Additional information for Rodan, which has a domestic theatrical release set for August 6, 1957. The film is being distributed by Toho and has not yet been rated. Rodan has a total running time of 82 minutes.
K-16
Finland
Unrated
USA
15
Sweden
82min
70min
72min
70min
90min
Radon
Radon
West Germany
Rodan
France
Rodan
USA
Die fliegenden Monster von Osaka
West Germany
Radon the Sky Monster
International
Radon, az égi szörny
Hungary
Rodan il mostro alato
Italy
Rodan! The Flying Monster
USA
Rodan!... O Monstro do Espaço
Brazil
Rodan, o drakos tou Qiu Shu
Greece
Rodan, tuntematon vihollinen
Finland
Rodan. Los hijos del volcán
Spain
Skräck över Japan
Sweden
December 26, 1956
Japan
August 06, 1957
USA
May 19, 1958
Sweden
September 26, 1958
West Germany
November 09, 1960
Denmark
No taglines exist for this title.
Mutant pterosaurs and prehistoric insects terrorize humanity.
Mount Aso, Kyushu, a siren echoes across mine and the associated village, it is shift change. A fight breaks out as the two crews change over.In another part of the installation the main office is informed that mine number 8 has filled with water. One of the engineers Shigeru Kwamura (Kenji Sahara) goes down to investigate; the last survey didnt reveal any problems. When he arrives at the shaft he discovers two of the miners are trapped by the waterShigeru calls for a couple of volunteers and they head down the tunnel to rescue the men. Yoshi is the first one found; he appears unconscious and close to death. Hes quickly rushed to the hospital and the doctors are concerned about a strange head wound they have found.There is no news about the other man, Goro. Some of the miners think Goro tried to kill Yoshi because of the earlier fight in the assembly area. Leaving the hospital Shigeru encounters his girlfriend Kiyo (Yumi Shirakawa) who is also Goro's sister. She fears the stories of his crime are true bit Shirakawa insists that she wait till more information is availableBack in the flooded tunnel the search for Goro goes on. One of the men thinks they hear something and investigate. Getting closer to the source of the noise they hear other strange sounds. Suddenly two of the men are dragged below the water but a third escapes. He tries to phone for help but is killed.Later the bodies of the three men are recovered. They seem to have suffered the same injuries as Yoshi. The doctor seems to doubt Goro could have committed the murders; the strength involved would be beyond anything he was capable of.That night Shigeru goes and comforts Kiyo as rumors spread through the village about her brother. As they sit and talk a huge caterpillar life creature crashes into the house, the couple escape and summon the police. They confront the creature but a forced back.The village is alerted to the danger and the mine workers go to try and stem the threat. They spot the creature climbing a hill outside the village and head off in pursuit. Thinking they have the creature cornered they open fire, with little effect. The creature attacks two of the men and kills them, but in the process it loses its footing and slides down the hill into darkness and escapes.Later it is reported the creature was seen entering one of the older mine shafts. The police begin sealing the entrance as they wait for the military to arrive. A detachment of soldiers arrives and confidently enters the tunnel in search of the creature. Finding Goro's body they set up a machine gun while the creature advances. Despite their best efforts the creature continues to advance. Shigeru hits on the idea of sending one of the mine trains into the tunnel. At first his plan seems to work but the creature revives. The machine gun opens fire again causing a cave in that traps Shigeru and apparently kill the creature.Later Professor Kashiwagi arrives and reviews the evidence. He believes the creature is a "meganuron", and he thinks the creature is from outer space, possibly hatched from an egg buried somehow in the mineAn earthquake hits the area and substantial sections of the local mountains subside destroying the only road to the mines. Amid one of the landslides, Shigeru is found, dazed and with a broken arm. At the hospital Shigeru appears non responsive as if in some kind of shock. A doctor suggests he is suffering from amnesia The doctors try to trigger his memory by showing him images of the monster he may have encountered in the mine.At the same time the Air Force decide to launch a reconnaissance mission over the mountain they think the creature is hiding in. The mission unfolds, one of the pilots report an unknown contact moving towards him at supersonic speed. The pilot gets a visual on the object during strange acrobatic maneuvers, the pilot is told to break of but the object is too fast and collides with his plane. Only a bloodied helmet is retrieved from the crash site.
