ezh_1999 Reviews

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Classic Kaiju flick

[7/10 · 14 July 2012]

This is the fifth entry in the Godzilla series. This is also the first film appearance of Godzilla's Arh nemesis, King Ghidorah. The plot goes something like this: Detective Shindo is assigned to protect princess Selina Salno. However her plane is destroyed en route by a bomb and is assumed dead. She turns up again claiming she's a princess from mars, and making prophecies of forthcoming disaster. However her predictions start coming true, and Rodan rises from a crater and Godzilla emerges from the sea. Meanwhile a meteor crashes. The Shobijin( Mothra's fairies) don't go on a boat taking them to birth island because of Selina's prediction, and it ends up being destroyed by Godzilla. Selina then reveals that mars was destroyed by a space dragon, King Ghidorah. And that he's already arrived on earth in a meteor. Anyway thats the main plot. What I wanna talk about is Ghidorah. He has a rather interesting design. Three heads, two tails, big wings and no arms, plus the ability to fire bolts of gravitational from his mouth. This film has its action-orientated parts, like the the gunfights between Shindo and Selina's assassins and the giant monster battles. It also has its comedic parts such as when Ghidorah zaps Godzilla in the nuts, or when Rodan and Godzilla laugh at each other, after getting sprayed by Mothra. The special effects are average for a Japanese film. Rodan's hand puppet looks like crap. The acting is suburb and feels pretty real, except for a few scenes. Overall this is one of the better films in the series.

Godzilla (1954)

A true classic

[9/10 · 13 July 2012]

This is the greatest monster movie ever. Period. Actually, it's more than an monster movie. It's an allegory for nuclear war, it's an epic, and it's a pinnacle in Japanese Tokusatsu(special effects).The movie starts out with a Japanese fishing boat being destroyed near Odo island. Meanwhile a storm hits the island along with some thing else, bringing great death and destruction. Anyways that's all I'll mention for now. This film is actually very similar to the beast from 20000 fathoms(1953). Which was one of the inspirations for this film(along with the lucky dragon incident). Of course let's talk about the star monster and antagonist of this film: Godzilla.His appearance is instantly recognizable: a saurian body, Mable leaf shaped dorsal fins, and a long reptilian tail. This iconic image combined with an ability to breathe a highly radioactive ray( often confused with fire in the states) makes for a terrifying monster. Everything from the strange natives of Odo island to the destruction of Tokyo would seem cliché: if it wasn't for the fact this film started those cliché's.