Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
(ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ 南海の大決闘 Gojira Ebira Mosura: Nankai no Daikettō?, lit. Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas)
is a 1966 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho Company Ltd. and the seventh installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series.
The film was released to Japanese theaters on December 17, 1966.
The atrocious new monster Ebirah! Three giant monsters of the land, sea, and sky take part in the confrontation of the century!
(凶悪新怪獣エビラ!陸・海・空に展開する三大怪獣世紀の対決 )
~ Japanese Tagline
The crushing battle of Godzilla, Mothra, Ebirah! Which will win?
~ International Tagline
This is one lobster you don't want to order!
~ American Tagline
Originally planned as a King Kong film called Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah,
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep places Godzilla into Kong's role and pits him against the giant crustacean kaiju Ebirah.
When young Ryota and his companions become shipwrecked on Letchi Island while searching for his brother Yata, they discover that the island is the base of operations for a sinister terrorist organization called the Red Bamboo, who are enslaving the natives of Infant Island.
They also discover Godzilla asleep in a sea cave on the island and decide to awaken him in order to thwart the terrorists before they can complete their nuclear arsenal.
However, Godzilla must also contend with the mutated monsters guarding the island: Ebirah and the Giant Condor.
In the meantime, the natives of Infant Island race to awaken Mothra so that she can save her people from Letchi Island before it is too late.
Monsters
Godzilla (DaisensoGoji)
Ebirah
Mothra
Giant Condor (Ôkondoru aka "Dai-Kondoru")
Weapons, Vehicles, and Races
Shobijin
Red Bamboo Fighter Jet (Shenyang J-6)
Red Bamboo Ship
Alternate Titles
Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Great Duel in the South Seas (literal Japanese title)
Monster No. 1 Godzilla (怪獣No.1ゴジラ Kaijū Nanbā Wan Gojira, Japanese 8mm title)
Godzilla versus the Sea Monster (United States)
Ebirah - Terror of the Deep (United Kingdom)
The Monsters from the Sea (Los monstruos del mar; Spain)
When the Monsters Awake... (Cuando los monstruos despiertan...; Spanish 8mm title)
Godzilla Against the Terror of the Seas (Godzilla contra el terror de los mares; Mexico)
Ebirah, Terror of the Seas, vs. Godzilla (Ebirah, terror de los mares, vs. Godzilla; Mexico)
Ebirah, Horror in the Depths! (Ebirah, horror en las profundidades!; Colombia)
The Island of the Red Bamboos (La Isla de los Bambúes Rojos; Argentina)
Ebirah Against Godzilla (Ebirah contre Godzilla; France)
Frankenstein and the Monsters from the Ocean (Frankenstein und die Ungeheuer aus dem Meer; West Germany)
The Return of Godzilla (Il ritorno di Godzilla; Italy)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Godzilla, uhyernes konge; Sweden)
Ebirah: Monster of the Depths (EBIRAH - POTWOR Z GŁĘBIN; Poland)
Mothra the Flying Dracula Monster (Motta het vligiende Dracula monster; the Netherlands)
Ebirah: Monster Island (Ebirah, canavarlar adasi; Turkey)
Godzilla vs Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (Australia)
Ebirah, Horror of the Oceans (Ebirah, Horror dos Oceanos; Portugal)
Ebirah, The Terror of the Abyss (Ebirah, O Terror dos Abismos; Brazil)
Return of Godzilla (Lebanon)
Return of Gorgo (Lebanon)
Ebirah: Horror from the Bottom (EBIRAH: Η ΦPIKH ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΒΥΘΟ; Greece)
Godzilla versus the Sea Monsters (Greek video title in English)
Ebirah and the Dragon (India)
U.S. release
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep was released directly to television in the U.S. by the Walter Reade Organization in 1968 under the title Godzilla versus the Sea Monster.
It was the first Godzilla film to bypass theatrical distribution in the U.S. and with Monster Zero not released in the U.S. until 1970, the first film released out of sequence.
To date, it is the only Godzilla film in which the word "versus" is not abbreviated in its U.S. title.
A few alterations were made for the Americanization:
Deleted: The opening credits sequence. This version features only a title card reading "Godzilla versus the Sea Monster" set against a black background.
Altered: Some footage showing Ebirah's attack on the Yahlen, standing in for Yata's fishing boat, was moved to the beginning of the film. The U.S. version then picks up where the Japanese version begins, with brief narration placing the events of the film two months after the previous sequence.
Despite the existence of Toho's English dubbed international version, a new English soundtrack was produced in New York under the direction of an uncredited Peter Fernandez.
Captain Ryui is renamed Commander Yamoto (he is referred to only as "Guard Commander" in the Frontier Enterprises dub from which the new script is based). Both Ebirah and the Red Bamboo are never referred to by name.
Deleted: Ryota goes to the Maritime Safety office for help, but is turned away.
Deleted: Ryota next visits a newspaper's office about his brother's story. He notices the dance marathon poster in a waiting room.
Deleted: When asked where he intends to take the Yahlen, Ryota produces a newspaper clipping (in Japanese) explaining the loss of Yata's fishing boat.
