Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Short description
A creature arrives on Earth from space and feeds on the pollution pouring into Japan's coastal waters and factory districts. As it grows, it becomes a towering, toxic threat that releases deadly fumes and corrosive sludge, killing people and attacking ships. Dr. Toru Yano, who is disfigured after an encounter with the creature during a dive, studies it with help from his young son Ken, who names it Hedorah. The creature takes on different forms, including a flying one, and the military proves powerless against it. Godzilla confronts Hedorah directly, though the monster's ability to adapt and its poisonous emissions make the fight difficult. Humanity and Godzilla must find a way to stop the creature.
Yoshimitsu Banno directed this 1971 entry in Toho's Godzilla series, his first time directing a Godzilla film, working from a screenplay he wrote with Takeshi Kimura. Akira Yamanouchi plays Dr. Yano, with Hiroyuki Kawase as Ken, Toshie Kimura as Toshie Yano, Keiko Mari as Miki Fujiyama, Toshio Shiba as Yukio Keuchi and Yoshio Yoshida as a fisherman. It runs 85 minutes and mixes action and science fiction with horror elements.
The film earned about 3 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 6.1 rating from roughly 7,600 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.8 from around 257 votes, and film critics have given it 5.7 from 14 reviews, a mixed response that sits below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- At all stages, electric current and Godzilla's heat ray are fatal to Hedorah. The monster was ultimately killed by luring it into a giant capacitor and sending electric waves through it.
- In the battle against Hedorah, Godzilla loses his left eye, but in subsequent films, he sees normally with both eyes.
- Following the film 'Attack of Godzilla' (1969), Hedorah became the second new opponent for Godzilla. Essentially, Hedorah is an alien, but her origin and how she arrived on Earth are unknown.
- Hedorah's first stage resembles a tadpole, which is what it was initially mistaken for. It swims in water and cannot survive on land. In the second stage, Hedorah can already move outside of water. It can even hover in the air, likely inhaling gases to do so. The next stage only flies – it has no limbs, but clearly defined flat wings like those of a ray. It can release hydrochloric acid in a gaseous state. The adult form moves on land on thick hind legs, and it gains a red heat ray as a weapon.
- The film's budget was $250,000.
- At the time of its release, Hedorah was the strongest enemy Godzilla had faced.
- In Japan, 1,740,687 viewers saw the film in theaters.
- This is the only film in which Godzilla can fly, using his atomic ray as a turbine.
- This is the eleventh Godzilla film and the first about Hedora.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
