2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters introduced modern American audiences to a greater world of giant monsters beyond Godzilla and King Kong.  With that introduction came the mythical moth protector, Mothra.  With her appearance, one may be tempted to take a look back at her history. In truth, she, like the King of the Monsters, has a variety of reboots that would naturally lead a person to check out her original appearance. Our friends at Millcreek understood this desire and releases an exclusive SteelBook Blu-ray set of 1961’s Mothra. But is the 1961 tokusatsu film worth watching? Let’s take a look.

Summary

If you’re unfamiliar with the film, the basic storyline is this. After it is discovered that an island once thought abandoned island is actually inhabited, an exploration team goes out to investigate. Reporter Senichiro Fukuda played by Japanese comedic legend, Furanki Sakai, sneaks aboard the ship to try and get the first scoop. Once on the Island, two doll-sized women (played by Yumi Ito and Emi Ito, Professional singers that went by the name “The Peanuts), who turned out to be the Shobijin, priestess, of Mothra.  The villain of this series, Kurauku Neruson (Clark Nelson in English), played by Jerry Ito, takes the Shobijin and forces them into a type of traveling singing act. Unknown to Neuson, the song that the Shobijin sing is a song that calls for Mothra’s help.

Product Review

I have to admit that I have a love affair with Steelbook movie sets. There’s a level of professionalism mixed with artisanism every time a production company releases one. This box does not deviate. The Steelbook itself is clean, containing the classic movie poster design of the Queen of monsters on the front and the back containing an epic collage of the 3 stages of Mothra. On the inside, you have a clear plastic holder that allows you to see a beautiful oil painted rendition from the reel. The magic of this set is the clear plastic sleeve that goes over the box. Once the steelbook is inserted, the cover takes on an even more epic classic monster movie poster feel featuring military planes attacking Mothra, what appears to be an artist rendition of the Shobijin, and the words “Mightiest monster in all creation” across the top. The back then contains a typical splash of information and imagery that we are used to with modern DVDs and Blu-rays yet still having transparent portions that allow you to see the lovely imagery of the steelbook below.

The Blu-ray itself is a lovely product. It contains not just the English dubbing of the film (an issue that I often run into with classic Kaiju films) but also the original more extended Japanese cut. The Japanese version is in fact, 10 minutes longer due to the scenes cut out by the English producers. Most of these cuts were made to take out long cuts to Japanese articles, signage, etc. along with some changes to the back story of the island inhabitants. The Blu-ray also contains a few unique features including the original American trailer, a Photogallery, and an Audio commentary option.

Movie Review

1961’s Mothra came just 6 years after the release of the original 1954 Gojira (Godzilla). Like it’s monster predecessor, this is a complex story that does not shy away from political conversations such as foreign government involvement and nuclear weapon safety. This film does, however, differ in its tone. Whereas Godzilla and 1955’s Godzilla Raids again carried a more severe tone, Toho wanted this film to appeal more to children.  Thus they hired comedian Furanki Sakai to be a leading character for the audience to follow. While Furanki did a great job at being serious when needed, he was able to break up the harsh tones with moments of comedic execution of lines and a bit of slapstick comedy. Not just that, but many of the actors did a great job of seeming slightly over the top while still remaining very grounded in the story and world created by Ishiro Honda.  This comedic aspect gives a family-friendly feel that soon permeated much of the giant monster genre.  

While the film does have its comedic moments, modern viewers need to remember that this is a film done in the ’60s. Storytelling in the ’60s was notorious for having a long conversational feel than the quick-paced action that we see in modern storytelling. This is noted even more by the fact that while the movie is named after a giant moth, the films follow our human characters and our wild monster is not nearly as destructive as Godzilla.  There does appear to be something lost when you view the movie in its dubbed version. Story and subplots are not lost, but they do seem to lose something. American producers felt that the film was too complex for their audience hence their stripping of some of the more in-depth conversations. 

The graphics of this film are leaps and bound above the 1954 Gojira. While we are still working with miniatures and puppets, the skill and execution have improved the quality of this film. Here we saw cameras inside of miniatures while the destructive winds of Mothra blew away a city. This created a strange sense of realism for the film. Yes, you still have awkward rear projection and early green screening that take you out of some moments, the sound bed coupled with the music score and acting keep you involved in the film. Is the film hokey at times? Yes. But can it pull you and make for an enjoyable afternoon? Absolutely

Roads to Hope

One of the running themes in this film, whether not mankind can truly be trusted. The Shobijin are often placed in moments where they question if humanity is worth being spared the incoming destruction of Mothra. In this film, they come to the conclusion that I think many forget, not everyone is a terrible and evil individual. When we are in our darkest moments, it’s easy to believe that everyone is out to get you. It’s easy to think that no one cares. It’s easy to think that everyone is selfish and evil. But the reality is, that’s not true. Don’t allow those dark moments to cause you to write everyone off. The more you do, the more alone you will become when you don’t have to be.

Final Thoughts

1961’s Mothra is a monster film classic and staple. It redefined how the Kaiju genre would work while also establishing one of the very few mainstay monsters. Modern viewers do need to keep in mind the time frame that it was filmed so that the political commentary makes more sense but overall this is a great film. We are giving this film a 4 out of 5.

Credits: Special thanks to Mill Creek Entertainment for making this review possible. You can pick up your copy here. Mothra is the property of Mill Creek Entertainment. We do not own nor claim any rights.