Review By: David Austin

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Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster
AKA: San daikaijû: Chikyu saidai no kessen, Three Giant Monsters: The Earth’s Greatest Decisive Battle (literal)
Country and Year: Japan (1964)
Director: Inoshiro Honda
Starring: Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, The Peanuts, Akiko Wakabayashi, Takashi Shimura
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars (good)

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Godzilla vs. Monster Zero
AKA: Invasion of Astro-Monster, Kaijû daisenso, The Great Monster War (literal)
Country and Year: Japan (1965)
Director: Inoshiro Honda
Starring: Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Nick Adams, Akira Kubo, Yoshio Tsuchiya
Rating: 3 ½ out of 4 stars (very good)

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I’ve made no secret in the past of the fact that I love Godzilla (see my reviews of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Godzilla Final Wars). Consequently, these last two years have been a pleasure, as Sony and Classic Media have seen to it that the majority of the earlier and later films get legitimate US releases (though the middle period is still poorly accounted for). Ghidorah and Monster Zero, released last week by Classic Media, are particularly interesting as they mark a distinct transition in the Big G’s films – namely, Godzilla’s own evolution from destructive villainous monster to hero and defender of the Earth. Similarly, they mark a transition from relative earnestness to out-and-out adventure and slapstick (though previous films had somewhat prefigured the latter). In these two films, we move away from scenarios where humans or more friendly monsters have to vanquish Godzilla, and move into a period of films where Godzilla and his kaiju Superfriends defend the planet against a series of alien menaces, each more outlandish and wacky than the last. While for some this marked the beginning of the end for the “serious” Godzilla; for me, it merely marked a change from one type of great movie to another, and Monster Zero remains a personal favorite in the series.

In his commentary on the English version of Ghidorah, David Kalat discusses how the driving forces behind the critical reappraisal of Godzilla felt it necessary to reject the campiness of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, creating a rift between proponents of the “serious” and “campy” Godzilla. Personally, I never felt this had to be such a hot button issue. It’s very simple - some Godzilla movies are meant to be serious, some are not. This issue arose in an on-line discussion during the recent touring Godzilla film revival. There were those who were offended that people laughed during the original Godzilla, especially in the context of scenes showing hospitals filled with casualties. To which I say, “Agreed, and point well taken.” However, some of the same people took offense at the so-called “ghoulish” laughter during scenes of destruction in Destroy All Monsters. To which I say, “Excuse me, are we watching the same movie?” Destroy All Monsters is clearly intended by its creators as a laugh, a lark, a piece of goofy fun. To take it seriously is to miss the point entirely.

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