Rodan.1956.XviD-NvadR.avi
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049782/
1956's Rodan is an Americanized cut of Sora no
daikaij Radon, which means "Radon, Monster from
the Sky." It was a big hit on U.S. screens in
1957. At five years of age, there was no chance
I'd be taken to see the movie, but its trailer
left permanent marks on my brain. A prehistoric
pterodactyl (we 50s kids knew our dinosaurs)
zoomed overhead with a supersonic scream, its
draft flipping a jeep end over end. When the
picture finally arrived on television five or
six years later, it became a must-see of early
60s monsterdom. I still have my plastic model
of the pterrifying ptitanic pterodactyl, now
repurposed to impale grocery receipts.
The original Japanese Radon is a simple monster
story realized on a spectacular scale. The
inhabitants of a mining community are terrorized
by a plague of giant subterranean insects. Deep
in the mine, a rock fall separates engineer
Shigeru (Kenji Sahara) from other investigators;
alone in a grotto he witnesses the birth of a
colossal prehistoric Big Bird. Some time later,
the grown pterodactyl emerges to rip through the
stratosphere as if jet propelled. We almost expect
to see a flaming tailpipe sticking out of Rodan's
rear end.
TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDM-EGK0xW8
Interceptor fighters disintegrate in Rodan's
backwash, while the reptile's low-flying passes
produce a pressurized air wake that knocks over
bridges and hits cities like a tornado. A mate
eventually turns up, doubling Earth's peril:
"Look! Two Rodan!"
Eiji Tsuburaya's expert special effects are the
entire show. The attack of the giant bugs is
suitably moody and the volcanic finish is a visual
triumph. Rodan is a puppet when aloft and an ungainly
monster suit when he lands in Tokyo. Even in the most realistic low angles his wings appear to be made of
vinyl; when he jumps from his perch atop a building
we see the actor clearly stumble among some excellent miniatures of a railway yard.
Although far from perfect, Rodan has the innocence and
wonder of early 50s Sci-Fi. The monster's signature
cry sounds like a tangle of chicken clucks lowered in
pitch and re-recorded in an echo chamber. In the Kaiju
roll call Rodan holds a place of honor between the
mighty Godzilla and the magical Mothra.
Source
Region 2 (Japan) DVD9 (NTSC) 720 x 480 29.970 fps 2.35:1
Color AC3 Digital Dolby 2CH Stereo 192 Kb/s 48.0 KHz
(SUBTITLES HARDCODED IN ENGLISH)
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