Rodan (Japanese: 空の大怪獣 ラドン, Hepburn: Sora no Daikaijū Radon, lit. ’Giant Monster of the Sky Rodan’) is a 1956 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it was Toho’s first kaiju film to be shot in color, and is one of several giant monster films that found an audience outside Japan. The film stars Kenji Sahara and Yumi Shirakawa. In the United States, it was released in 1957 as Rodan! The Flying Monster!.
via Wikipedia
If you are miner in Japan, you have more to be scared of than cave-ins and floods. Your rival could also be mining on the same crew you are. Oh and the giant bug larvae and million year old flying monster eggs.
Rodan is classified as a pteranodon, that starts off innocently enough, eating cattle and horses around Mount Aso, and those pesky giant bug larvae. However, Rodan soon becomes a menace, destroying airplanes and causing sonic booms that wreck havoc upon the local population.
The military gets involved, sending tanks, surface to air missiles, and more jet fighters to fend Rodan off from causing more destruction. Their solution? Seal up Rodan’s cave, leaving him inside forever.
What follows is a lot of very expensive explosions and an eruption, which if you’ve watched any number of Godzilla movies, you’ll know that it doesn’t quite work out the way it was planned.
This is an origin story for Rodan, who continues to reappear in Godzilla movies, sometimes as the antagonist, sometimes as the protagonist, but always the giant flying monster.
My Ranking: ★ ★ ★
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