Godzilla in America
A Critical Comparison between the Japanese and
American Versions of the Godzilla Films
by Robert Biondi and John Rocco Roberto

Kaiju Shoshingeki
(All Monsters Attack)
Released on August 1, 1968
Running time: 88 minutes

Destroy All Monsters
Released on May 23, 1969 by American International Pictures
Running time: 86 minutes
Available from A.D. Vision Home Video

Analysis by Robert Biondi and John Rocco Roberto

By 1968, Toho had put Godzilla through two rural but intriguing adventures in the South Seas; Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966) and Son of Godzilla (1967).  Perhaps feeling that the next entry into the series should be far more spectacular than the two prior economical films, Toho announced Kaiju Shoshingeki (All Monsters Attack), known to the rest of the world as Destroy All Monsters.  For this, Godzilla’s ninth film (and one of the Monster King’s most popular adventures), Toho returned to the "invasion Earth" scenario as last seen in Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965).  Destroy All Monsters is considered the “ultimate” film in the Godzilla series, and for a unique reason.  This factor is not the scripting, which is short on plot and character development, nor is it the quality of special effects, which are not on par with the effects seen in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964) to Godzilla vs. Monster Zero.  The popularity of Destroy All Monsters stems from the fact that Toho showcased eleven kaiju in this one film.

Destroy All Monsters is set in 1999.  By this time, all of the monsters have been collected on Monster Land (called Monster Island in later films) for study, and humanity’s technology has advanced so that trips to the Moon are launched on a daily basis.  Destroy All Monsters also features the Moonlight SY-3, a futuristic spaceship.  Furthermore, after years of being depicted as a threat solely to Japan, Godzilla and his fellow kaiju go on a worldwide rampage, destroying capitals throughout the world.  The Kilaaks' plan of conquest is a logical one; rather than pit their own monster against Godzilla and his cohorts, (as subsequent uchuseijin would do), the Earth monsters themselves are manipulated by the Kilaaks to destroy Earth.  It is only when the tide has turned do the Kilaaks pit King Ghidorah against Godzilla and the other Earth monsters. A minor flaw with the script is that the Kilaaks are not given any real motivation for attacking Earth, other than to conquer the planet and to enslave its' population.  Toho's prior and subsequent uchuseijin have had clear motives for attacking Earth; the X-Seijins (from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) to acquire water, the M - Seijins (from Godzilla vs. Gigan, 1972) to replace their polluted planet with Earth, and the Apes from the Third Planet of the Black Hole (from Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, 1974 and Terror of MechaGodzilla, 1975) to replace their vanishing planet with Earth.

Godzilla's status as the King of the Monsters is firmly established in Destroy All Monsters, since he leads the other monsters in the attack against the Kilaaks, plays a major role in defeating King Ghidorah, and destroys the Kilaaks’ Earth base of operations.

Absent from the series since Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, director Ishiro Honda and musical director Akira Ifukube returned to collaborate on the “ultimate” kaiju film.  In between Godzilla films, however, Honda and Ifukube were busy working on War of the Gargantuas (1966) and King Kong Escapes (1967).  After Destroy All Monsters, Honda and Ifukube would work together on only three more films; Latitude Zero (1969), Yog, Monster from Space (1970) and Terror of MechaGodzilla.  The talents of these two men who had done much to define the early Godzilla films gives Destroy All Monsters a quality reminiscent of, though not matching, Toho's earlier years of cinematic glory.

Honda had interesting ideas for Destroy All Monsters, such as undersea farming and crossbreeding of monsters.  However, these innovative concepts were scrapped due to budgetary reasons.

During the latter part of his career, Eiji Tsuburaya had taken a less active hand in the special effects direction. This was partly due to his health (he was a diabetic) and partly because of his involvement with his own Tsuburaya productions, creators of the “Ultraman” television series.  Starting with Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, and into Destroy All Monsters, the special effects direction was left to Teisho Arikawa, with Tsuburaya credited as "Supervisor".  After Tsuburaya's death in 1970, Arikawa would direct the special effects in Yog, Monster from Space before resigning his position to pursue other interests.

To populate this star-studded kaiju extravaganza, the special-effects department dusted off some old monster costumes, and created some now ones. The ugly Godzilla suit from Son of Godzilla was replaced with a new suit.  This newer, much-improved looking suit appears similar to the Godzilla costume seen in Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, and is very popular among Godzilla fans.  The Minya costume, though only used a year before in Son of Godzilla, is visibly falling apart.  The Rodan costume from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero was employed, while the Mothra prop from Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) was used.  A new and improved costume was built for Angilas, who had not bee seen since Godzilla Raids Again (1955).  The main Manda prop, from Atragon (1963), was stripped of its’ horns and whiskers, but looks suitably evil.  The same Gorosaurus costume from King Kong Escapes was used, and the Speiga prop from Son of Godzilla was utilized.  The costume for King Ghidorah appears to be shorter than in earlier year, and sports smaller wings.  Varan from Varan the Unbelievable (1958) and Baragon from Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) make appearances so brief as to not justify their presence. Varan is represented only by a model, and in the film is never referred to by name.   Baragon's appearance is also very brief, to be quickly glimpsed at the monster parade at Mt. Fuji and pawing on Monster Land during the closing moments of the film.

One of the best-known mistakes of Godzilla films is that, after Gorosaurus destroys Paris, the monster is referred to as Baragon.  The most likely explanation for this is error is that that the special effects department needed to construct a new Baragon costume, as Tsuburaya had “borrowed” the original Baragon suit and revamped it several times for his popular “Ultraman” TV show.  It is probable that the new Baragon costume was not ready for filming, so Gorosaurus was substituted.  However, Toho’s script did reflect this change, and AIP (American International Pictures) failed to correct it in the  Americanization process. Another odd point is that the production schedule for Destroy All Monsters was very rushed and finished filming in May 1968, yet Toho delayed releasing the film until August of that year.

