TALKBACK #5: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster

[kiryugoji04]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[Legion]

[Mac]

I've been thinking about this fantastical film lately, and I'm growing more fond of it as a result, to the point where it might be one of my favorites. The reason for this is that Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan feel like real characters, not just catalysts to move some tepid human plot. While there are many who feel Godzilla's decision to aid humanity was a poor direction to take the series, I enjoy Godzilla's change of heart, as it reveals the growth of Godzilla's overall character, and gives the monster the semblance of a character arc. Criticisms are also occasionally thrown at the puppets used in this film, but I think they help give the monsters more clearly defined characteristics and features, no matter how silly they appear.

The story of the monsters overcoming their differences to fight a greater foe is fun and endearing, even more so because we know the history that such characters as Mothra and Godzilla have with each other. I mean, watching Godzilla help Mothra up the large mountain is just kind of precious. King Ghidorah is wonderfully built up as a grand, foreboding threat, and while I realize that some of the effects in this film are lacking, there is a reason why those Tokyo destruction scenes were consistently used as stock footage for later films, just incredible. The movie also benefits from the fact that the Kaiju plot-line runs parallel with one great supernatural, espionage tale filled with Toho's best character actors!

[Guardian7]

[Legion]

[heroforhirerob]

[MouthForWar]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[canofhumdingers]

[MouthForWar]

[lhb412]

GTTHM plays it faster and looser than the films that bookend it - I chalk it up to the last of three films that the team made that year!

Still like the movie, though. Invasion of Astro Monster is a better movie on a technical level, but I can see folks enjoying GTTHM more.

[canofhumdingers]

[MekaGojira3k]

[ebirahsmeg1]

I've posted numerous times about this film, but I never get tired of singing its praises...this film is imo, the best damn Godzilla film ever. It was the high point of Toho's "Golden era" when it comes to the G series.
It also formed what I like to call the "Godzilla Rodan Mothra KG Trilogy", with GvsTheThing, GTTHM, and GvsMonster Zero all being nicely tied together without beating the audience over the head (The heisei films could have taken a lesson from these films when it comes to "continuity"). In this film, you get:

- One of the best suits of the series, the Mosu-Goji suit, returning for duty.
- One of Ifukube's best soundtracks of the series.
- Rodan and Mothra
- Introduction of KG, who would become Godzilla's arch enemy and most powerful foe of the series. His fireball entrance is epic.
-Godzilla's entrance adds an interesting twist with fleeing whales (or dolphins?) preceeding his first appearance.
- A mesmerizing "Mothra" song by the Peanuts.
- Great cast with several Toho/SFX-regulars.
- Akiko Wakabayashi. :drool: I know Kumi Mizumi gets all the glory (as she should), but Akiko Wakabayashi was smoking hot during this era.
- King Ghidorah's attack on Yokohama, and his attack on the small Village near Mt. Fuji, really highlights the true skill and craftsman ship of Tsuburaya's crew.
-The final battle is one of the best in the series, and the way they defeat KG is very clever and original.
-Monster Conversation (Oh Godzilla, what terrible language! This alone puts it near the top :rockon: )

Sure, the effects as a whole weren't quite as polished or smooth as GvstheThing, or even GvsMonster Zero, and the Godzilla/Rodan puppets were a little silly, but the spirit, fun, and epic scope more than trumps this. Also, some people forget that GTTHM was far more ambitious than GvstheThing SFX-wise, with more monsters (including numerous battle sequences between Godzilla and Rodan), and, up to that point, one of the most spectacular, but most complex creations to operate, King Ghidorah.

I've never understood why some people bash the plot and editing...the plot was rather entertaining, energetic, moved at a great pace, and actually made the human characters interesting and compelling for a change....the human story elements have a spy/espionage flavor to it. It also did an excellent job of showing how normal people's lives are impacted by the monsters' destruction, such as the villagers' dispair when their homes are destroyed by an avalanche of rocks during the final battle.

They (Toho) definitely don't make 'em like they use to...

