I really like how Toho stayed with the whole "giant dinosaur" aesthetic when they were making their early monsters. Godzilla? A T-Rex. Anguirus? An Ankylosaurus. Rodan? Pterodactyl. As a massive dino fan, it just brings a smile to my face :)

This movie is ambitious for the fact that it not only is the first non-Godzilla movie to be in color. It's TOHO's first movie to feature a flying monster a trend that continues to this day. Question are you reviewing every kaiju movie in order of release within TOHO's catalog?

I love how you review these movies, other people think these movies are silly and campy. Great job !

Just saw this tonight for the first time, the ending was pretty sad, just two ancient dinosaurs unable to co-exist in a world no longer their own, I really enjoyed it.

I still wish there was more rodan movies

Compared to the crap like "The Giant Claw" special effects on this movie is really gold standard

0:27-0:32 I will never not love that shot. 63 years later, and it's still amazing.

I was born in Japan when Rodan was released in 1956. Thanks to its color image, Rodan describes Japanese customs and manners very vividly at that time. Mining industry played an important role in the Japanese economy before 1960`s.

yes the king of the sky I can't wait to see Rodan in 2019

The fact that they set in Sasebo, Japan: near Hiroshima makes one realize what the victims went thru in the A-bomb with the cyclonic windsand resultant firestorm. Time has been kind and this movie shows the best of practical effects which CGI cannot do.

This movie is truly a great and under-appreciated kaiju film. And is even little well known among people that I know. I watched this movie as a kid. (Still have the VHS tape from back then.) And I literally felt a sense of dread throughout the mystery parts of this movie. Like, "Who's gonna die next? And how!?" This is one of the best Toho kaiju movies ever. Top 5 for certain. :)

Watched the Japanese version last night. Really enjoyed it

Yes. My second favorite Kaiju after Godzilla himself. I can't wait to see him in all his airborne glory in "King of the Monsters". I ❤ Rodan.

Fun Fact: George Takei did some voice work for the American dub.

I have the VHS with the other Godzilla movies from my childhood, but I most recently saw Rodan hosted by Svengoolie two years ago in a New Mexico hotel room after a couple long days of driving and it was a wonderful night.

I remember in the 80's when they made a Godzilla Famicom/NES game that there was talk about making a Rodan game too. Shame it never came to be.

There are two things I've always found interesting about the differences between the US cut and Japanese cut of the film. 1. The added prologue for the American cut would have been perfect for the first Godzilla movie, since it made an obvious connection between the giant monsters and the testing of nuclear weaponry. However, it is made very clear later on that the monsters were most likely awakened by the coal mining reaching deep enough into the Earth to disturb the sleeping creatures (both the Meganulon and the Rodan eggs)… and this is in BOTH cuts. 2. The presence of two Rodans is much more pronounced and apparent in the American cut than in the Japanese cut, where it is not revealed that there are two Rodans until AFTER the first one has already begun attacking Fukuoka. And this makes the tragedy of both monsters dying at the end much more impactful, at least in my personal opinion.

The scenes with the dragonfly larvae are extremely reminiscent of Them!, particularly inside the cramped mine environments. That's one of my favourite monster movies, so I guess I need to watch this one as well.

I remember watching it so long ago as a child.

Great review of a fantastic movie. I gave this film my first serious re-watch last year and was stunned by how well it held up. It's absolutely my favorite non-Godzilla Showa era movie.

The first part of this movie was a serious freakout for my 9-year old self back in the day.

You see?? THIS is how you do a dramatic twist that subverts the audience's expectations while still running along the same track. Rodan is amazing as always, and the Meganulon are legitimately scary. This movie is a prime example of how kaiju other than Godzilla can shine in their own movies.

One of my favorite kaiju! Great review!

You can get the Japanese cut on the Classic Media double pack with The Gargantuas.

