"Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster" Discussion

[The Reverend Tegoth]

Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster (dubbed, Starmaker VHS)


Now this movie was a surprise. I hadn't seen it in probably at least a decade when I popped it in for a watch last night. My main memory of the film was the idea that this was the "turning point" for Godzilla in the series. The film that turned Godzilla from villain to hero as it were.

Other then that I could only remember the barest of details, and having recently been let down by my memories of Godzilla vs. Gigan, I was preparing myself for the worst.

Fortunately I couldn't have been more wrong. The film was amazing. Not flawless to be sure, but still an excellent piece of cinema, with interesting human drama, great monsters, exciting kaiju battles that include many a "Holy crap! Did you see that?!" moment, a soaring musical score, and some downright jaw dropping effects sequences.

But before we get into all that, a word about this version of the movie. This is the BEST DUBBING I HAVE EVER SEEN. Oh sure, some of the dialogue could have been better, but when it comes to overall acting and making it really seem like the words are actually coming out of the actor's lips, I have never seen this surpassed. I'm not someone to get excited over something as technical as the dubbing process, but man, after watching this it's going to be really hard to go back to those atrocious Heisei film dubs.

"Take that you dinosaur!" indeed.

Anyway, overall the film quality throughout is just kind of "meh." Nowhere near the levels of pure suckage that the same company's Godzilla vs. Gigan videotape managed to sink to, but not really ever approaching what I would consider "good" either.

And the first couple of times we see Rodan in this version, he emits Godzilla's roar! Weird...

Moving along to the film itself…

Just call me Doctor Goofy, but, as silly as it is, I'm rather fond of the whole brother and sister and "random scientist B" protecting the Princess that thinks she's a Martian plot (despite the fact that the Princess' voice actress is one of the very few in the entire film that disappoints). There are a few too many coincidences (and one really, really horrible 50's Sci-Fi explanation for how the Princess manages to survive a plane crash), and the fashion of the Princess' homeland leaves a lot to be desired, but overall I think that the Princess' prophecies helped to make the menace of King Ghidorah much more palpable, and tied in the human drama to the monster drama in a way that just worked for me.

It also helps that the heroes are a group of likable characters, gifted with much better dialogue then many of the leads in other Toho films. The way everyone is brought together one by one from completely unrelated plotlines is interesting, if a tad convenient.

The villains of the piece are also well-acted, and much more interesting and sinister then the mustache twirling alien dictators of the later Showa films.

A few instances of silly monster humor slip in, but only the part where the monsters have a little chat while the twin priestesses translate manages to actually detract from the movie.

Special Effects-wise the film is spectacular. With effects that were not only amazing for it's time, but some of which still manage to hold up to this day, as astonishing as that may seem. Deserving of special mention is the model work, much of which is quite the sight to behold.

As far as the monsters go.... The Godzilla suit is one of my favorites from the Showa era. The eyes are a little too big and the overall shape a little too human, but really, those are my only complaints. It's a nice halfway point between Godzilla's Godzilla vs. Mothra appearance and the later, more muppety looks of the Showa era (and I think it bears more then a slight resemblance to the Millenuim suits seen in Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla X Megaguirus).

The Rodan suit looks wonderful while flying, but not so hot on land (how's that for a total turnaround after watching Godzilla vs. Gigan). It's bloated neck and tiny little beak are the main things holding it back.

Ghidorah looks awesome, however. An amazing design, a great suit, and a stellar performance by the actor inside and the crew controlling the heads all lead up to a very, very visually impressive debut for the legendary space critter.

Mothra... Well, it's Larva Mothra. In other words, it's nothing to write home about. I will say, however, that I've always admired the fact that Larva Mothra was a monster that managed to be "cute" without being doofy (see Little Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla... or even Minya in Son of Godzilla for examples of attempts that weren't as successful).

But now, let's talk about the real star of this film: Rodan.

