Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Echo Bridge DVD - 2012
Echo Bridge BRD - 2012
Lionsgate DVD - 2014
Lionsgate BRD - 2014
Toho loaded their Japanese DVD releases of the Heisei Godzilla films with plenty of special features, many of which they had previously released on VHS or laserdisc. While Sony and Section23 ported over the trailers when they released the rest of the Heisei Series on North American BRD, Echo Bridge opted to present Godzilla vs. Biollante on BRD and DVD in 2012 with English-subtitled, Toho-produced behind-the-scenes featurettes included. Lionsgate re-released the exact contents of the Echo Bridge discs in 2014.
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Making of Godzilla vs. Biollante - 49:14
This lengthy documentary begins with writer Shinichiro Kobayashi, director Kazuki Omori and special effects director Koichi Kawakita recounting the film’s development process for about four minutes. From there, the rest of the documentary is devoted almost entirely to the special effects side of the production. It proceeds in a generally chronological order, beginning with the start of SFX shooting in August 1989 with the Mt. Mihara sets.
About seven minutes in, SFX director of photography Kenichi Eguchi discusses shooting scenes in Toho’s big pool using cranes and moving rafts. For the scene in which the JSDF first confronts Godzilla at sea, we get B-roll footage of a take in which Eguchi’s speeding raft overturned into the shot. Kaoru Saito then talks about his approach to SFX lighting.
For an August 22 press event, Omori and Kawakita pose for a photo op in front of Kenpachiro Satsuma in the Godzilla suit. We even get to see brief footage of Tomoyuki Tanaka visiting the set for the event.
About 13 minutes in, the second-unit SFX crew shoots footage of the Super-X2 in the big pool with a Godzilla tail prop. The documentary then transitions to the Lake Ashino set on Toho Stage No. 8 where they shot all of the first-form Biollante scenes in September 1989. Director of photography Yutai Kato talks about finding the right camera to shoot the first-ever 70mm optical compositing shot.
At 19 minutes, we see the crew shooting a deleted scene of Biollante attacking a boat in the lake, along with the footage itself. This is followed by another deleted scene of Godzilla approaching Biollante through the trees, including some footage from Godzilla’s POV.
About 22 minutes in, the stop-motion footage of Godzilla tussling with Biollante’s vines plays as Kawakita talks about his ideas for the scene and why he scrapped it. After that we get the deleted scene in which all of the flowers bloom around Godzilla as he leaves the lake.
All of these deleted scenes are interspersed with brief behind-the-scenes clips of the SFX crew shooting the lake battle. Kawakita talks about the animatronic Godzilla head and torso that he developed for this film. He refers to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla as an upcoming release, indicating that this documentary was produced in 1993.
At about 28 minutes, Megumi Odaka is shown posing with the Godzilla-costumed Satsuma for a press event at Toho Stage No. 2. She can barely hide how freaked out she is by the sight of Godzilla moving next to her but she has fun with it. Stage No. 2 is where they built the Osaka set and SFX production designer Tetsuzo Osawa describes how he emphasized rivers when he designed the set.
About 31 minutes in, the documentary briefly shifts to Omori's side of the production for a September 24 location shoot at Osaka Business Park with Toru Minegishi (Col. Gondo) and the other actors playing the bazooka troop. This is interspersed with the SFX crew shooting Godzilla in their Osaka Business Park set, and clips from the movie show how the footage was blended to make the scene. Kato then talks about the process of compositing and we get to see a visual breakdown of many of the film's matte shots.
At 37 minutes, the SFX second-unit crew is at Toho Stage No. 10 shooting the Super-X2 dock set. We get another deleted scene of the Super-X2 being repaired after its first battle with Godzilla. We're also treated to footage of Godzilla roaming the Japanese countryside unaffected by the bacteria, some of which was featured on a monitor behind Major Kuroki in the film.
The Wakasa set with the M-6000 TC System was built on Toho Stage No. 8. Kawakita talks about the JSDF machinery and adding maser tanks to the film.
About 41 minutes in, the focus shifts to the final-form Biollante as the SFX crew shoots into late October. Kawakita and Kobayashi talk about the design process. We get to see more than a dozen people working together to move the elaborate prop with so many wires.
There's more deleted footage of Godzilla shot from Biollante's POV with a fish-eye lens. We see the crew shoot Godzilla stumbling into the big pool in late November, followed by deleted footage of him waking up in the water before he stands back up.
At 47 minutes, Omori talks about how Kawakita had assured him that the ending of the fight would be animated and he didn't deliver it until the last day of editing. We get to see that unused animated ending in its entirety and Kawakita explains why it was abandoned. Finally, they offer their closing thoughts and we're treated to one last montage of behind-the-scenes footage and the crew's wrap photo.
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Behind the Design - 2:58
In addition to the making-of documentary, these discs also include a short featurette about developing the designs for Biollante's first form and the Super-X2. The highlight is seeing fully painted maquettes of two unused Biollante designs.
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Running just under an hour in total, the special features on the Echo Bridge/Lionsgate Godzilla vs. Biollante discs are a real treat for fans of the film. There's so much authentic behind-the-scenes footage to enjoy, much of it shot on-set with personal video cameras. The main documentary is very well-edited and packed with information, all set to music from Koichi Sugiyama's score and Akira Ifukube's Ostinato album.
