Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
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, alternatively spelled Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 tokusatsu kaijuu film, and is the 5th film in Toho's Godzilla series. It was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.
This movie is noted for having Godzilla playing a role where he benefits Japan, instead of trying to stomp it flat. It also features Mothra and Rodan, and introduces King Ghidorah, a very Chinese-looking space dragon, perhaps representative of Japan's anxieties surrounding China's satellite weapon program at the time.
Plot
A princess from a small Himalayan country becomes possessed by the spirit of a Venusian (a Martian in the American version) and escapes a plane just as it explodes. As this happens a meteorite falls from the sky containing Ghidorah, the monster responsible for her planet's destruction. At the same time, Godzilla and Rodan emerge from hibernation and not only attack Japan, but each other as well. Mothra, along with its twin priestesses, attempt to convince Godzilla and Rodan to stop their fighting each other and to team up to fight the new monster. At the same time, the princess is being hunted by a group of assassins who want to kill her so that her enemies can take over her homeland.U.S. release
The English-dubbed version was presented in American theaters in September of 1965 by Walter Reade-Sterling, and distributed by Continental Distributing on a double bill with Elvis Presley's musical-comedy, Harum Scarum. New York Times film critic Vincent Canby gave it a rather condescending review, concluding with, "This fascination, on the part of contemporary Japanese filmmakers, with the destruction of their land by fantastic, prehistoric forces only 20 years after Hiroshima, might be of interest to social historians. The film, otherwise, is strictly for the comic book set."References
- Canby, Vincent. "[Presley Shares Billing]" (film review) The New York Times. December 16, 1965.
- [San daikaiju: Chikyu saidu no kessen / Ghidrah: The Three-Headed Monster (1964)] at [kensforce.com] (press release information for the American release)
- Variety Weekly. October 6, 1965.
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