Yeah, that's right, Rodan. I have never seen this monster portrayed so freakin' cool before. After a neat little introduction scene we witness such impressive feats as Rodan going toe to toe in a melee battle with the Big G., Rodan picking Godzilla up off the ground and flying up into the sky with him, and Rodan seemingly fleeing the (much larger) King Ghidorah... only to do a quick U-turn and ram right into him at full speed!

I can tell you that that last one actually elicited a cheer from me. What a great shot, you could almost feel that impact through the screen.

Anyway, my point is, Rodan owns this movie. He comes across as smarter, faster, and stronger then all the other kaiju on the screen, and this is coming from someone who , prior to this movie, was pretty much indifferent (well, as indifferent as I can be about ANY Toho kaiju) to the monster.

I have to say that while I thought King Ghidorah was very visually impressive, I was rather disappointed by his limited screen time, but I think that's mostly because the monster was built up so much by the Princess beforehand.

Regardless the monster manages to demonstrate his cruelty by repeatedly unleashing upon the helpless Larva Mothra, seemingly just for kicks. The film also showcases his famous endurance, by having Ghidorah take on three kaiju at once and still manage to give almost as good as he gets.

Godzilla... Godzilla seems a little weak in this movie. Not only is he apparently unable to generate his radioactive breath weapon (except at the very beginning, after which he has to settle for bursts of air and hurled rocks instead), but he is also fairly ineffective in the fight with King Ghidorah. Kind of disappointing that in a movie with so many great Kaiju shots, that so few of them involve Godzilla.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of the ones that did, however, and that is the simply astonishing piece of dark and moody filmmaking that makes up Godzilla's intoroduction in this film. The shot of the whales fleeing in terror from the surfacing Godzilla was chilling. I can't even remember the last time I saw a shot of Godzilla that made me feel that way.

So overall Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster is an excellent movie with very few flaws, and fortunately the ones that are there (some bad dialogue, an uneven Godzilla portrayal, the occassional bit of silly monster humor) can't hope to compete with the "just sit back and have a good time" nature of the film. Simply put, it's a monster movie classic.

Final Score:

**** out of *****

[Legion]

[musukogoji]

[william newell]

[GFan]

[musukogoji]

[SparkieGojira]

[DaveZ]

[Legion]

[The Reverend Tegoth]

[MechaMinya]

[Severn]

I just saw that one the other day (still have that old Anchor Bay Boxset) and it's as fun as I rememberd it. What a great way to introduce Ghidorah to the series. It's part of the Toho golden age and it shows. Great flick that I wish could be available on a fan friendly DVD.

[musukogoji]

[The Reverend Tegoth]

[musukogoji]

[Trenton Fella]

[SparkieGojira]

[megalon]

Great film,G 54 and G V M might be better films but sometimes I think I prefer this for sheer entertainment.The first third is a little slow and clumsy,with not much suspense,the obligatory build-up takes longer then normal.However,the film becomes terrific.The build ups to the entrances of Godzilla and Rodan are superbly done and Ghidorah's birth and subsequent attack on Tokyo still look impressive.The bit when Mothra tries to convince Godzilla and Rodan to fight Ghidorah is one of those classic Showa Godzilla scenes which is silly and rather genius at the same time.The final battle,as the Earth monsters finally fight as a team against Ghidorah,is my favourite monster battle of the lot,truly thrilling and quite rousing.

The US version is generally inferior to the Jap version,with some cuts and scenes on the wrong order.However,The subtitles on the Jap version don't have that classic line "Godzilla,what terrible language"!which is on the US dub!

[Poe Ghostal]

Though, as a kid, my heart always leapt at seeing the title for "Destroy All Monsters" on WLVI-56's "Creature Double Feature" in Boston -- visions of a kaiju slugfest dancing in my pre-adolescent head -- I have to admit that Ghidrah is a better movie. The monster fights are more fun, the dubbing is better than a lot of the other films, and the plot isn't so boring (man, those scenes in DAM when those goofy-looking astronauts are flying around are amazingly boring to me now).

Let me add my support for a good Ghidrah DVD. Or at least a Simitar one.

[Legion]

[GFan]

[CyHunter]

[lhb412]

[CyHunter]

[william newell]