| All Monsters Attack | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |||||
| Japanese name | |||||
| Kanji | ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール怪獣大進撃 | ||||
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda | ||||
| Screenplay by | Shinichi Sekizawa[1] | ||||
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka[1] | ||||
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Mototaka Tomioka[1] | ||||
| Edited by | Masahima Miyauchi[1] | ||||
| Music by | Kunio Miyauchi[1] | ||||
Production company | |||||
| Distributed by | Toho | ||||
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes[1] | ||||
| Country | Japan | ||||
| Language | Japanese | ||||
| Box office | ¥260 million(Japan rentals)[2][3] | ||||
All Monsters Attack (Japanese: ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラ オール怪獣大進撃,Hepburn: Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Dai-shingeki; lit.Godzilla, Minilla, and Gabara: All Monsters Attack) is a 1969 Japanesekaiju film directed byIshirō Honda, written byShinichi Sekizawa, and produced byTomoyuki Tanaka. The film, which was produced and distributed byToho Co., Ltd, is the tenth film in theGodzilla series. The film stars Tomonori Yazaki,Kenji Sahara, andHideyo Amamoto, with special effects by Honda andTeruyoshi Nakano, and featuresHaruo Nakajima asGodzilla, Masao Fukazawa as Minilla, and Yasuhiko Kakuyuki as Gabara.
All Monsters Attack was released theatrically in Japan on December 20, 1969. It received a theatrical release in the United States in 1971 by Maron Films, under the titleGodzilla's Revenge, on adouble bill with the 1967 filmNight of the Big Heat. It has received generally negative reviews for its tone, characters and extensive use of stock footage from previousGodzilla films; many critics and audience retrospectively consider it to be one of the worstGodzilla films,[4][5][6] although Honda viewed it as one of his favorites.
The film was followed byGodzilla vs. Hedorah, released on July 24, 1971.
Ichiro Miki is a highly imaginative but lonelylatchkey boy growing up in urban and pollutedKawasaki. Every day he comes home to his family's empty apartment. His only friends are a toymaker named Shinpei Minami and a young girl named Sachiko. Every day after school, Ichiro is tormented by a gang of bullies led by a child named Sanko Gabara.
To escape his loneliness, Ichiro sleeps and dreams about visiting Monster Island. During his visit, he witnessesGodzilla battle three Kamacuras —a form of giant mantis— brutally outpowering the three. 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 sonMinilla. Coincidentally, Ichiro quickly learns that Minilla has bully problems too, as he is bullied by a mutant amphibian monster known as Gabara.
Ichiro is then awoken by Shinpei who informs him that his mother Tamiko 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 [necessarily the suspect's] license), Ichiro leaves the factory after hearing some sirens close by. After Ichiro leaves, two bank robbers who were hiding out in the factory learn that Ichiro has found one of their driver's licenses and follow him in order to kidnap him.
Later, after his dinner with Shinpei, Ichiro dreams again and reunites with Minilla. Together they both watch as Godzilla battles other monsters such as Ebirah, Kumonga,Giant Condor 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-on-one battle, Minilla runs away in fear. Godzilla returns to train Minilla how to fight and use its atomic breath. 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 bank robbers, 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 emerges victorious by catapulting Gabara through the air with a seesaw-like log. Godzilla, who was in the area watching comes to congratulate Minilla for his victory but is ambushed by a vengeful Gabara. Godzilla easily defeats and sends Gabara 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 bank robbers just in time for thepolice, called by Shinpei, to arrive and arrest them. The next day, Ichiro stands up to Sanko and his gang and emerges victorious, regaining his pride and confidence in the process. He also gains their friendship when he plays a prank on a billboard painter.
