Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

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Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster 1965.jpg
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring Yosuke Natsuki
Yuriko Hoshi
Hiroshi Koizumi
Akiko Wakabayashi
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Hajime Koizumi
Production
company
Distributed by Toho
Continental Distributing (USA)
Release dates
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  • December 20, 1964 (1964-12-20)
Running time
 92 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released in Japan as San Daikaijū: Chikyū Saidai no Kessen (三大怪獣　地球最大の決戦?, lit. "Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth"), is a 1964 Japanese crossover science fiction kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Ishirō Honda, and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, the film starred Yosuke Natsuki, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Akiko Wakabayashi. It is the fifth film in the Godzilla series and was the second Godzilla film produced that year (production began following Mothra vs. Godzilla). This film marked the change of Godzilla from villain to hero, and featured the first appearance of King Ghidorah, the main antagonist of the Godzilla series.

The film was released theatrically in the United States in the Fall of 1965 by Continental Distributing as Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Plot

Police Detective Shindo (Yosuke Natsuki) is assigned to guard Princess Selina Salno of Selgina (Akiko Wakabayashi) during the Princess' visit to Japan, due to a suspected assassination plot. Although Shindo is smitten with Selina's photograph, her plane never makes it to Japan, as it is destroyed by a bomb en route. At exactly the same time a meteorite shower draws the attention of Professor Murai (Hiroshi Koizumi), who along with his team of scientists strikes out into the wilderness to examine the largest of the meteors, which has magnetic properties.

To Shindo's surprise, the supposedly deceased Selina turns up in Japan, without her royal garb (including the golden bracelet that proves she is heir to the throne of Selgina), claiming to be from the planet Venus, and preaching to skeptical crowds of forthcoming disaster. To their surprise however, her prophecies begin coming true. First she predicts Rodan, thought dead in the eruption of Mt. Aso, will emerge from Aso's crater. Subsequently, none other than Godzilla will arise from the sea and destroy a ship. Both of these events transpire.

In the meantime, Selina's uncle (Shin Otomo), who was behind the assassination attempt, learns of her survival and sends his best assassin Malmess (Hisaya Ito) to Japan to dispatch the Princess and steal the golden bracelet. Malmess and his henchmen are stopped by Shindo, who was warned of their attempt by the Shobijin (Emi and Yumi Ito), who were in Japan appearing on a television show. The Shobijin had been scheduled to return to Infant Island aboard the ship sunk by Godzilla, but opted not to go after overhearing Selina's prophecy. A further attempt by the assassins is thwarted when both Godzilla and Rodan attack the city and engage in battle, forcing everyone to flee.

Convinced that Selina is insane, Shindo takes the Princess to see a renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Tsukamoto (Takashi Shimura), in the hopes of curing her. However, Tsukamoto can find nothing wrong with her, mentally or physically. He concludes she must therefore truly be possessed by a Venusian as she claims. As if emboldened by the doctor's diagnosis, Selina reveals her final prophecy—that Venus' once thriving civilization was destroyed by an evil, golden three-headed dragon named King Ghidorah, and furthermore that Ghidorah itself has already arrived on Earth. No sooner has she revealed this than Professor Murai and his colleagues at the meteor crash site receive a nasty surprise—the "meteor" is actually an egg, which hatches into the fearsome King Ghidorah. Ghidorah begins razing the countryside.

To combat the combined threats of the three monsters, the Japanese government enlists the aid of the Shobijin to summon Mothra (the surviving larvae from the previous film). Upon arriving on the Japanese mainland, Mothra attempts to persuade the quarreling Godzilla and Rodan to team up against the evil alien (which is translated to the humans by the Shobijin) but both refuse, with Godzilla stating they have no reason to save mankind as both it and Rodan "have always had trouble with men and men hate them", to which Rodan agrees. Despite Mothra stating that Earth belongs to them as well and that it is their duty to defend it, Godzilla and Rodan still refuse and the pair refuse to forgive each other, wanting to continue their fight. Unable to convince them and despite being vastly outmatched, Mothra calls the pair of them "bullheaded" and resolves to fight Ghidorah by herself. Mothra engages Ghidorah and is continually blasted by its gravity beams. Fortunately for Mothra, Godzilla and Rodan, impressed by her courage and selflessness, arrive to help, and a titanic battle against Ghidorah begins. Meanwhile, Shindo and Dr. Tsukamoto are forced to protect Princess Selina as Malmess and his men converge on Tsukamoto's clinic; they manage to fend off the killers and escape into the mountains as the dueling monsters draw closer.

The assassins attempt to follow, but a stray blast from Ghidorah buries their car in an avalanche. Only Malmess remains uninjured enough to continue. He attempts to snipe the Princess from an elevated position, but only injures her. In her pain, she regains her memory and is no longer possessed by the Venusian. Before Malmess can take another shot, another stray blast from Ghidorah buries the assassin under a second avalanche. With the heroes thus saved from the human menace, they gather at a safe distance to watch the battle between Earth's monsters and Ghidorah. After now gaining a clear advantage over Ghidorah, the three monsters coordinate their attack; Godzilla grabs hold of Ghidorah's tails while Mothra (riding on Rodan's back) sprays the three-headed dragon with her silk. Finally, Godzilla throws the alien beast off the cliff and the battered dragon flies off, back into outer space.