Air Force control keep tracking the object as it begins to move towards the Chinese mainland. It changes course and begins heading out into the PacificIn another part of Japan, two honeymooners head off for a trip after being recently married. They stop at a volcanic crater and begin photographing each other, when suddenly a bird-like creature flies low overhead killing them instantly. The camera the couple where using is retrieved and an image of the creature has been captured.One of the scientists thinks he recognizes the shape; it is a huge flying reptile from Earth's past called a Pteranodon. Although they agree that is what the creature is, no one can understand the supersonic speeds it is attaining or how one of the creatures could be alive in the modern world.At the hospital Shigeru has a breakthrough when his girlfriend shows him a nest with eggs hatching. He begins to recall seeing a nest with large numbers of odd creatures as well as one giant egg off by itself. As he watches the egg hatches and a Rodan is born. It immediately begins eating the other creatures in the cave. The scientists return to the mineshaft to try and gather more information, if what Shigeru says is correct they should be in no danger from the caterpillar-like creatures, and they believe Rodan has left the nest. They return to the spot indicated by Shigeru and find a piece of eggshell before having to leave due to a cave in.They study the shell fragment and discover the original egg was massive. At a briefing they give details of the size of a fully grown Rodan. Its wingspan should be upwards of 270 meters and have a body weight in excess of 100 tons. Aside from the danger of being eaten they realize the sonic boom created when the creature flies will be fatal to huge numbers of people.Professor Kashiwagi goes on to explain that he believes Rodan now exists because of atomic tests. He explains that radioactive rainwater may have seeped into the underground caverns and caused a mutation. He then suggests a probable search area based around the two mines that had suffered previous attacksFollowing up on the lead the army sends a team to investigate. They witness Rodan breaking through to the surface and taking flight. His supersonic flight is as dangerous as predicted and he destroys a vehicle trying to fleeThe Japanese Air Force attempt to intercept the creature and a dog fight ensues but Rodan clearly out flies the pilots destroying a number of aircraft in the process.Alarms sound in nearby towns as Rodan flies off and the jets try to keep up. The jets close on the creature and seem to shoot it down. As the pilots go in to confirm the kill Rodan takes flight again, apparently uninjured.
Surrounding towns again set their alarms and people try to make for any shelter they can. The creature lands in the center of the city and begins to level everything with its powerful wings. The army sees a chance and deploys a number of tanks and rocket launchers to fight the animal.After absorbing a frightful barrage from the army units Rodan again flaps its wings cause cyclonic winds to sweep everything before it. A second Rodan arrives and begins circling the city helping to spread the destruction. As quickly as they came they fly off as night fallsLater at a planning meeting, it is agreed that both animals are nesting somewhere in the Mount Aso area, probably close to the volcanoes. A helicopter is dispatched and a sighting of both birds roosting in the crater are confirmedA plan is organized to bombard the crater; the hope is to bury both Rodans in the throat of the volcano. Military vehicles move into position as the remaining population is evacuated. Once everyone is too safety the attack beginsPart way through the attack reports come in that the intense bombardment is weakening the mountain and the volcano may erupt.Ultimately the volcano does explode and the two creatures take flight, one is caught by the eruption and killed. Its mate goes back to try and help and it is also consumed by the infernochapman_glen@yahoo.com
Ishirô Honda
Director(s)
David Duncan
Takeshi Kimura
Ken Kuronuma
Takeo Murata
Writer(s)
Frank King
producer (US version)
Maurice King
producer (US version)
Tomoyuki Tanaka
producer
Producer(s)
Akira Ifukube
Composer(s)
Shigeru Kawamura, colliery engineer (as Kenji Sawara)
Kenji Sahara
Kiyo, Shigeru's lover
Yumi Shirakawa
Professor KYUichiro Kashiwagi (biology)
Akihiko Hirata
Police Chief Nishimura
Akio Kobori
Female Honeymooner
Yasuko Nakata
Colliery Chief Osaki
Minosuke Yamada
Izeki, reporter of Seibu Nippou
Yoshifumi Tajima
Male Honeymooner, Sunagawa's friend (as Kiyoharu Ohnaka)
Kiyoharu Onaka
Chief of police station
Ichirô Chiba
American Soldier Typing
Mike Daneen
Haru, Kiyo's neighbor
Tazue Ichimanji
News Reader
Saburô Iketani
Sunagawa's colleague
Saburô Kadowaki
Tsunesan, miner
Tateo Kawasaki
Suteyan, miner
Kanta Kisaragi
Policeman Tashiro (as Jirô Kumagai)
Takuzô Kumagai
Nurse
Saeko Kuroiwa
Osumi, Kiyo's neighbor
Tsuruko Mano
Professor Isokawa
Mitsuo Matsumoto
Commander of JASDF
Hideo Mihara
Otami, Yoshizo's wife
Kiyomi Mizunoya
Military officer
Jun'ichirô Mukai
Kiyo's neighbor
Toshiko Nakano
Goro, miner, Kiyo's older brother
Rinsaku Ogata
Tahei, miner
Keiji Sakakida
Sabu, miner
Yasuhiro Shigenobu
Coroner
Junnosuke Suda
F-86F pilot
Shigemi Sunagawa
Yoshizo, miner
Jirô Suzukawa
Policeman
Masaaki Tachibana
Laborer
Bontaro Taira
Dr.Minakami (colliery)
Kiyoshi Takagi
Policeman of the crime laboratory
Kamayuki Tsubono
Staff officer Takeuchi
Mitsuo Tsuda
Hideo Unagami
Radio operator on jeep
Akira Yamada
Police Chief Nishimura (uncredited) (voice: English version)
Paul Frees
Narrator (uncredited) (voice: English version)
Art Gilmore
F-86F pilot (uncredited)
Shôichi Hirose
Engineer Sunagawa (seismologist) (uncredited)
Ren Imaizumi
Director(s)
Takeshi Kimura
Ken Kuronuma
Takeo Murata
Writer(s)
producer (US version)
Maurice King
producer (US version)
Tomoyuki Tanaka
producer
Producer(s)
Composer(s)
Other Films from Toho
Battle in Outer Space, Gigantis, the Fire Monster (Gojira no gyakushû), House (Hausu), Ikiru, Japan Sinks, Mothra, The Bad Sleep Well, The H-Man, The Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai)
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