Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Original Japanese theatrical poster
Directed by Kazuki Ōmori
Produced by Shogo Tomiyama
Written by Kazuki Omori
Starring Kosuke Toyohara
Anna Nakagawa
Megumi Odaka
Katsuhiko Sasaki
Akiji Kobayashi
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Robert Scott Field
Music by Akira Ifukube[note 1]
Cinematography Yoshinori Sekiguchi
Edited by Michiko Ikeda
Production
company
Distributed by Toho
Release dates
  • December 14, 1991 (1991-12-14)
Running time
 103 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Budget US$ 12 million
Box office US$ 11 million

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (ゴジラvsキングギドラ Gojira tai Kingu Gidora) (1991) is a Japanese science fiction kaiju film written and directed by Kazuki Omori. It is the 18th film in the Godzilla franchise and the third film in the Heisei series. The film was released in Japan on December 14, 1991 and direct to video in North America in 1998.

Although the film's production crew remained largely unchanged from that of Godzilla vs. Biollante, the previous film's financial failure, due to a lack of child viewership and alleged competition with the contemporary Back to the Future franchise, compelled the producers to create a more fantasy orientated picture with elements of time travel included.[1]

Plot

In 1992, science fiction writer Kenichiro Terasawa (Kosuke Toyohara) is writing a book about Godzilla and learns about a group of Japanese soldiers stationed on Lagos Island in the South Pacific during World War II. In February 1944, while threatened by American soldiers, the Japanese soldiers were saved unintentionally by a mysterious dinosaur known as Godzillasaurus.[2] He theorizes that the dinosaur was subsequently mutated into Godzilla in 1954 after a hydrogen bomb test on the island. Yasuaki Shindo (Yoshio Tsuchiya), a wealthy businessman who commanded the Japanese soldiers on Lagos Island, confirms that the dinosaur did indeed exist.

Meanwhile, a UFO lands on Mount Fuji. When the Japanese army investigates, they are greeted by Wilson (Chuck Wilson), Grenchko (Richard Berger), Emmy Kano (Anna Nakagawa) and an android, M-11 (Robert Scott Field). The visitors, known as the "Futurians", explain that they are humans from the year 2204, where Godzilla has completely destroyed Japan. The Futurians plan to travel back in time to 1944 to remove the Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island before the island is destroyed, thus preventing the mutation of the dinosaur into Godzilla. As proof of their story, Emmy presents a copy of Terasawa's book, which has not yet been completed in the present.

The Futurians, Terasawa, Miki Saegusa (a psychic), and Professor Mazaki (Katsuhiko Sasaki), board a time shuttle and travel back to 1944 to Lagos Island. There, as American forces land and engage the Japanese forces commanded by Shindo, the Godzillasaurus attacks and kills the American soldiers. The American navy then bombs the dinosaur from the sea and it is gravely wounded.

After Shindo and his men leave the island, M-11 teleports Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island to a place in the Bering Strait. Before returning to 1992, the Futurians leave three small creatures called Dorats on Lagos Island, which are exposed to radiation from the hydrogen bomb test in 1954.[2](p267) The creatures merge to become King Ghidorah, which then appears in present-day Japan. After returning to 1992, the Futurians use King Ghidorah to subjugate Japan. They issue an ultimatum, but Japan refuses to surrender.

Feeling sympathy for the Japanese people, Emmy reveals to Teresawa the truth behind the Futurians' mission: in the future, Japan is an economic superpower that has surpassed the United States, Russia, and China. The Futurians traveled back in time in order to change history and prevent Japan's future economic dominance by creating King Ghidorah and using it to destroy present day Japan. At the same time, they also planned to erase Godzilla from history so it wouldn't pose a threat to their plans. After M-11 brings Emmy back to the UFO, she reprograms the android so it will help her. With M-11 and Terasawa's aid, Emmy sabotages the UFO's control over King Ghidorah.

At the same time, Shindo plans to use his nuclear submarine to recreate Godzilla. On route to the Bering Strait, Shindo's submarine is destroyed by an already mutated Godzilla, who absorbs its radiation and becomes even larger and more powerful. Terasawa discovers that a Russian nuclear submarine sank in the Bering Strait in the same area to which Godzillasaurus had been teleported. The Russian submarine released enough radiation to mutate the dinosaur into Godzilla, effectively setting in motion the events of 1984.[3][4]

Godzilla arrives in Japan and is met by King Ghidorah. They fight at equal strength, each immune to the other's attacks. Godzilla eventually ends the battle by blasting off Ghidorah's middle head. Before the final blow, Godzilla destroys the UFO, killing Wilson and Grenchko. Godzilla then turns its attention on Tokyo, destroying the metropolis and killing Shindo.

Emmy travels to the future with M-11 and then returns to the present day with Mecha-King Ghidorah, a cybernetic version of King Ghidorah.[3] The cybernetic Ghidorah blasts Godzilla with energy beams, which proves useless. Godzilla then counters by relentlessly blasting Ghidorah with its atomic ray, almost decapitating Ghidorah. Ghidorah survives but then Godzilla prevails, knocking Ghidorah down. Emmy carries off Godzilla and drops it and Ghidorah into the ocean. Emmy then returns to the future but not before informing Terasawa that she is his descendant.

