cinema history class: rodan

Session: Bring Your Own Movie Month, Week 4 (Bob-O)
Movie: Rodan (1957)
Directed by Ishiro Honda

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.

Plot:
Nuclear tests have freed a flying dinosaur from its long slumber. Horror ensues.

Reaction and Other Folderol:

I have to admit that I went into this with low expectations. As I have said in the past, I'm not big on the Japanese monster movies.

But Rodan was much better than I was fearing.

There was a bit of a tease, in that before even see Rodan, we're treated to some kind of giant larvae-like creatures. The introduction of these larvae was very well-done. Initially, we don't see them -- we just know that miners are dying. And at one point we see them getting pulled under water. When we finally see the larvae in all their glory, it's actually disturbing -- in a way that the Japanese monsters rarely are. In a sense, I was actually disappointed when the story shifted and we meet Rodan -- a flying pteryodactyl-like thing -- I wanted to see more of the larvae.

But the rest of the story was handled reasonably well, and developed a touching quality. I can't help but thinking of literature's many star-crossed lovers and wondering if Rodan and Rodana should be added to the list.

I don't think Rodan deserves a 10, but it's high up there.

Ratings

Me: 9.5

Christina: 9.4

Dave: 10

Ethan: 8

Joe: 10
Keith: 9.8