Talkback Thread #5: Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster(1964)

[Grievous]

Ok, I’m watching this right now and this is exactly how the scene plays out-

Mothra intervenes during Godzilla and Rodan’s fight and asks the two to join her in battle, Rodan and Godzilla essentially tell Mothra to “skreeonk off” and she says “fine, I’ll fight Ghidorah by myself”.
Godzilla and Rodan watch in confusion/disbelief as she makes her way to Ghidorah.
Mothra attempts to fight, but gets hurled into the air twice before Godzilla comes over to curiously inspect the battle, sees Mothra get launched into the air and becomes visibly enraged by this and decides to charge into battle.

Seems to me like watching Mothra get whipped up on by a bigger guy really pissed Godzilla off and that’s what sent him into “go mode”.

So basically...

"HEY ASSHOLE! PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!!!"

[eabaker]

Ok, I’m watching this right now and this is exactly how the scene plays out-

Mothra intervenes during Godzilla and Rodan’s fight and asks the two to join her in battle, Rodan and Godzilla essentially tell Mothra to “skreeonk off” and she says “fine, I’ll fight Ghidorah by myself”.
Godzilla and Rodan watch in confusion/disbelief as she makes her way to Ghidorah.
Mothra attempts to fight, but gets hurled into the air twice before Godzilla comes over to curiously inspect the battle, sees Mothra get launched into the air and becomes visibly enraged by this and decides to charge into battle.

Seems to me like watching Mothra get whipped up on by a bigger guy really pissed Godzilla off and that’s what sent him into “go mode”.

It's also worth noting that one of them (can't remember if it's Godzilla or Rodan) has basically just called humans "bullies," so it makes sense that seeing Ghidorah as a bully would put him on their poop list.

[PitchBlackProgress]

^ This is very true, that was Godzilla.

[Zarm]

So, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason that the princess is undressed under a sheet for the hypnosis treatment, as there aren't any leads attached to her, injections that we can see, etc... but even stranger, there is an intense shootout with the assassins after the power fails. Apparently, prompted by the sound of gunfire, the professor is rapidly redressing the semi-conscious princess as this is happening? Because as soon as the fight is over, they are bundling her out of the door back in her old costume.

[Grievous]

So, there doesn't seem to be any particular reason that the princess is undressed under a sheet for the hypnosis treatment, as there aren't any leads attached to her, injections that we can see, etc... but even stranger, there is an intense shootout with the assassins after the power fails. Apparently, prompted by the sound of gunfire, the professor is rapidly redressing the semi-conscious princess as this is happening? Because as soon as the fight is over, they are bundling her out of the door back in her old costume.

Maybe a scene was cut explaining it?

[edgaguirus]

Of course he quickly got her dressed when there was a threat to his patient. Can you imagine the lawsuit by Selgina if she had died in his care?

Seriously, it's just the editing. We don't really need a getting dressed scene, unless you have a thing for Wakabayashi. The fight between monsters and cop and assassin are more interesting.

[Zarm]

I didn't necessarily think we needed a dressing scene. In fact, I can't see any reason she was undressed for a single scene anyway. I just think that it's very funny that the editing causes that to happen, because if there was a firefight going on outside, my first thought would not be rapidly dressing a patient. It would just be getting them the heck out of there.

And picturing this guy frantically trying to pull clothes onto a half-conscious subject with the sound of gunfire in the other room is kind of a comical image.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Rewatched it today. Some things to note:

-The Park where the prophet first makes her appearance is Ueno Park. I’ve been there and it’s a very popular place.

-This film is really where the Kaiju genre takes full form. While obviously a lot of movies came out prior to this, this is the first time we really get so many monsters in one film, and Godzilla and Rodan each get a ton of screen time in addition to Ghidorah.

-Likewise, this is the first time we really get awknowledgement of “something’s not right with the earth”, a roundabout explanation for why all the Kaiju have begun to awaken and will continue to do so throughout the series. It’s sortve an extension to the global warming message in Rodan. The Venusians were also a nice sublte middle ground to introduce the RELATIVELY grounded showa series before the next film IOTAM. Not total crazy sci-fi yet but the groundwork has been laid.

-Despite this being the first Godzilla film where Godzilla is not the antagonist, Godzilla is not a hero. The scene where he appears is treated as him appearing in any of the films prior; a menance and a disaster. Mothra is sortve the real hero for standing up to Ghidorah and convincing Godzilla and Rodan to fight.