DespiteDestroy All Monsters initially having been planned as the finalGodzilla film, not long thereafterToho Studios entered negotiations withFilmation for an animated series based on the property that was intended for air during the 1969-70 television season.[8] Although the deal collapsed, Toho's view of Godzilla as a children's property would dictate their approach to the series from then onward.[8] Due to the economic situation in Japan at the time as well as a downward trajectory of movie going, Toho desired a newGodzilla movie which would be made cheaply, quickly, and be directed as a children's fantasy film.[8] The film began production in October 1969 and was released in December of that year.[8]
Due to production costs,All Monsters Attack includes extensive stock footage ofEbirah, Horror of the Deep,Son of Godzilla,King Kong Escapes, andDestroy All Monsters. The filmmakers also employed the same Godzilla suit used forDestroy All Monsters. Despite being credited as the film's special effects director,Eiji Tsuburaya was not actively involved with the production. DirectorIshirō Honda not only directed the drama scenes but the special effects scenes as well, with assistance fromTeruyoshi Nakano, who was a first assistant special effects director at the time. Honda would later confirm that Tsuburaya was given credit as the film's special effects director "out of respect", and the reason why Honda took over Tsuburaya's duties was due to "budget and time constraints". A small studio was used for the production, where both the special effects and drama scenes were filmed (usually the two were filmed in separate studios).[1][9][10]
Destroy All Monsters was released at a time where latchkey kids had become a rising social issue during the 1960s.[8] Due to rising costs housing costs necessitating women taking jobs outside the home and a lack of widely available after school care, many children were often left to their own devices including dealing with bullies.[8] Paralleling the situation of main character Ichiro, the anthropomorphized Minilla deals with its own bully in the form of the monster Gabara.[8] It is likely that screenwriterShinichi Sekizawa created Gabara's name (originally spelled "Gebara") either fromChe Guevara or the German wordgewalt, meaning violence, as both were prevalent motifs among student protesters of the time.[8]
All Monsters Attack was released theatrically in Japan on 20 December 1969 where it was distributed by Toho.[1] The film was the first "Toho Champion Matsuri", a festival-style program that included shorts and feature films.[1]
The film had been test-screened under the titleMinya, Son of Godzilla in the United States.[1] The version was edited further and released with an English-language dubbed version in 1971 under the titleGodzilla's Revenge.[1] This version of the film was distributed by Maron Films as a double feature withIsland of the Burning Damned.[1]
The film was released on home video in the United States in 2007 with its original Japanese version.[1]
In 2019, the Japanese version was included in a Blu-ray box set released by the Criterion Collection, which included all 15 films from the series'Shōwa era.[11]
The film was released in the United States in 1971 under the titleGodzilla's Revenge, with the film being dubbed by Riley Jackson.[12] One change from the film was the removal of the song "Monster March" byLilly Sasaki and theTokyo Children's Choir.
The film is commonly regarded by critics and fans as being one of the worstGodzilla films, with many criticizing the film’s tone, characters, and overwhelming use of stock footage.[5] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 29% of 7 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.7/10.[13]
Anthony Gramuglia and Nicholas Raymond ofScreen Rant each namedAll Monsters Attack the worstGodzilla film, with Gramuglia calling it a "downright painful film", and Raymond referring to it as "universally disliked byGodzilla fans, and for good reason".[5][6]
Matthew Jackson ofLooper.com ranked the film among the worstGodzilla films, criticizing its usage of stock footage, referring to Minilla as "annoying", and writing that "There's nothing necessarily wrong with the premise, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired".[14]
Jacob Knight of/Film ranked the film as the 27th bestGodzilla movie out of 31 films, writing that "While it's almost universally accepted thatGodzilla's Revenge is the'worst'Godzilla movie by enthusiasts, there's an audacious 'so bad it's good' element to the proceedings that makes it endlessly watchable".[4] Patrick Galvan ofSyfy Wire defended the film, calling it "a rather sweet little movie and one of Ishiro Honda's most earnest efforts in the Godzilla series. A poignant gem dealing with serious issues — many of them still relevant today — providing food for thought for adults while entertaining its target audience."[15] Honda once called the movie "one of my favorites".[16]