Deleted: Additional dialogue from Yoshimura about collaborating with Ryota to somehow turn the Yahlen around.
Deleted: A stock Masaru Sato surf rock piece from the film High and Low that played in the Japanese and international versions during Godzilla's battle with the Red Bamboo Air Force.
Deleted: Several short scenes of the Infant Islanders' prayer during the final reel.
Altered: Toho's versions of the film place the end title over the final shot of Mothra flying to Infant Island. The U.S. version cuts the final shot short and places its end title (in the same typeface as the main title) against a black background as before.
By the 1970s, the three Godzilla films originally released in the U.S. by the Walter Reade Organization were being distributed by Alan Enterprises.
Around this time, the original end title was replaced with a new Toho-copyrighted variation.
Alan Enterprises was sold to CST Entertainment, Inc. in 1986 and the film was released on video in the U.S. several times over the next 15 years by distributors such as Video Treasures and GoodTimes Home Entertainment and in Canada by HGV Video Productions.
This version of the film also remained in circulation on television into the early 2000s.
Unlicensed home video versions during the 1980s were released on the assumption that the film had entered the public domain.
These releases were derived from the pre-Alan Enterprises version with the original end title.
One unique "assumed public domain" version was first shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000 on February 2, 1991.
This version of the film, titled Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and copyrighted to Film Ventures International, featured an entirely new credit sequence over footage from Son of Godzilla with new opening and ending music composed by Karl Demer.
In 2005, TriStar Pictures released Ebirah, Horror of the Deep on DVD in North America for the first time.
This DVD release included the original Japanese audio track for the film as well as the Toho-commissioned Frontier Enterprises international English dub.
TriStar opted to release the film as Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster rather than the official international English title as it had done in most of its previous releases.
TriStar also created new credits in the style of the original international version, albeit with the new title.
This version was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kraken Releasing in 2014, although the packaging refers to the film with both its international and U.S. titles.
The tinkering in the American version of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster does not upset the flow of the film or effect the story.
The doctored opening, intended to represent the storm in which Yata's boat was lost, was probably intended to give the film a more exciting beginning.
The deletion of Ruta's Japanese newspaper clipping was perhaps done because Walter Reade-Sterling chose either not to dub an explanation or to shoot special footage with an English-text version of the article.
The removal of the scene about Yashi's planning to cooperate with Ruta (in order to take command of the Yalen) is puzzling. Though a minor deletion, this scene demonstrates that Yashi's ever-crafty mind was at work on how to escape his predicament.
That Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was left nearly intact could be because the film was released directly to television and that Walter Reade-Sterling felt it was not cost-effective to edit the film extensively.
The dubbing is quite good.
Hal Linden, later to become famous as TV's Barney Miller in the 1970's, dubbed Akira Takarada's role, adding much to the character of the safe-cracker who's really not such a bad guy once we get to know him.
Peter Fernandez, famous for dubbing Speed Racer in the animated series of the same name, voiced Ruta.
However, the American script suffers from failing to mention the name of Ebirah, of Letchi Island and of the Red Bamboo, the paramilitary organization operating on the island. One definite improvement in the American version occurs during the jet attack on Godzilla. In the Japanese version, this scene occurs to 1960's-style "surf-n-turf" music. In the American version, this inappropriate music was removed, leaving the scene unscored.
Mention must be made of the international versions of Godzilla films.
For export, Toho would strike English-dubbed prints of their genre films. Though these versions were often given titles different from the Japanese titles, these prints were visually the same as the Japanese-language versions, and would include English-language credits and dialogue that was usually true to the Japanese script. The dubbing was done in Hong Kong, though the quality left much to be desired. The dubbing actors usually spoke with Australian accents and delivered their lines in a flat, matter-of-fact manner. This often prompted the American distributors of these films to have them re-dubbed (at least, up to and including Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster in 1973). Usually, the dialogue in both the international and U.S. versions is the same in content, though sometimes the wording can differ wildly.
U.K. release
Nat Miller brought Ebirah, Horror of the Deep to U.K. theaters in August 1969, as part of a double feature with Son of Godzilla.
It received an U (Universal) rating from the British Board of Film Censors, perhaps in part because Miller replaced the word Horror in the title, a loaded word following decades of British censorship of the genre, with Terror.
PolyGram Video released it on VHS in 1992 with Invasion of Astro-Monster and Destroy All Monsters, followed by 4 Front Video in 1998.
Sony released the Japanese version of the film on Blu-ray in 2019 as part of The Criterion Collection's box set Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep has received mixed reviews from the Godzilla fanbase, with some fans praising its unique story, interesting characters, and focus on human action over monster battles, while others have criticized its lack of monster screen time, the appearance of the Godzilla suit, and the fact that Godzilla seemed out of place in the film (possibly due to his role originally being written for King Kong).
Trivia
*This is the first of two Godzilla films in which a Pacific island is the primary setting rather than a location inside Japan (the second one, following it in 1967, was Son of Godzilla). *Italian posters for the film feature what looks to be King Kong instead of Godzilla.