Destroy All Monsters is the title Toho gave the film for international export, and was released by AIP in 1969.  AIP did their usual quality Americanization job on Destroy All Monsters, as the film was left virtually untouched with only the most minor pieces  removed.  Noted here in boldface text, these alterations are detailed below.

After the destruction of Tokyo by Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Manda, a panning shot covers the devastated city (this is reminiscent of scenes from Godzilla, King of the Monsters, 1954).  The camera zooms in on a sign that reads (in Japanese) "Defense Headquarters".  This cuts to Captain Yamabe (Akira Kubo) entering the Defense Headquarters bunker.

During the climatic battle with King Ghidorah, two shots of Minya's excited antics were snipped. One of these shots has Minya ducking for cover when Angilas plummets to ground (after being carried up by King Ghidorah).

"The End" appears in place of the kanji characters for "Owari".

The only major difference between the Japanese and American versions concerns the opening credits.

Japanese version

American version

In the American version, the production credits are placed at the film's conclusion, presented on a black screen and accompanied by the Kaiju Shoshingeki theme.  The Americanization works much better, as the stirring Kaiju Shoshingeki score serves to recap this exciting film for the viewer.  This was also unique, since all other Godzilla films, and indeed other Americanized kaiju eiga films, usually had the credits (if any credits were used) placed the films' opening.

Destroy All Monsters is dubbed very well, with the voices matching the characters and the lines being aptly spoken.  Norman Rose, one of America’s busiest voice-over actors, served as narrator.  Rose’s credits include narrating the Americanized version of Sergei Bondarchuk’s monumental film War and Peace, which was released stateside in 1968.  Hal Linden, later to gain fame on TV's Barney Miller, dubbed Captain Yamabe; Linden had also dubbed bank-robber Yashi (Akira Takarada) in Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster.  The rest of the cast is voiced by familiar sounding Titan Studios dubbing actors.  One subtle improvement over the Japanese version involves King Ghidorah's first appearance.  When the triple-headed terror is seen to materialize on the control screen on Monster Land (via a stock shot from Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster), there are no reaction sounds from the science crew.  The American version improved this scene by dubbing in gasps of horror as the crew (off-screen) watches the interstellar demon materialize, giving greater impact to King Ghidorah's surprise entrance.

Destroy All Monsters was the first Godzilla film to hit American theaters since Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster in 1965. Monster Zero was not released until 1970 and Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla went directly to television, respectively in 1968 and 1969.  Destroy All Monsters was well publicized by AIP, and was also the last Godzilla film to enjoy popular international success.  In the early seventies, Destroy All Monsters reappeared on a double-bill with Yog, Monster from Space, and occasionally popped up in drive-in theaters.

Since the early 1980’s, many of the Godzilla films had been released on American home video.  Yet Destroy All Monsters was one of the last Godzilla films ever to be issued on U.S. home video, only being released during the brief Godzilla craze that accompanied Tri-Star’s 1998 Godzilla.  However, the version released by A.D. Vision is from an English-dubbed print that Toho struck for international export.  Although this international version of Destroy All Monsters is the full-length Japanese version (containing none of AIP’s alterations described above), the dubbing was completed by Toho’s pool of English-speaking actors.  The result leaves much to be desired, with the dubbing actors speaking their lines in either a flat, matter-of-fact manner, or else sounding like stereotypical radio announcers.  For enthusiasts who grew up with AIP’s version of Destroy All Monsters, Toho’s inferior English dubbing is a great disappointment.  It is reported that the rights for the AIP version of Destroy All Monsters (which reportedly were held by Orion at one time) reverted back to Toho, and that Toho insisted that their own English-language version be utilized for A.D. Vision’s video release.

On the positive side, A.D. Vision’s Destroy All Monsters is presented in letterbox format and packaged in an attractive slipcase.  Both factors are rare for a U.S. video release of a Godzilla film.  Furthermore, A.D. Vision later released Destroy All Monsters on the DVD format, making the film one of a handful of Godzilla films on this new home entertainment system.

As with Toho’s other English-dubbed international films, the dialogue is similar in content to what was eventually re-dubbed into the American versions.  However, the wording tends to differ wildly.  Here are two amusing examples when comparing the dubbing in the AIP version and Toho’s English-dubbed version of Destroy All Monsters.

- When the members of the United Nations Scientific Committee watch (via satellite screen) the destruction of Monster Land, Dr. Stevenson (Andrew Hughes) remarks to Dr. Yoshida (Jun Tazaki):
AIP version:  "Such terrible destruction!  I will try to arrange for my country to  help."
Toho version: "What caused all that destruction?  Those people's lives are in great danger!"  (Regardless of the dubbing, Dr. Stevenson receives a look from Dr. Yoshida that seems to convey:  "Who are you kiddin’?")

- When the Kilaalks unleash the "burning monster" ("fire dragon" in Toho’s Japanese and English language versions), Kyoko (Yukiko Kobayashi) remarks to Captain Yamabe:
AIP version: "Burning monster.  Buildings can catch fire!"
Toho version:  "Fire-dragon?  I've never heard of one!"

In 1968, it seemed that Destroy All Monsters, the “ultimate monster film”, might be Godzilla’s last movie.  However, the King of the Monsters would be back in the following year in a film that is a unique, even controversial, entry into the Legend of Godzilla.

Sources:

- Cult Movie #9, interview with Ishiro Honda
- Guy Tucker: Age of the Gods, Daikaaiju Publishing, 1996

Article © 1994, 1997, 2003 John Rocco Roberto, Robert Biondi, Daikaiju Publishing.

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