While I am not big on seeing films in their original language and especially giant monsters movies I prefer dubbed, a recent viewing of RODAN made me wish I could see it subtitled.

At the climax, is the narration totally the opposite of what is actually happening onscreen? When the narrator says Rodan is "welcoming death", it looks to me like Rodan is trying to save his mate,realises it is in vain and attempts to escape.

I was wondering if someone could tell me what the actual Japanese dialogue is at the end of the film. Or is there any original language dialogue at all??

No dialogue, just the angst-ridden facial expressions.

ALL the narration in the film was added for the English dub.

Thanks.

Chiming in, I have to say, I love that narration (particularly the closing bit about "I wish I could die so well" or whatever) and prefer the US dub over the Japanese original, one of the very few cases in which I feel this way. The Japanese version (which, image-wise, is pretty close to the US cut; I don't think a lot was trimmed Stateside, and I say "I stand corrected" in advance should I be mistaken) feels sluggish without it. [And I do think the other Rodan does decide to sacrifice itself, though perhaps this is the narration talking. I like the explication, however.]

The Japanese version runs 82 minutes, about ten minutes longer than the US version, I think, which surely contributes to that "sluggish" feeling. I don't think any major scenes were cut, just many trims here and there. The only significant SPFX cuts I can recall are several shots of the Meganuron (SP? You know, the giant centepedes.) Also possibly shots of Rodan diving into or emerging from a body of water.) Some of Ifukube's score is replaced with stock music. I think the narration in the US version is kinda classy, but I hate when these films are tampered with.

P.S. Forgot the reason I started this response: the color is SO much better on the Japanese LD (and presumably DVD.) Hopefully a legit subtitled release will happen, because the Toho master is stunning, especially compared to the US home video version.

Actually, from start to finish, there are lots of differences between RADON (Japanese)and RODAN (American). Perhaps the first thing you notice is the music. Many scenes in RADON have no music and what is there is rarely uptempo. Maybe that's why the movie feels "sluggish" compared to it's stock-music loaded counterpart. It's also interesting to spot shots and scenes used in different parts of RADON than in RODAN and for different reasons.

SPOILERS

In RODAN, there's a helicopter search of the volcano after Shigeru regains his memory and the journey to the cave where they find the egg shell. In RADON, this helicopter scene is used just before the missile/tank attack at the climax. Also, the jet attack that flushes the Rodans out after the helicopter search in RODAN is not in RADON. And in RADON, we don't see the second Radon until near the end of the attack in Sesebo(sp?), unlike the American version where it emerges from it's lair after the first one flies off. Though the storyline is the same, still, there's so much that's different about RADON that it really is worth a look if you get the chance, even if just to do a comparison.

The US version of RODAN was created from a complete work print secured from Toho, and therefore contains parts of scenes and special effects shots *not* in the Japanese film. Some scenes in the Japanese version that were simple cuts, were made into dissolves in the US version, and so on.

Most notable is the scene with the honeymooners, in which the US version features the couple feeling, they fall down, there is a short cut of the underbelly of the beast wizzing by the camera, and concludes the close-up of the bride's wind-swept high-heel.

The Japanese version shows them scampering across the landscape, while huge shadows pass over them, until they fall down, and we cut to a close-up of the bride's wind-swept high-heel.

The differences are many, as well as others have pointed out, editorially.

SPOILERS BELOW!





I like both cuts of RODAN/RADON for different reasons; the American edit is tighter, has more beefed-up sound effects, and makes the entrance of the second Rodan much more believable than just having it show up completely unexplained near the end. It's also nice to hear a very young George Takei doing at least two of the dub voices. BUT, the narration is often trite, obvious and annoying (especially during the eggshell expedition and the otherwise poignant ending), and a few shots are repeated during the underground attack on the Meganuron, for padding purposes, which is also obvious and annoying. It's great to have the extra creature footage in the Japanese edit, and the mountainside attack on the couple makes much more sense in this version as well.

We had George Takei for the screening of RODAN at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater back in June... He said that he lost count at ten voices... off the top of my head, I know that he did Professor Kashiwagi and the Young Honeymooner...