At the bottom of the sea, Godzilla recovers and roars over Mecha-King Ghidorah's remains.[5]

Cast

Production

Conception

After the release of Godzilla vs. Biollante, director and writer Kazuki Ōmori had initially hoped to start a standalone series centered on Mothra, and was in the process of rewriting a 1980 script for the unrealized movie Mothra vs. Bagan. The film was ultimately scrapped by Toho, under the assumption that, unlike Godzilla, Mothra would have been a difficult character to market overseas. The planning stages for a sequel to Godzilla vs. Biollante were initially hampered by the deteriorating health of Godzilla series creator Tomoyuki Tanaka, thus prompting the takeover of Shōgo Tomiyama as producer. The new producer felt that the financial failure of Godzilla vs. Biollante was due to the plot being too sophisticated for child audiences, and thus intended to return some of the fantasy elements of the pre-1984 Godzilla films to the series. Ōmori himself blamed the lackluster performance of Godzilla vs. Biollante to competition with Back to the Future Part II, and thus concluded that audiences wanted plots involving time travel.[1]

Special effects

The suits used in Godzilla vs. Biollante were reused in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, though with slight modifications. The original suit used for land-based and full body shots had its head replaced with a wider and flatter one, and the body cut in half. The upper half was used in scenes where Godzilla emerges from the sea and during close-ups during the character's first fight with King Ghidorah. The suit used previously for scenes set at sea was modified with rounder shoulders, a more prominent chest, and an enhanced face, and was used throughout the majority of the film's Godzilla scenes.[6]

The redesigned King Ghidorah featured much more advanced wirework puppetry than its predecessors, and effects team leader Koichi Kawakita designed the "Godzillasaurus" as a more paleontologically accurate-looking dinosaur than Godzilla itself as a nod to American filmmakers aspiring to direct their own Godzilla films with the intention of making the monster more realistic.[1]

English version

After the film was released in Japan, Toho commissioned a Hong Kong company to dub the film into English. Instead of creating a unique title screen for the movie, as had been done with the previous international versions of Godzilla films, the international title for the film was simply superimposed over the Japanese title.

The complete international English version of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (except for the opening Toho logos) was released on video in the United Kingdom by Manga Video on June 5, 1995. Less than a month later, Manga also released an international version of Godzilla vs. Mothra on video. In Italy, Yamato Video dubbed the international version of both movies into Italian using the complete international prints for both films.

Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra on DVD in 1998.[7]

Box office

The film sold approximately 2,700,000 tickets in Japan, and grossed around $11,000,000 (U.S).

Home media release

The Columbia/TriStar Home Video DVD version was released in 1998 as a double feature, with Godzilla vs. Mothra, on a single disc.[7] The picture was full frame (1.33:1) [NTSC] and the audio in English (2.0). There were no subtitles. Extras included the trailer for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra.

The Sony - Blu-ray version was released on May 6, 2014 as a two disc double feature with Godzilla vs. Mothra.[8] The picture was MPEG-4 AVC (1.85:1) [1080p] and the audio was in Japanese and English (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0). Subtitles were added in English, English SDH and French. Extras included the theatrical trailer and three teasers in HD with English subtitles.

Controversy

The film was considered controversial at the time of its release, mainly due to its fictional World War II depictions.[9] The film depicts American soldiers being killed by Godzilla, allowing Japanese soldiers to escape.[10]

Because the plot involved Western villains from the future attempting to subjugate Japan, it was seen as anti-American. The director, Kazuki Ōmori, defended his artistic decision, arguing the film was not meant to be offensive in any way.[9] At the time, there was considerable negative publicity regarding the economic tensions between the United States and Japan.[5]

Awards

In 1992, the film won the Japan Academy Award for special effects.

Notes

  1. ↑ This is the first Heisei Godzilla film to feature an original score by Akira Ifukube. Although 1989's Godzilla vs. Biollante featured three of Ifukube's themes, they were not composed for the film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. pp. 179–183. ISBN 978-0-7864-47-49-7.
  2. 1 2 Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". Toronto: ECW Press. p. 127. ISBN 1550223488. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 Wong, Kin Yuen (2005). World Weavers: Globalization, Science Fiction, and the Cybernetic Revolution. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Univ. Press. p. 182. ISBN 9789622097216. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH: Time Travel and the Origins of Godzilla « SciFi Japan". Scifijapan.com. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  5. 1 2 Lees, J.D.; Cerasini, Marc (1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium (1st ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 9780679888222.
  6. ↑ Robert Biondi, "The Evolution of Godzilla – G-Suit Variations Throughout the Monster King’s Twenty One Films", G-FAN #16 (July/August 1995)
  7. 1 2 "DVD: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (Tristar)". Tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  8. ↑ "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  9. 1 2 "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) - CNN Report". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  10. ↑ Tsutsui, William M.; Ito, Michiko (2006). In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 107. ISBN 9781403984401. Retrieved 29 November 2015.

External links

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