Japan Release: 2004
Running Time: 125 minutes

Godzilla: Final Wars

ゴジラ FINAL WARS
[Gojira Fainaru Wozu]

In the past, Godzilla battles the warship Gotengo until the King of the Monsters is buried in the ice caps of Antarctica. In the present, humanity has decided to halt all wars to battle the hordes of kaiju infesting the planet. This leads to the creation of the Earth Defense Force (EDF). The group builds giant warships and also uses a team of genetically altered humanoid mutants to battle the kaiju. While they have some success, soon monsters emerge all over the world at the same time. Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Ebirah, Zilla and Hedorah all appear in different countries. Their assaults are interrupted as the monsters mysteriously disappear. This is followed from the appearance of a group of aliens called the Xiliens. They take credit for dispatching the monsters, and reveal that they need Earth's help. The aliens need to stop Gorath, a giant star on a collision course with Earth. Not all is what it seems from the aliens' intent, however...

Live Action Science Fiction Kaiju Godzilla

Titles

Godzilla: Final Wars

Godzilla: Final Wars
US Distributor: Sony Pictures (2005) / Time: 125 Minutes

GFW
[Abbreviated Title]

Monsters

Aliens, SDF & Misc.

Staff

Cast

Posters

Box Office

Toho Stock Footage

DVDs and Blu-rays

CD Soundtracks

Background and Trivia

• Director Ryuhei Kitamura mentions that he found himself moved by Keith Emerson's work on Harmagedon (1983). This led to his selection for Godzilla: Final Wars, and Kitamura personally extended the offer to work on the 2004 film to Emerson. Mentioned in the Godzilla: Final Wars theatrical pamphlet.
• In an interview with musical artist Keith Emerson, he notes that he began working on the score through creating music based on the storyboards he was given. After creating demos, he sent a CD of the music to Toho. The return response was from director Ryuhei Kitamura, who said the music was "very good" but asked if it could be "more rockish?". As a result, Emerson began working with frequent collaborator Will Alexander to try and give the music the desired feeling. This is noted in the Godzilla: Final Wars theatrical pamphlet.
• The theatrical pamphlet for the movie notes that four teams were assembled to create the film. The included a team to work on the main story with the actors, a team devoted to overseas work and two teams that were devoted to the numerous effects seen in the film. It also discusses that Toho invested heavily in the production, mentioning the budget being ¥2,000,000,000.
• The movie's theatrical pamphlet confirms that several characters were named as homages to earlier films. This includes Kumi Mizuno's role as Akiko Namikawa, a reference to her role as Namikawa in Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965). It also includes Kenji Sahara's role as paleontologist Hachiro Jinguji, which is the exact same name as the captain of the Gotengo that was portrayed by Jun Tazaki in Atragon (1963). Finally, the facility in Antarctica is staffed by Glenn, portrayed by Ray Sefo, and Nick, portrayed by Gary Goodridge. This was a nod to actor Nick Adams' role as Glenn in Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965).
• The battle between Ebirah and the mutants of the Earth Defense Force was filmed not on a set but at an abandoned factory in the Fukushima Prefecture. This is mentioned in the film's theatrical pamphlet.
• The two lead actors, Masahiro Matsuoka and Rei Kikukawa, both mentioned in interviews that they had never seen a Godzilla film before being offered to star in Godzilla: Final Wars. These interviews are found in the production's theatrical pamphlet.

Concept Art

Cut Scenes

The Death of Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar

After piling up the defeated monsters Rodan, Anguirus and King Caesar, Godzilla uses his atomic ray to finish off the trio, killing them in a bath of flames.

Background:
Originally drafted, Godzilla was supposed to kill everyone of his opponents through the course of the film. In context, it does seem odd that Godzilla would seemingly spare his three foes, settling for what would appear to be just their defeat. However, according to reports, the sequence not being included and completed was due to not wanting to destroy the suits for such a scene, so they could later see promotional use.

Note: Another image was overlayed on this particular picture and Godzilla's hand and arm, from another shot, appear in the lower left corner. Furthermore, Godzilla's beam charging in the exaggerated manner was also added in via photo manipulation by the book.

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