That Rodan hatching scene invokes heavy lovecraftian themes of horror. I love it

I agree with your evaluation of Rodan; but I think you left out one important point. This movie was the first of the Kaiju movies to humanize its monster(s). There are two Rodans, a male and a female, and they care for one another. I am referring to the final scene where the male Rodan refuses to abandon the female Rodan trapped in the erupting volcano and ultimately immolates himself thus sharing her fate . . . a very human thing to do. Even as a little kid, back in the 1950s, I understood this and was in tears at the end. Rodan was a monster with whom mankind had to deal but we should have felt some compassion at its demise. [Just as we should have felt for the original King Kong who also died because of his love]. Toho tried to recreate this sentiment but in an almost laughable way in Return of Godzilla (1984). If I recall the movie rightly, the Japanese Prime Minister is crying as Godzilla is falling to his doom but there is no reason in the movie why he should have done so. The script did nothing to connect the Prime Minster (or the audience) emotionally with Godzilla. Worse, Steve Martin (Raymond Burr) launches a soliloquy in which he refers to Godzilla as (that strangely innocent and tragic monster) Worst, Martin's soliloquy has as its backdrop appropriately sad music. The writer of that soliloquy obviously had no idea what the word 'innocent' meant or what the word 'tragic' meant. So, humanizing a monster may not first have been done by Toho, Hollywood's treatment of King Kong and Frankenstein long predate it but in a little kid's heart back in the 1950s no company did that better than Toho.

0:28 say goodbye ears.... its been nice knowing you

Rodan is the prince of the monsters in my book

This movie may not be as amazing as Gojira(1954) but it still holds up really well. Also, am I the only one that wants Rodan to have another Solo movie be it done by Legendary or Toho?

The bugs in this thing scared the living daylights out of me as a ten-year-old when I saw it in the theater, and actually gave me nightmares. I think that was due to the scene in the flooded mine. And when one busted into the hospital room, there was a primal terror that there was no escape from them. They were far more terrifying than the two big flying Rodans.

This was the very first kaiju film I ever saw and was the movie that introduced me to the world of Godzilla

I love this film because the effects are the greatest and the highlight during the destruction of tokyo is the best

The Japanese cut of the film is now available for free on KZfaq, so if you wanna make another review of the original (and better version in my opinion), you can now do that. 😁👍

Me: watches film The film: PROCEEDS TO SHOW PIKACHU AND CHARMANDER

The Classic Media Double Feature of Rodan/War of the Gargantuas has both versions of each film. Sadly it is out of print and one must pay 'collector's prices' to get it.....Criterion did acquire the rights to both films last year and rumor has it that they might be cooking up an epic Godzilla/Kaiju Box Set.

I LOVED this movie-I saw it as a kid, and it was genuinely scary. Imagine that the monsters that were terrorizing the town turn out to be just a light snack for Rodan, and you see how epic it is!

Rodan was on tv regularly in the 70s then disappeared.had to buy it so my son could see it.just like me he loved it.remember seeing it as a 7 year old for the 1st time and the suspense had me glued to the tv.

We had a Tyrannosaurus Stegosaurus, a Triceratops Ankylosaurus. Why not a Pteranodon?

Very good review. The "flash back" scene and the segue to the birds nest is indeed great. A bit surprised you didn't touch on the last scene. A most haunting and tragic ending. Perhaps even more so than the ending of the original Gojira? IMHO

You're movie reviews are the best

So, I recently learned - thanks to the Godzilla Singular Point anime - that Rodan's original name is Radon. Like the radioactive element. And it was changed for American viewers, allegedly to avoid confusion. At least that's what most sources say. Buuut, given how badly the first, very nuclear-critical Godzilla movie was censored for the American audience, I can't help but suspect that this detachment from making radioactivity look bad was intentional.

Rodan is a great film!

Toho’s 2nd Big Monster.

I really love your Kaiju films reviews Up From The Depths, They are very poignant and unique, I like it keep up. :)

Thankfully, the original Japanese version is now available on KZfaq for free and I think on HBO Max as well. This may be a bit controversial, but when I watch a kaiju film, it's either the Japanese version or nothing.

Rodan 1965 is my favorite Rodan design.

One of the most frightening & exhilarating movies I remember watching in real time as a kid at the movies !

I just signed up for HBO Max, which has the original Japanese version. As always, it's much better than the American cut.

Rodan.. my favorite Kaiju

Best kaiju film imo

here's the thing i think the american cut is better then then Japanese cut it's better based has more rodan action rodan doesn't appear at all until the last 15 minutes

I rly wish they kept this rodan design. He looks so much better

Rodan(Radon, as it is called in Japan). A great monster movie. It was more atmospheric than Godzilla. Actor George Takei did some voice work in this film. The Japanese version is sometimes played on TMC. The Japanese version has more scenes of Sasebo’s destruction from the Rodans.

