of Infant Island to help save Japan from Godzilla. Written by Mosura |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | Nothing Like This Ever On the Screen! (American tagline) See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
| Certification |
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Additional Details
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Box Office
| Cumulative Worldwide Gross | $20,000,000 |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | When the protagonists arrive on Infant Island, the skeleton of a turtle is seen in the background where it appears move slightly. This is often misunderstood to be an error but it's actually an intentional choice, inspired by the Italian documentary A Dog's Life (1962), which showcased the decomposed remains of a turtle that swayed in the wind. Many fans however took it further, pointing out that it appeared to blink suggesting it was indeed a living, albeit disfigured, creature. The creature eventually was nicknamed "Skeleturtle" and developed a cult following. It would make a cameo in a Godzilla comic and Toho themselves would sell merchandise of the creature, cementing its status as an actual kaiju with it's official name being translated to "Mystery Bones of Infant Island". See more » |
| Goofs | When the Mothra larva grabs onto Godzilla's tail and Godzilla flings it around, the skin of the Mothra larva cracks. This is because it is being damaged by Godzilla. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Edited from The Mysterians (1957). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Sacred Springs See more » |
| Quotes |
[the natives of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's pleas for help]
Professor Miura: It's a selfish request, but can you help us? Shobijin (Twin Fairy), Shobijin (Twin Fairy): We must refuse. We have no faith in your world. Professor Miura: Including us? Shobijin (Twin Fairy), Shobijin (Twin Fairy): We're very sorry. Ichiro Sakai: What do we do now? Professor Miura: It's clear we're not welcome here. Junko Nakanishi: Please listen to me. I understand why you don't trust us, but even as we speak, many are dying because of Godzilla. Many of them are good people, but even bad people have a right to live. You may call it divine retribution, but all people are equal before God. God plays no favorites. Please, we need your help. Ichiro Sakai: We too want a world where we can trust one another. But the more people there are, the more difficult it becomes. Nevertheless, we'll never give up. We're working hard to make the world a better place. Please, don't be quick to judge us. See more » |