Read More: Godzilla: King of the Monsters is Bringing Back the Spirit of Toho Rodan does not explicitly tie its creatures to the nuclear holocausts unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the way that Godzilla did, which makes the film less haunting but still enjoyable.
While Godzilla Raids Again had introduced an enemy for the big green lizard in the form of Anguirus, Rodan would become both friend and foe to Godzilla in a series of films that would often have them battling each other before teaming up to defeat a common enemy.ĭirected by Godzilla helmer Ishiro Honda, Rodan suggests that the 200-million-year-old massive flying reptile was awakened by mining operations and, like Godzilla before him, possibly nuclear testing.
as Rodan! The Flying Monster! It was the third major kaiju film of Toho’s initial run, and the first to be made in color. The result was Rodan (original Japanese title, Giant Monster from the Sky, Radon), released in 1956 in Japan and in 1957 in the U.S. He combined both the idea of a still-living prehistoric animal (in this case a member of the Pteranodon family), awakened like Godzilla by nuclear testing, with a story he had heard about a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot who was killed as he pursued a UFO in his plane. Writer Ken Kuronuma (real name Soda Michio) was tasked with coming up with a screenplay about a winged beast. two years later as Godzilla, King of the Monsters!) and 1955’s Godzilla Raids Again - Toho Studios was interested in producing more giant monster movies based around new creatures. After Godzilla (known as Gojira in his native Japan) had starred in two enormously successful movies - 1954’s original Gojira (released in the U.S.