Talkback #5: Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster

I tend to overlook this movie simply because it's between two of my favorite movies, Mothra vs. Godzilla and Invasion of the Astro-Monster, and I don't find it as enjoyable as either of those two films. Still, it's a true classic in the series and one of the most important films in the series, for introducing King Ghidorah and implementing Rodan into the Godzilla series, as well as making Godzilla the protagonist for the first time. The humans element is pretty exciting too, and Akira Ifukube delivers a typically great score. I gave this film a 3.5 out of 5 when I reviewed it on Scified.

GMAN2887 - Oh, how wonderful! This film holds a very special place in my heart! I could not watch it enough when I was a little girl! The fact that it has Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan teaming up to face off against Ghidorah was simply fantastic to me! Of course, there are other films in the Godzilla pantheon that rank much higher for me than Ghidorah: the Three-Headed Monster. However, I will always view it with fond memories! :)

Probably my fave when I was a boy, and the third G movie I ever saw. I'm with Something Real in that it holds a special place in my heart, along with Monster Zero/Astro Monster. The concept of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra battling it out with a 3 headed flying space dragon was enough to make my head explode! This and Monster Zero/Astro Monster were an awesome 1-2 punch. As I got older and started to like the sillier aspects of these movies less and less, they lost a bit of their luster, but are still among my faves and in my opinion the last great Godzilla movies of the Showa era. Had Ghidorah been played a bit more "serious", (minus the monster talking, bickering and goofiness), this would be right up there with it's predecessor (MvsG) as one of my favorite Godzilla movies, period. I think a must-see for any Godzilla fan. Also, the Showa Ghidorah is my favorite incarnation of my second favorite Toho monster.

KOLDWARKID62 - Well said! It is very nice to see you again! :)

Something Real - Same here! :)

I think the silliness worked in context. The monster conference is something goofy, buy still easy to appreciate on many levels. First of all the notion of three animalistic monsters teaming up to fight one great threat was bonkers and Sekizawa knew it. So instead of trying to play it straight he used the genre's qualities to get away with the anthropomorphizing of these beasts. It works because this is the only genre that can get away with it and land safely.

Furthermore, the monster conference really is right in line with Honda's constant theme of unity. He spent a lot of time in previous movies, both Godzilla and otherwise, pushing characters and mankind to band together against an overwhelming threat. Here he does it with the monsters. We already know Godzilla and Mothra are enemies and this film would've made a great case for Godzilla and Rodan's rivalry had King Ghidorah not shown up. Three monsterous enemies band together to fight a great threat. And what's more it's not Mothra's words that convinced them, but her actions. Honda's never been much for political bickering-- As he made clear in the original Godzilla. It seems that even when Mothra's at the podium he doesn't think it's worth much.

I think the real issue with this movie is how rushed it was. It's incredible Honda and co. can make movies like this on such a asinine schedule-- As much as directors and special effects men complained about the rushed schedule in the Heisei and Millennium series, they never had it as bad as the crew members in the 1960s and those movies were much better. Still, the rush job shows in some places with Ghidorah.

The editing sometimes doesn't makes sense. At one moment we're in a hotel with Princess Salano and her assasins at night, then we cut to Professor Mirua at the camp site during the day. This wouldn't be big deal if it weren't for the fact that the very next scene is the exact same setting with Salano... It's either an editing goof or the assasins were pointing a knife at her in that hotel for 24 hours. It's not the latter...

Love this movie regardless though.

Ghidorah became one of tohos biggest monsters and looking at this movie it's no wonder why. 3 of tohos biggest monsters were put together just for his intro movie. This was the first time something like that was done with the closest thing prior being Mothra vs Godzilla with Godzilla fighting 2 larvae. All the monsters basically play their part with most of the middle of the movie being a Godzilla vs Rodan brawl while we build up to Ghidorah being released. A fun movie with a good human element. 

This was one of the first five Godzilla moives I saw before the '98 film came out.  The other four being Son of Godzilla, Godzilla Vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Return of Godzilla.

I always found the concept of the princess who thought she was an alien as strange, but then again this is the same moive that has the monsters converstaion being translated by the Shobijin.

Quote of the Day: "Oh Godzilla!  What teribble language!"

I forget did you guys cover King Kong Vs. Godzilla yet?

^We have not. So far we've only covered about 5 movies or so.

I'm a little rusty on the American version, but having watched the Japanese version not too long ago the alien persona is actually very well explained: Venusians' planet was destroyed by King Ghidorah and those that escaped assimilated into humankind. Her ancestor's persona and influenced inhabited Salano to warn Earth of King Ghidorah. I think it's a wonderfully creative sci-fi storyline with a slight whisper of creepiness to it.

The English version is basically the same except what is left of the Martians simply take over the princess to warn them of Ghidorah, rather than her being an ancestor of an alien herself.