Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster

 

 

Create your own review

What a delightful film experience this one turned out to be! Overall one of the best quality Godzilla films, in terms of writing, acting, directing, FX, settings, etc. The real surprise is a genuinely interesting human spy/intrigue storyline involving a princess from Mars who is trying to warn Japan about the horrors soon to befall them, and some who are trying to silence her. Moments of the monster battle scenes are cheesy, but as this film is so much fun it's easily forgiven. This was the first Godzilla film in which he actually fights to protect Earth instead of just destroying it (and is assisted by Rodan and a baby Mothra.) Special features include a biography on Eiji Tsuburaya--the man behind Godzilla, audio commentary by David Kalat, the original trailer, image gallery and slideshow of monsters, and also featured here is the original Japanese version of the film.

Highly recommended for Godzilla movie fans!

Ghidorah-the Three headed Monsters(released Dec/64)is the 5th in the Godzilla franchise and Sony Classic media releases again both the US and the longer original Japanese version.The Japanese version is always,I find at least,the much better of the two.
This story involves the anticipated arrival of a princess from a foreign country called Selgina.There is an unscrupulous bunch of characters who have planted a bomb aboard the princesses' plane.Just before it blow ups in mid air she is possessed by some spirit who urges her to jump out of the plane.Unbeknownst to the outside world,she is rescued by a fisherman and she later reappears amongst the populace as some kind of prophetess telling all that there is a great danger.At first her warnings are met with scoffing as what she says is given in very general terms.As time passes her predictions become more direct as the police try to protect her and the gang who thought they had destroyed the princess realize they must keep trying until the job is really done this time.
During this time Godzilla of course and his nemesis Rodan the flying lizard appear to do battle and wreak havoc amongst the countryside.During their shenanigans the possessed princess(of an ancient Venusian spirit we now know!)tells everyone the creature that destroyed Venus is coming;Ghidorah-the three headed monster.The two little Infant Island beauties are summoned for their assistance and they in turn enjoin the last remaining offspring of Mothra to come to Japan to ask for Godzilla and Rodans collective help against Ghidorah.Well negotiations between the caterpillar and Rodan and Godzilla don't go well at the start.In fact the caterpillar takes it upon himself to take the three headed monster on by himself with no help from either.When he gets his butt kicked Godzilla can't seem to abide this and he and Rodan finally relent and join in the battle.Between the three of them they indeed send Ghidorah running with his tail between his legs.The caterpillar and the ladies return to Infant Island,Godzilla and Rodan part company and the princess gets her memories back and returns to her native land.
As you can see the story is quite the complicated one and that is with leaving out much.What brings this film down(in rating)are the fight scenes which have many(too many)almost laugh out loud moments.For instance,Rodan will peck away at Godzilla until he reacts in disgust,then Godzilla will kick stones at Rodan until both end up throwing the same rock back and forth like a ping pong ball.And Ghidorah looks like Godzilla(tail and all)except he has three hydra-like heads instead of one big one.The story compels one to suspend disbelief quite successfully ,but the fight scenes tend,more often than not,to chip away at that foundation much more than it should,unfortunately.
Like Mothra VS Godzilla(the previous entry)this one is also in colour in its original w/s a/r.The transfer is wonderful and clear and crisp.Like all the entries there are film flaws,but they are extant in the masters used.Extras include:commentary,image gallery,slide show of posters and a featurette on special effects man Eiji Tsuburaya.
I would give the release itself a solid 4 1/2 stars just for what it brings to the table(both US and Japanese versions,the transfers,extras,etc)but for movie quality(plot,etc)it only comes in at a passable three stars.Unfortunately what was scarier in the early 60s,just does not(in this case)hold up as well today.A definite must have though for film buffs.

Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster is the sequel to Mothra vs. Godzilla and a significant turning point in the Godzilla franchise. This film marks the start of Godzilla's transition from villain to anti-hero to hero and introduces his greatest foe; the three headed space dragon King Ghidorah. A fairly good film that has finally be released on DVD. Like the others this DVD contains both the original unedited, undubbed Japanese version and the "Americanized" version.

Unlike Mothra vs. Godzilla, the quality of the American print is on par with the Japanese one, unfortunately it's not as good as Mothra vs. Godzilla. At times the picture quality is good but at other times the colours are faded and the print has scratches and hairs. The audio quality is fairly decent, keep in mind it's in its original mono soundtrack.

The special features are decent though slim. It has the Japanese trailer but it isn't subtitled so unless you speak/read Japanese you won't understand it. The image galleries are nice with some good background info on the monsters and the movie but personally, I miss the poster slide show they had on Mothra vs. Godzilla.

The biggest special feature is the audio commentary on the English dubbed version by David Kalat. I've seen some reviews that criticize these commentaries as "fan boys gushing about how much they love these movies" but that's not a fair description. David Kalat makes it clear how much he loves the movie, but he still shares some interesting behind the scenes tidbits on the film and the Godzilla franchise in general. If anything he's guilty of letting his inner child out, and really who can blame him for that. When you've grown up watching these films, like I have, it's hard not to see them through rose coloured glasses of nostalgia.

All in all, Ghidorah is a decent film with a decent DVD release. It could have been better but it's the best were going to get.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!