Mothra Vs. Godzilla - Production

Production

  • There were several differences in the original screenplay from Shinichi Sekizawa, which he submitted in 1963 on December 31st, compared to the finished product. The most noticeable is that Godzilla's body was substituted for Mothra's Egg in the final draft. Furthermore, Godzilla was also going to take a bigger role in the film, with Mothra only arriving just in time for the climax. Rolisica, a fictional land that was featured in Mothra (1961), was present in this early screenplay as well. The Rolisican government was also going to be the ones to deploy the Frontier Missiles against Godzilla, as opposed to the US forces as it occurred in the International version of Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964). Lastly, this early draft didn't feature Mothra's Larva at all, and the final confrontation was going to be with the Imago version of Mothra and Godzilla.
  • The upper lip on the Godzilla suit in this film has a slight wobble. This was originally an accident; in the filming of a scene where Godzilla smashes into the Nagoya Castle, the actor in the suit, Haruo Nakajima, fell and the suit's head slammed into the castle, loosening the teeth. Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya liked this so much that he wanted to keep the suit like that for a while.
  • During Godzilla's initial assault on Iwa Island, composer Akira Ifukube originally did not want to use music for the sequence. However, Ishiro Honda disagreed and added music during post-production without the composer's knowledge. When Ifukube first saw the sequence in the finished film at its premiere, he turned to Honda and gave him a dirty look. It is the only recorded disagreement they have ever had in their professional careers.
  • The claws on Godzilla's hands and feet were made out of FRP for the first time in this film.
  • Another highlight of the film is the "Frontier Missile" sequence, where Godzilla was being attacked on a beach by American battle cruisers. This scene was actually filmed exclusively for American International Pictures and included only in the American version. Part of the scene was featured briefly in the original Japanese trailer.

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