All Monsters Attack
| All Monsters Attack | |
|---|---|
 Japanese theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Written by | Shinichi Sekizawa |
| Starring |
Tomonori Yazaki Hidemi Ito Sachio Sakai Kazuo Suzuki |
| Music by | Kunio Miyauchi |
| Cinematography | Sokei Tomioka |
| Edited by | Masahisa Himi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by |
Toho UPA/Maron Films (USA) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 69 minutes[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
All Monsters Attack, released in Japan as Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Ōru Kaijū Daishingeki (ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール怪獣大進撃, lit. "Godzilla, Minilla, and Gabara: All Monsters Attack'"), is a 1969 Japanese science-fiction kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Ishirō Honda, the film stars Tomonori Yazaki, Eisei Amamoto, and Kenji Sahara. The tenth film in the Godzilla series, this was also the first film specifically geared towards children.[1] While credited with the special effects work, Eiji Tsuburaya was not directly involved with the production of this film. The credit of special effects supervisor was given out of respect, since he was still the head of the Visual Effects Department. The effects were handled by Ishirō Honda himself, with assistance from Teruyoshi Nakano.
The film was released theatrically in the United States in the winter of 1971 by Maron Films as Godzilla's Revenge, where it was paired up nationwide on a double bill with Night of the Big Heat (also known as Island of the Burning Damned).
Plot
Ichiro Miki (Tomonori Yazaki) is a highly imaginative but lonely latchkey kid growing up in urban (and at that time, polluted) Kawasaki. Every day he comes home to his family's empty apartment. His only friends are a toymaker named Shinpei Inami (Eisei Amamoto) and a young girl named Sachiko (Hidemi Ito). Every day after school, Ichiro is tormented by a gang of bullies led by a child named Sanko Gabara (Junichi Ito). To escape his loneliness, Ichiro sleeps and dreams about visiting Monster Island. During his visit he witnesses Godzilla battle three Kamacuras and Ebirah, a giant sea monster. Ichiro is then chased by a rogue Kamacuras and falls into a deep cave, but luckily avoids being caught by Kamacuras. Shortly afterwards, Ichiro is rescued from the cave by Godzilla's Son, Minilla. Ichiro quickly learns that Minilla has bully problems too, as he is bullied by a monstrous ogre known as Gabara.
Ichiro is then awoken by Shinpei who informs him that his mother must work late again. Ichiro goes out to play, but is then frightened by the bullies and finds and explores an abandoned factory. After finding some souvenirs (tubes, a headset, and a wallet with someone's license), Ichiro leaves the factory after hearing some sirens close by. After Ichiro leaves, two bank robbers (played by Sachio Sakai and Kazuo Suzuki) who were hiding out in the factory learn that Ichiro has found one of their drivers licenses and follow him in order to kidnap him.
Later, after his sukiyaki dinner with Shinpei, Ichiro dreams again and reunites with Minilla. Together they both watch as Godzilla fights Ebirah, Kumonga, and some invading jets. Then in the middle of Godzilla's fights, Gabara appears and Minilla is forced to battle it, and after a short and one-sided battle Minilla runs away in fear. Godzilla returns to train Minilla how to fight and use its own atomic ray. However, Ichiro is woken up this time by the bank robbers and is taken hostage as a means of protection from the authorities.
Out of fear and being watched by the thieves, Ichiro calls for Minilla's help and falls asleep again where he witnesses Minilla being beaten up by Gabara again. Finally, Ichiro helps Minilla fight back at Gabara and eventually Minilla wins, catapulting the bully through the air by a seesaw-like log. Godzilla, who was in the area watching comes to congratulate Minilla for its victory, but is ambushed by a vengeful Gabara. Godzilla easily beats down Gabara and sends the bully into retreat, never to bother Minilla again. Now from his experiences in his dreams, Ichiro learns how to face his fears and fight back, gaining the courage to outwit the thieves just in time for the police, called by Shinpei, to arrive and arrest them. The next day, Ichiro stands up to Sanko and his gang and wins, regaining his pride and confidence in the process. He also gains their friendship when he plays a prank on a billboard painter.
English version
The film was dubbed in English and released in North America on December 8, 1971 by Maron Films as Godzilla's Revenge on a double bill with Island of the Burning Damned. Maron Films later re-released the movie on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas.
There are some minor alterations between the Japanese version and the English dubbed version:
- All Japanese-speaking dialogue is dubbed to English, by using English-speaking voice actors.
- The Japanese version featured a vocal song over the opening credits (Kaiju no Māchi or March of the Monsters), sung by Lily Sasaki and the Tokyo Children's Choir, and issued on the Japanese label, Crown Records. While the English dubbed version features a jazzy instrumental entitled "Crime Fiction", composed by Ervin Jereb.
- In the original Japanese version, Minilla was voiced by voice actresses, Midori Uchiyama and Michiko Hirai respectively. In the English dubbed version, Minilla is renamed "Minya", and he is given a cartoony male voice.
- In the Japanese version, the two thieves' names were never mentioned in the film, but their names were shown on the credits. In the English dubbed version, the leader is given the name "Roy," but his partner's name is never mentioned in the film.
Cast
| Character |  Japanese actor |
  English dubbing (1971) |
|---|---|---|
| Ichiro Miki | Tomonori Yazaki | |
| Kenkichi "Tack" Miki | Kenji Sahara | |
| Shinpei Inami | Eisei Amamoto | |
| Sachiko | Hidemi Ito | |
| Sanko Gabara (Mitsukimi-bully) | Junichi Ito | |
| Bank Robber Senbayashi | Sachio Sakai | |
| Bank Robber Okuda | Kazuo Suzuki | |
| Minilla | Marchan the Dwarf (suit actor) Midori Uchiyama (voice) Michiko Hirai (voice) |
|
| Godzilla | Haruo Nakajima | |
| Gabara | Yasuhiko Kakuko Yû Sekida (voice) | |
| Sachiko's Mother | Yukiko Mori (uncredited) | |
| Landlady of the Inn | Yoshiko Miyata (uncredited) | |
English dubbing staff
Box office
In Japan, the film sold 1,480,000 tickets. This was over a million tickets less than the previous Godzilla film, Destroy All Monsters (and it was the first Godzilla film to sell less than 2 million tickets).
In popular culture
Heavy/doom metal band Goblin Cock have a song called "Ichiro's Dilemma" on their first album, which follows the plot of the film and mentions Minya, Godzilla, and Gabara (mistakenly labeled as "Gamera").
References
- Ragone, August (2007, 2014). Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-6078-9
- 1 2 Witney Seibold (9 May 2014). "Godzilla Goodness: All Monsters Attack (1969)". Nerdist. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: All Monsters Attack |
- All Monsters Attack at the Internet Movie Database
- "ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール 怪獣大進撃 (Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Daishingeki)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
