GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER

Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster Movie Review

Ghidorah, a vicious three-headed monster from outer space, arrives outside Tokyo to unleash destruction upon Earth. It's up to Mothra and, much to their hesitation, Godzilla and Rodan, to battle the beast and save the planet. This 1964 film is brought to us by director Ishiro Honda, the man responsible for all the original Godzilla films (as well as several other monster movies) and it delivers the goods. Of course Godzilla and Rodan look as awesome as always, and Ghidorah, making his debut here, proves to be perhaps the most impressive nemesis of any Godzilla film. The final battle features all four monsters, providing awesomeness the likes of which this world rarely sees.

Behold and appreciate

We even get a battle for the ages between Godzilla and Rodan prior to the two joining forces. Naturally, there's a lot more going on in this film as well (we HAVE to have a human element don't we?), and it's all fairly bizarre. We have a princess (Akiko Wakabayashi) who, after narrowly escaping (somehow) an exploding plane, is possessed (?) by an alien being coming to Earth to warn us of Ghidorah's intentions. We have assassins trying to track the alien/princess down, trying to finish the job they failed at when they blew up the plane. There are numerous "experts" and scientists of one sort or another coming and going constantly. And perhaps most bizarre/awesome, there is a conversation between Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan interpreted by twin fairy friends of Mothra who talk simultaneously, one saying the same thing as the other, with voices that may put one in mind of chipmunks, and they look, well, lets just see a picture...

There they are

To top this scene off perfectly, the girls actually admonish Godzilla for using foul language. This film is historic for two reasons: it is the first appearance in film of Ghidorah, and is the last movie (among the originals anyway) Godzilla appears in as anything other than a full-blown hero. The scenes with the miniatures are fantastic--look, we all know the monsters are guys in rubber suits stomping on fake buildings and throwing fake rocks, but it is that charm that makes these films so lovable and truly cherished--the scene of Ghidorah's initial rampage is brilliant in this sense, and the scene of Ghidorah first forming is incredibly memorable (it's in the trailer below, starting at 24 seconds). If you are a monster movie fan (as I am), Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster is an absolute must-see film.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 8

Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster Movie Trailer