Mothra threatens the world
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Mothra threatens the world |
| Original title | Mosura |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Publishing year | 1961 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ishirō Honda |
| script | Shinichi Sekizawa |
| music | Yūji Koseki |
| camera | Shoichi Aizaka |
| occupation | |
| |
Mothra threatens the world ( Japanese モ ス ラ , Mosura ) is a Kaijū fantasy film by the Tōhō studios from 1961. The eponymous gigantic Kaijū moth Mothra made her film debut in this film and became one of the most popular Kaijūs next to Godzilla Tōhō Studios. In total, she appeared in 7 Godzilla films and her own film trilogy , alongside Mothra threatening the world .
action
In a Polynesian nuclear test area, four castaways land on a radiation-contaminated island. After they are found, Japanese medical professionals wonder about the lack of radiation damage. The survivors report that they were given a juice by locals on the allegedly uninhabited island, which neutralized the effect of the radiation. Thereupon the government of Roliscia (Japanese Rorishika as an anagram of Roshia ( Russia ) and America ( USA )), which was responsible for the nuclear tests, declares that the island was uninhabited at the time of the test. An expedition is being prepared with representatives of the Japanese and the Roliscian governments. The expedition is led by the Roliscian Clark Nelson, who in the course of history turns out to be an antagonist and international art dealer. In addition, Dr. Shinichi Chūjō and journalist Frankie Sakai, among others, members of the expedition. Once on the island, the group comes across a surreal jungle in a crater. After Chūjō discovers a giant plant that he suspects to be the sap, he is attacked by a creeper. He barely manages to send out an emergency signal, which attracts a pair of little twin fairies (Shobijin "little beauties") who ask him to be left alone on the island. Delighted by the twin fairies, Nelson tries to kidnap them by force of arms, only to be surrounded by local warriors. Faced with this threat, the expedition leaves the island without the twin fairies. However, this doesn't stop Nelson from returning alone, shooting down resistance from the locals, and kidnapping the fairies. In Tōkyō , Nelson performs this as an attraction in a stage show. During the performance, the girls sing a song that conjures up Mothra, who is still sleeping in an oversized egg on the island. The remaining locals also try to wake up Mothra by dancing and singing, whereupon it hatches from the egg in its caterpillar stage and makes its way to Japan via a sea route in the South Pacific. All military attempts to stop Mothra fail miserably, while it leaves a trail of destruction.
Chūjō believes that the twin fairies are in telepathic communication with Mothra and asks them to stop Mothra. However, they feel that they are powerless to try to influence Mothra.
After the Japanese government asked for the fairies to be released, Nelson and the twins flee to his farm in Roliscia. Arrived in Tōkyō, Mothra pupates in Shibuya under the remains of the destroyed Tōkyō Tower . In support of the Japanese military, the Roliscian government sends stationary atomic beam cannons. At 10 a.m. sharp, these Mothras cocoons burn. After a brief ecstasy of joy, a gigantic Mothra in its moth stage emerges from the combustion residue of the cocoon, which destroys large parts of Tōkyō with the force of its swinging wings in overflight before it makes its way to Roliscia.
Fired by panic, the search for Nelson begins in Roliscia, while Sakai, Chūjō and the photographer Michi Hanamura enter the country. Thousands are killed in a Mothra attack on New Kirk City. Meanwhile, Nelson is discovered and shot by the police in a firefight. The twin girls are handed over to Chūjō and Sakai in front of a church. When Chūjō looks at a Christian cross in front of the blazing sun while the bell is striking, the solution comes to him to appease Mothra. A giant symbol is to be drawn on an airfield, a cross in a circle with rays emanating from it, a symbol that Chūjō discovered on the island, and all the town's bells are to be struck at the same time, at three o'clock sharp. The effect is the same as the song of the twin fairies.
The plan works and Mothra lands on the symbol. The girls are released and brought back to the island from Mothra.
Alternative ending
Ishirō Honda originally shot another film ending in Hokkaidō in which Nelson and his companions are pushed off a cliff by Mothra. This was cut in favor of the more expensive scene in which Mothra attacks the capital of Roliscia, New Kirk City, and Nelson dies at the hands of the police. Columbia Pictures , who had invested in the film, wanted a more spectacular climax and Tōhō gave in.
production
The film was inspired by a dream Eiji Tsuburaya had. At the time, Tsuburaya was the driving force behind almost all of the great Japanese kaijū films. In early production notes and sketches, Mothra was still depicted as a scientifically correct portrayed bearer spinner. During the course of production, the concept of a terrible monster was discarded and more was put on an elegant and fantastic design.
Tomoyuki Tanaka commissioned three authors (Takehiko Fukunaga, Yoshie Hotta and Shinichirō Nakamura), who should each write a third of the story. Under Hakō Yōsei to Mosura ( 発 光 妖精 と モ ス ラ , "Mothra and the shining fairies") this was published as a series in the weekly Shūkan Asahi . In the script, the film was first called Daikaijū Mosura ( 大 怪 獣 モ ス ラ , "Giant Monster Mothra"), which was later shortened to Mosura . For the script, Shinichi Sekizawa took important elements from the story and added a fairytale atmosphere.
The score was written by composer Yūji Koseki. He had already written film music before, but at that time was more known for his hit songs for pop stars of the Nippon Columbia record company. Above all, it was the work for the pop duo Die Peanuts , who were hired as fairy twins for the film, that established its popularity at the time.
The miniature sets built for the film were particularly impressive. Tsuburaya, who among other things was responsible for the overview for the special effects, had entire districts built true to scale (on a scale of 1: 100). Mothra was also a little sensation. Contrary to the assumption that only a doll was used for the film, an enormous costume was used for the flight scenes, for the movements of which seven men were required and in which Godzilla actor Haruo Nakajima was .
Film start
With 9 million tickets sold, the film opened in Japanese cinemas on July 30, 1961. The film started in US cinemas on May 10, 1962. The film never ran in Germany and only had its German premiere on February 13, 1994 on Kabel 1. On April 12, 2019, Anolis released the film in the American and Japanese versions in Germany on DVD and Blu-ray.
reception
The film service spoke of a “utopian monster film from Japanese series production”, which was “equally simple-minded in terms of idea and realization”. At the same time he sees himself as "an encrypted protest against the American experiments with nuclear weapons in the South Pacific".
literature
- August Ragone; Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (2014); San Francisco.
Web links
- Mothra threatens the world in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Mothra threatens the world withRotten Tomatoes(English)
- Mothra threatens the world in the online film database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mothra threatens the world. film service , accessed September 9, 2014 .