-A big downside, in my opinion, is how long Ghidorah stays in his meteorite for a long time. While it’s good build up, I sortve wish Ghidorah got more time to destroy things and explain why Ghidorah is such a big threat. It’s never really explained, but Ghidorah is basically a flying Godzilla in terms of how much destruction it can cause. Godzilla has to walk everywhere, while Ghidorah can just randomly show up and destroy everything. Even though the Venusian says Ghidorah destroyed Venus, it really needed more emphasis on him.

[JAGzilla]

Ghidorah's limited screentime is understandable, though. The effects team had three other kaiju to operate, and the final battle must have been a major challenge on its own. Plus this film came out in the same year as the also effects-heavy MvsG, so it's really impressive that they crammed as much monster action into it as they did.

I agree that a little more emphasis on what makes Ghidorah so special would've been good. Really, even a line or two of dialogue would have made a difference. "Look at it! It can fly as fast as Rodan and has three times the destructive power of Godziller. Mankind hasn't got a chance, have we?"

[Gojirawars 03]

This movie is pretty good. Not amazing, but passable. At the time, it was groundbreaking, being the first ever kaiju tag-team battle. But living now, in a world in which both Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla: Final Wars have happened, this type of team up is nothing really spectacular. Still, gave us both the first Kaiju tag-team brawl, and introduced Ghidorah, as well as starting the gradual progression of turning Godzilla into a hero character that would continue throughout the Showa series. So it did some major groundbreaking things. The movie itself though, especially by today's standards, is nothing special. On a positive note, I think this movie and GMK are the only two films in the series in which Ghidorah isn't being controlled by someone. They do build up the threat of Ghidorah very well here, even if the payoff (AKA, him getting his two tails handed to him in each movie) didn't really deliver on the buildup of Ghidorah as a major threat. Still, this movie is a major turning point for the series.

[eabaker]

At the time, it was groundbreaking, being the first ever kaiju tag-team battle. But living now, in a world in which both Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla: Final Wars have happened, this type of team up is nothing really spectacular.

Perhaps, but this movie has a stronger structure than either of those, and much better characterizations (both of the humans and - more relevant to the point you're making - of the monsters).

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Yeah, DAM and Final Wars are much worse films. The female leads and Malness alone put this over those two. The photography with all the nature is also a higlight. Wish Tsuchiya could have played the villain, his performance would have been great to see.

[eabaker]

I'd also add that Ghidorah's "birth" scene represents far more iconic and stunning imagery than anything in DAM or GFW.

Do I dare to call it... "KINO"?

[Dr. Professor]

Wish Tsuchiya could have played the villain, his performance would have been great to see.

I didn't know I wanted this until now.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

I didn't know I wanted this until now.

It's all Kurosawa's fault

And yeah Ghidorah's entrance would be 100% certified kino, if only it weren't for that jarring cut

[Dr. Professor]

I didn't know I wanted this until now.

It's all Kurosawa's fault

Damn it, Kurosawa! First you snub Godzilla out of an Academy Award, and then you absolute ruin Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster! What a pain in the ass, that guy.

[Terasawa]

I'd also add that Ghidorah's "birth" scene represents far more iconic and stunning imagery than anything in DAM or GFW.

One of the most breathtaking special effects scenes in the entire franchise.

[Gojirawars 03]

Yeah, DAM and Final Wars are much worse films. The female leads and Malness alone put this over those two. The photography with all the nature is also a higlight. Wish Tsuchiya could have played the villain, his performance would have been great to see.

Hey, so I'm that guy who thinks Final Wars was the best film in the Millenium Era, so while I agree that DAM wasn't spectaclar (thought that final battle almost made all of the rather boring plot worth sitting through), I just love Final Wars because it's fun. Objectively, its very flawed and not nearly the best film of the Millenium series, but whenever I'm in the mood to just sit down and have fun with a movie, Final Wars immediately comes to my mind. I'd say, objectively, GMK is the best Millenium film. But I just love watching Final Wars more because of sheer goofy entertainment value. It's like a ridiculous 70's Godzilla film with vastly updated special effects.

Oh yeah, and Final Wars has Don Frye and Kazuki Kitamura. So, that immediately makes it better than all the other Millenium films.

[eabaker]

Oh yeah, and Final Wars has Don Frye and Kazuki Kitamura. So, that immediately makes it better than all the other Millenium films.

Kazuki Kitamura is a fun scenery-chewing villain, but I'll never understand how to some people is Don Frye anything other than a gratingly awful element of the movie.

ThTHM, meanwhile, has Akiko Wakabayashi and Hisaya Ito's great character turns, and even a few seconds of Hideyo Amamoto is worth an hour of most character actors.

[tbeasley]

Kazuki Kitamura is actually a pretty good actor, he's in a lot of Takashi Miike films (Ley Lines being one of the best), so it's both odd and amusing to see him ham it up like a lunatic in Final Wars.