*Originally, this film was titled Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah, and starred King Kong instead of Godzilla. This explains why in the film Godzilla draws strength from electricity and exhibits a sort of attraction to the female protagonist, Dayo, traits previously associated with King Kong. It also explains why neither of Godzilla's opponents in the film possess special abilities and why Godzilla attacked Mothra (despite having been allies with her previously as a larva in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster), as Kong had never met Mothra before. Rankin/Bass Productions, who had provided Toho with the license to Kong in order to co-produce a tie-in film for their animated TV series The King Kong Show, reportedly felt the film did not follow the series closely enough, so Toho replaced Kong in the film with Godzilla and produced King Kong Escapes instead the very next year, 1967.
This film was originally written to star King Kong, as Rankin/Bass Productions had provided Toho with the license to Kong in order to produce a tie-in film for their cartoon TV series King Kong (1966). However, Rankin/Bass rejected the screenplay and Toho decided to simply replace Kong with Godzilla. That explains the behavior of Godzilla, such as: sleeping in a cave and being protective of the native girl Dayo. Toho would go on to co-produce with Rankin/Bass the film, King Kong Escapes (1967), which was more inline with what Rankin/Bass wanted.
*Director Jun Fukuda harbored a disdain for this and the other Godzilla films he directed, noting that he'd give them all "a minus score." Fukuda was not fond of the choices forced by Toho and described his experience working on the film as "pouring two cups of water into one." When Toho sent him a copy of the film on VHS, he felt it was like "opening up an old wound." Special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano noted that while Fukuda did not enjoy making these films, he was nonetheless a skilled craftsman, a sentiment shared by film historian Stuart Galbraith IV. Galbraith mentioned that when he first interviewed Fukuda, they almost got into an argument with Fukuda telling Galbraith how terrible he thought his films were while Galbraith tried to convince him otherwise. In later years, Fukuda seemed to slightly soften his harsh opinions as he received numerous fan letters and was surprised by Godzilla's enduring popularity.
*This was the first film in the series to feature an underwater sequence since the original Godzilla (1954).
*During it's original theatrical run in Japan, the film included a theater program with a comical diagram that actually showed the process behind the effects works. It shows how hordes of staff members were divided in groups. A group to film the monster scenes, others tasked with creating the blueprints for miniatures while the rest of the staff constructed miniatures and adding individual details. Other crew members were tasked with building the miniature vehicles and creating compositing shots. It was a rare look into how the films were actually made.
*Has the most Godzilla screen time of the 60s Godzilla films.
*Dancers from Nippon Studio No.1 portrayed the majority of the Infant Island natives and were coated in dark makeup and heavy tans.
*Last Godzilla film to feature a tribe of native humans. *The Godzilla suit used for this film is the same "DaisensoGoji" suit used the previous year for Invasion of Astro-Monster. This is the last movie where this suit is used throughout, though it would still see use in subsequent films for water scenes. During filming, the suit's head was loaned to Tsuburaya Productions and grafted onto the body of the MosuGoji suit used for Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster creating the frilled dinosaur Jirass in Episode #10 ("The Mysterious Dinosaur Base") of "Urutoraman: Kûsô tokusatsu shirîzu" (1966). A new head had to be made for the headless DaisensoGoji suit in short order, with a creepy bug-eyed stare and strange elevated eyebrows. The new look starts at the beginning of Godzilla's siege on the Red Bamboo base. Japanese fans name this revised suit the "Nankai-Goji."
Song: "Bismarck" by Sabaton (partial song)
*Ebirah, Horror of the Deep was re-released at the Summer Toho Film Festival on July 22, 1972 alongside a theatrical release of Episode 18 of Mirrorman titled "Mirrorman: Dinosaur Aroza Rises from the Dead", and episodes of Mock of the Oak Tree, Tensai Bakabon, and Akado Suzunosuke.
*Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, under the title Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, was featured on Season 2 of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. Like a number of films shown during the series' early seasons, it featured a new opening and end credits created by Film Ventures International using footage from a different movie, in this case Son of Godzilla.
*Ebirah's name came from the Japanese word ebi, which means "shrimp," so technically, Ebirah is a shrimp.
*During Mothra's brief fight with Godzilla, if one looks carefully, a cigarette can be seen entangled in Mothra's fur.
*This was the final appearance of the "adult" Mothra in a Showa era film. Her next appearance in her adult form would be in the Heisei era film Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992).
*Contrary to popular belief, the adult Mothra that appeared in this film is not the adult Mothra from Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964). It was the one metamorphosed from one of the larvae Mothras that appeared in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). This was the final appearance for Mothra's twin priestesses in a "Showa" era film. They later would return in the Heisei era film Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992).
*This was also the first and only time the twin fairies (known as the Shobijin, or Little Beauties) were played by Pair Bambi. The fairies had previously been played by Emi Itô and Yumi Itô, known as The Peanuts. *The giant condor was created with a re-purposed Rodan prop.
*In Japanese, the Giant Condor's name is "Dai-Kondoru" (or alternatively, "Ôkondoru"/"Ookondoru").