Mothra vs. Godzilla

Mothra vs. Godzilla is a 1964 Japanese science fiction tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho Co. Ltd and directed by Ishiro Honda. It is the fourth entry in the Godzilla film series.

Distributed in the United States by American International Pictures as Godzilla vs. The Thing, its alterations were much less dramatic than its predecessors.

U.S. Version

 * Production company: American International Pictures
 * Produced by: Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson
 * Recording studio: Titra Sound Studios
 * Country: United States

Background


In early 1964, American producer Henry G. Saperstein acquired the picture's distribution rights from Toho and originally intended to release it in the U.S. through UPA, under the title Godzilla vs. The Giant Moth, but the plans fell through and Saperstein sold the rights to Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson of American International Pictures. In a move quite similar to Columbia Pictures' marketing campaign for Mothra, efforts were taken to conceal Godzilla's opponent's identity and appearance, giving Mothra the alias "The Thing". Posters and other publicity material depicted Godzilla locked in mortal combat with a grotesque, tentacled monstrosity, hidden behind a large question mark or "CENSORED!" card. Oddly enough, Mothra still appeared in AIP's theatrical trailer for the film. The picture opened on September 17, 1964, five months after its Japanese premier.

Altered

 * After the Toho logo (accompanied with a violent percussion riddled instrumentation), the title card appears (Mothra vs. Godzilla, with the piece of Godzilla's skin seen later in the film as the backdrop). The title fades and credits play over a typhoon stricken sea. The new AIP title sequence starts at the ocean, taking the opening notes of the main title theme with it.
 * A shot of Godzilla moving through the countryside is shifted prior to the JSDF conference scene's counterpart, rather than after it as is the case in the Japanese version.

Added

 * By far the most noticeable change is an entirely new scene depicting the U.S. Navy offering support and attacking Godzilla on the coastline, with new "Frontier" type missiles. The sequence itself is a carryover from the first draft of the film, in which the fictional Rolisicans from Mothra would attempt to deter Godzilla from their country with the same missiles. Though it was shot, it was never used in the final cut of the Japanese version, presumably because some viewers would find the notion of American weapons being used once again on Japanese territory offensive. Not wanting to scrap it entirely, Toho kept the scene intact for international releases. The sequence has rarely appeared as supplementary material on Japanese home video release and the original performances of the actors present remain missing in action.

Removed

 * A brief transitional scene detailing the opening of the egg exhibit and Happy Enterprises' relations with the press and public is excised around the 24 minute mark.
 * Following Godzilla's rampage through Nagoya, a JSDF conference, detailing plans to carry out operations on Godzilla in the coastal areas is deleted. Much of the scene's dialogue is repeated in its American exclusive equivalent.
 * Kumayama's death was partially censored by extending a shot of Godzilla approaching the hotel seen through a window. This caused an accidental 0.5 seconds desynchronization in the music and sound effects track for about five minutes.

Preservation
From a preservation standpoint, it is hard to determine the exact state of the original theatrical version of the film. 16mm TV prints of the AIP version begin with a short musical overture, playing the "lost" opening notes of the main title on a blank screens, though reports of its usage in theaters are varied. The Frontier missile sequence is perhaps the most confusing aspect of this cut, as no consistent version of it has surfaced on the home video scene. UPA's early 1980s video master chops out two missile strikes, the Monsters HD version restores one of these, and Marketing Film's German language DVD restores the second. The "Commence Plan C" line is devoid of much color saturation on UPA and Simitar's elements and is missing from the Monsters HD print altogether.

Home video versions
  
 * In the 1980s, the film, along with a catalogue of other AIP ventures, were acquired by Henry Saperstein as part of the UPA library. The title was changed to Godzilla vs. Mothra and a new, video generated title card was created, along with a new credit, "A UPA PRODUCTIONS OF AMERICA RELEASE", replacing Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson's credit. The remainder of the AIP credits remain unaltered, albeit squeezed to 4:3.
 * The end of reel 1 is shortened (the scene ends as soon as Torahata closes the door).
 * Sakai's line "Money. That's all they're interested in" is cut.
 * Junko's line "Let them at least finish their story! Go ahead, go on, please" and the Shobijin's "Alright" is cut.
 * Sakai's line "The real owner is Mothra, the Thing!" is partially cut (the "the" in "the Thing" is removed).
 * The line "Emergency! Emergency! Godzilla is approaching!" at the beginning and end of a reel is partially spliced out.
 * The Infant Island chief's line "Our island has been cruelly used..." is cut.
 * The line "A, B, C. Within in the lines of this triangle..." is cut and abruptly starts with "-in the lines of this triangle".
 * Junko's "There they are!" and Nakamura's "You're right" are cut.