[Sanchan]

My signature movie. To that point had no idea what "Ghidrah" was. Godzilla was for me at the time just an Aurora model figure. Had no idea the figure was a movie monster. So, went on a boring Summer afternoon to a summer matinee. When Godzilla rose out of the sea, I F R E A K E D. I flat loved the battle between Godzilla and Rodan, especially when Godzilla finally got the drop on the bird and pulled him out of the sky! So, I'm with my neighbor on this one.

Oh, yeah, first best and greatest Godzilla movie for this former Aurora Godzilla figure owner. (You know those original models were molded in purple! So, of course, I fixed it... And painted him green. I was, like, 8 years old!)

[canofhumdingers]

I just finished watching this & there definately is a continuity error with the night-day-night thing...

It happens during the hotel sequence. The reporter girl (sister to the cop) brings the Venusian to a hotel at night. They discover the Shobijin who say they understood about not getting on the boat. Cut to the boat sailing at night, Godzilla comes out of the water & blasts it to kingdom come.

Then it cuts to the meteorite in the mountains in the day & has a little scene with the scientists. (in the movie, it feels as if this is supposed to be the following morning).

Then it cuts back to the hotel, at night, where the venusian has just put on some new, less "homeless" clothes. This could easily be the second night at the hotel, but the reporter girl is wearing the same clothes she had in the previous scene. Also, at the end of this scene (after the assassins escape) Godzilla wades in from the harbor. There's nothing specifying that this is the same night that he blasted the ship, but it just feels like it is.

Basically, it feels (and the reporter's lack of a costume change certainly implies) that all the goings on at the hotel happen in one night, but there is a day scene in the mountains cut right into the middle of that sequence.

There's also the fact that Ghidorah's "birth" is at night, but the scenes both immediately before and after that are day scenes. But that's less suspicious as, while it happens quickly, there's really nothing i noticed to imply that that WASN'T in correct chronological order, unlike the hotel sequence.

[jellydonut25]

this movie's a bit of a mess...it doesnt make sense for the shobijin to come to japan to sing a song when they last time they were in japan, they were almost kidnapped, did not get their egg back, and the adult version of their deity was killed...it's also just pretty full of some "lazy" filmmaking. I put the word lazy in quotes because we all know that it wasn't necessarily lazy, just that the production schedule was WAY too short to crank out a better product...

[Giganfan]

I liken this movie to the kinds of Las Vegas shows that the Rat Pack probably did in their hey-day; a bunch of big-name performers getting up there and doing their individual routines. Sinatra does his thing, Dean Martin does his thing, etc. The same thing applies to Ghidrah. Godzilla does his bit, Rodan does his, the Peanuts do theirs, Honda brings it all together, so on and so forth. The monsters are half-way destructive beasts, half-way big-time movie personalities. The movie is one big show that its makers are putting on. It has everything that has become synonomous with the perfect Toho sci-fi film. In many respects, Ghidrah The Three-Headed Monster is the quintessential Godzilla movie of the entire series. That's why it's my favorite. Sure, it has quite a few scripting flaws, but to my taste, the film is "good enough."

[leunames]

i love this film. It's my favorite Showa film and it intros my favorite toho character. Yes, the effects could have been better, but despite all the drawbacks this film has three monster introduction scenes, and they were all done well. I especially loved Godzilla's emergence from the sea only to look up and we here that trademark and awesome sound of rodan flying at supersonic speeds, and Godzilla knows that that stuff is about to go down. Awesome. And given the huge complications with KG's suit...the sfx was as good as it could be I feel.

I really like the human plot as well. It's not too dramatic..it has a little intrigue, the characters i felt were generally personable.

the movie is just plain fun. it was released in winter but it has a summer movie vibe to it. I really hope we get a domestic release on blu ray with the advent of the LP movie.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Have way too much free time on my hands this weekend (I can't get back to Japan soon enough), so I scanned some interesting, behind the scene photos of the best damn Godzilla film ever made. Enjoy.

[Legion]

Kick-ass stuff, my friend!

[leunames]