As Mothra and the Shobijin return to Infant Island while Godzilla and Rodan go their separate ways, Selina, having retained the memories of her time with Shindo, bids farewell to her guardian as she meets her bodyguards at the airport to return home.

Cast

File:Menwithmonsters.jpg
Shoichi Hirose (King Ghidorah), Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla), and Masaki Shinohara (Rodan) pose with models based on the monsters they played on screen.
  • Yosuke Natsuki as Detective Shindo (進藤 刑事 Shindo-keiji?)
  • Yuriko Hoshi as Naoko Shindo (進藤 直子 Shindo Naoko?)
  • Hiroshi Koizumi as Assistant Professor Murai (村井 助教授 Murai Jokyoju?)
  • Akiko Wakabayashi as Princess Selina Salno of Selgina (サルノ王女 Saruno-ojo?)
  • The Peanuts as Shobijin (小美人 Shobijin?)
  • Takashi Shimura as Dr. Tsukamoto (塚本 博士 Tsukamoto-hakase?)
  • Hisaya Ito as Malmess (マルメス Marumasu?), Chief Assassin
  • Akihiko Hirata as Chief Detective Okita (沖田 刑事課長 Okita-keijikacho?)
  • Kenji Sahara as Kanamaki, Naoko's Editor
  • Somesho Matsumoto as UFO Expert
  • Ikio Sawamura as Fisherman
  • Kozo Nomura as Murai's Assistant
  • Susumu Kurobe, Kazuo Suzuki Toru Ibuki as Assassins Malness Henchman
  • Haruya Kato as Journalist
  • Shin Otomo as Leader of the Assassins Malness Boss
  • Senkichi Omura as Hat Retriever
  • Eisei Amamoto as Wu, Butler
  • Yutaka Nakayama as Tourist (Lost Hat)
  • Yutaka Oka as Meteorite Scientist
  • Yoshio Kosugi as Chief of Infant Island
  • Heihachiro Okawa as Astronomer
  • Yoshifumi Tajima as Ship Captain
  • Koji Uno, Shigeki Ishida as Spectators in Crowd
  • Toshihiko Furuta, Kotaro Tomita as Villagers
  • Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla
  • Masaki Shinohara as Rodan
  • Shoichi Hirose as King Ghidorah

Production

An early concept for Ghidorah had rainbow-colored wings and a purple body with three heads spitting fire from their mouths, instead of lightning which was used in the final draft.

English version

File:Ghidrah.jpg
Continental Films theatrical poster for the 1965 U.S release of Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster

The English-dubbed version was presented in American theaters in September 1965 by Walter Reade-Sterling, and distributed by Continental Distributing. Originally titled Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Several alterations were made to the American version, including:

  • Much of Akira Ifukube's score was replaced with library music.
  • King Ghidorah's name was romanized as "Ghidrah".
  • In the English version, King Ghidorah destroys Mars (it was Venus in the Japanese version), and the Princess claims that she is from Mars. This was most likely because of the strong association the western world has with the possibility of Mars having been able to support life.
  • Continuity error: The sequence of Godzilla climbing on the docks in Yokohama harbor was changed around. First it is on the docks, then appears to be back in the bay, and then back on shore.
  • The scene in which the Shobijins sing Mothra's Song a second time to summon Mothra is cut.
  • The shot of the assassins escaping during Godzilla's rampage in Yokohama is deleted.
  • The scene of Princess Salno telling Dr. Tsukamoto, Shindo, and Naoko about Ghidorah's arrival occurs after it comes from the meteorite in the American version.
  • The English version runs 85 minutes, seven minutes shorter than the original Japanese version.
  • In the English version, the meteorite containing Ghidorah crash lands before the princess' plane explodes, not after as was seen in the Japanese version.

Critical reception

Reviewing the American version, Leonard Maltin gives the film two and a half stars, calling it "one of the better Toho monster rallies”.[1]

Titles

  • Three Giant Strange Beasts: The Greatest Battle on Earth – Translation of Japanese title
  • Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster – Original U.S. title
  • Godzilla · Mothra · King Ghidorah: The Greatest Battle on Earth - Translation of 1971 Japanese re-release title, as part of Toho's Champion Festival.
  • Monster of Monsters, Ghidora – Toho's original English title
  • Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster – Toho's current English title. Classic Media used this title for their DVD.

DVD releases

Classic Media

  • Release date: June 5, 2007
  • Special features: Eiji Tsuburaya biography and audio commentary by David Kalat.
  • Note: Contains both original Japanese and English versions.
  • Note: Part of the Toho Collection

References

  1. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2009), p. 520. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide. ISBN 1-101-10660-3. Signet Books. Accessed May 9, 2012

External links

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