Rodan
Rodan is a 1956 film from Japan, directed by Ishirō Honda, running 82 minutes. reelscum files it under kaiju & tokusatsu.
- Year
- 1956 · 1950s films
- Country
- Japan
- Runtime
- 82 min
- Director
- Ishirō Honda
- Updated
- 29 Oct 2026
- Obscurity
- known (28/100)
- Also known as
- Rodan! The Flying Monster · Rodan
Defined in the glossary: Kaiju & tokusatsu
Toho's first colour kaiju. A supersonic pterosaur levels a city with its wingblasts.
Toho's first monster film in colour, directed by Ishiro Honda, in which mining excavations awaken Rodan, a colossal prehistoric pterosaur whose supersonic flight generates shockwaves that flatten cities. The wind-blast destruction of Fukuoka is a highlight of Eiji Tsuburaya's effects work.
Like the early Godzilla films it carries a real melancholy, and its ending is unexpectedly moving for a monster picture. Rodan joined Toho's roster and recurred for decades. An essential entry in the studio's classic period, and a showcase for its effects at their peak.
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