I never understood how Rodan looked great in this movie but looked worse in later Showa movies. I just never understood why they wanted to change him the way they did. He did finally look good again when he appeared in the Hesei series at least.

If only Rodan got the same kind of bluray release as Mothra did last month from Eureka...

I have a confession the ending made me cry.

The original Rodans looked like hellish Gargoyles; apposed to the ping pong eyes and buzzard beak of the 60's. They were the kings of the skies! Originally they were supposed to be Archaeopteryx; instead of Pterosaurs. There are still shots of feathered models early in production.. The Japanese cut gives away the fact that there are two with shadows chasing the lovers at the volcano. The King Bros version surprises viewers after the first Rodan takes flight. The color of the movie was muted and more creepier. The Japanese version ended with people just watching the Rodans burn. The English one stands better with appropriate narration at the end.

Rodan is awesome. I'll never understand why Toho didn't make any more Rodan solo movies

Surprised you didn't mention that the miniature effects were so good, they reused them for over a decade

Love these reviews. You have a new subscriber. 😁

This year is rodan and mothra’s birthday

This is my Favourite Kaiju Movie Flick! Japanese Version: Better Version American Version: *LOUD*

You know the Japanese version is available in on DVD and BlueRay by Classic Media.

Hope you're doing well, Brandon, I love your channel!

But Jesus that ending was depressing

Comet’s been streaming a high def version of the film if you want to watch in high def and in Japanese

Their names are Rodan and Roseanne.

Besides the original Gojira, this my next favorite.

Rodan 1956: ☆☆☆☆

a lot of high-speed photography for necessary slow-motion scenes (running camera at 96 frames per second is difficult)

Yeah I really liked this one

minus the visible wires as Rodan lands on the building....but who's counting? Anyway, I hate being eaten by giant dragonfly larvae. It sucks.

Not sure if you already know this by now but the original japanese version is on archive.org with english subs.

I believe the japanese version is on HBOMAX and/or Tubi

Great film on every level greater in fact for it starts out like most 50's monster insect movies but then it develops into completely different genre. Rodan never looked better. and the destruction scenes were so well done they would be reused again in later toho films. Sidebar: voice genius paul frees did most if not all the male voices in the U.S version.

Curious about the source of your pronunciation of 'subsequent'.

It was originally called Radon, but attacks by an invisible cloud of radioactive nobel gas isn't that scary.

Rodan Rocks!!! Rodan stood toe to toe against Godzilla. People be talking about Kong could beat the original Rodan. Nope ain't gonna happen. Remember the King Kong was dying from conventional bullets. They was dropping bombs and Thanks against Rodan. And just like Godzilla it wasn't doing nothing to him. So no the original King Kong could beat Rodan!

Now that criterion released the entirity of the showa Godzilla series, i'm hoping they could release their other kaiju movies, especially Rodan, i love Rodan. both the monster and movie.

Finally saw this on the Criterion Channel. I really liked it. (Japanese version)

You couldn’t get ahold of the dvd 2 pack with war if the gargantuas? That was an excellent pick up. It may be expensive and out of print at this point in time.

The second half of this movie is great. The first, not so much. What did the giant dragonfly larvae have to do with Rodan???

Did anyone else notice at (0:35) it says "copyright MCMXXXIV Toho Co. LTD." which is 1934? Eh?

It's on STARZ as the Criterion Collection. Not sure if it was on there when this was uploaded 5/13/19

This movie is pretty decent. Not really a standout, but I’d recommend this one to any people who want to watch some good old classic Kaiju movies.

Just FYI clsssic media has the original rodan with the American version On the same disk it comes on a DVD package that also has war of the Gargantuas

ShowaVideo is a good place to try

The Japanese version is on the War Of The Gargantuas 2 pack by Classic Media

Ima definitely see this one

If by some chance you have the Turner Classic Movies channel, they have played the Japanese version.

In the Japanese version rodan apaires in 58:42 in

Yo, Up From The Depths, don't know if you have HBO MAX, but the Japanese version is on there

the one dislike is from one of the rodans

Just FYI clsssic media has the original rodan with the American version

Rodan 1956 - 2019

Classic Media sold War of the Gargantuas and Rodan together as a double feature in movie stores, and both were in Japanese and English. How were you not able to get your hands on it?

3:59 what add is that?

Rodan (1956) Personal Rating: ***1/2

Who would win Godzilla 1955 or Rodan 1956?

Rodan was just a big bird not fire bird