Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster | Through the Shattered Lens

“These monsters are as stupid as human beings!” — Detective Shindo in Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster.

With that above line, Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster stakes it claim to being one the best of the old Godzilla movies.

First released in 1964, Ghidorah was the fifth film to feature Godzilla. Historically, it’s important because it was the first film to feature Godzilla as a hero. Though he doesn’t quite assume the role of Earth’s protector that would define his later films, Godzilla is definitely presented as being the lesser of two evils. Godzilla’s previously threatening role was taken by the film’s title character. Ghidorah, a flying, three-headed dragon, would go one to become one of Godzilla’s most frequent foes and you can tell why from watching this film. Seriously, if anyone could be considered a worthy opponent to Godzilla, its Ghidorah.

Ghidorah!

As is often the case with the best of the Japanese monster films, Ghidorah’s plot doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s still fun to watch. As the film begins, Detective Shindo has been assigned to protect Princess Selina of the fictional country of Selgina. And Selina needs the protection because Selgina is full of sinister men wearing elaborate, court jester-style costumes. They want Selina dead and they go so far as to plant a bomb on her airplane. However, right before the bomb goes off, an apparently possessed Selina jumps out of the plane.

Meanwhile, Prof. Murai leads a group of scientists through the wilderness, searching for a meteor that has crashed to Earth. Is the meteor somehow connected to the bomb on Selina’s plane? As a matter of fact it is. Now, to be honest, you’ll probably figure out what’s going on with the meteor long before Prof. Murai or any of his colleagues but director Ishiro Honda still does a good job of building up the suspense. You know what’s going to happen but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining when it actually does.

While Murai investigates that meteorite, a woman who looks exactly like Selina suddenly shows up in Japan, telling people that she is a Martian and predicting the end of the world. First, she predicts that Rodan, a prehistoric pterosaur who was believed destroyed in a previous film, will come back to life. As you can probably guess, that’s exactly what happens.

Rodan

Next, she predicts that Godzilla will rise from the sea and destroy a boat. Soon, Godzilla is destroying a boat and getting into a fight with Rodan. Finally, Selina predicts that Ghidorah will destroy the world. Soon, Ghidorah is flying over Tokyo and shooting bolts of lightning from his three heads.

Fortunately, Mothra the giant Moth happens to be in town and it falls to her to try to talk Rodan and Godzilla into teaming up with her to defeat Ghidorah. Unfortunately, Godzilla and Rodan really don’t see why they should waste their time trying to save humans. This leads to the film’s highlight — an extended argument between three monsters, conducted in angry roars and translated by the two miniature twins who live on Mothra’s island. (At one point, they reprimand Godzilla for cursing.) Watching these negotiations, a frustrated Shindo realizes that Godzilla and Rodan are just as stupid as human beings.

That scene (and Shindo’s realization) pretty much sum up everything that I love about Ghidorah. It’s a thoroughly over-the-top, occasionally rather silly film that also happens to be a lot of fun. The action moves quickly, the monsters are all truly monstrous, and the plot is so twisty that its impossible not to enjoy. Best of all, this film features Godzilla fighting his most worthy opponent. Ghidorah is both a classic monster and a classic film.