is a 1991 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by

Kazuki Ōmori was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Born in Osaka, Ōmori studied at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine and held a license to practice medicine. While in school, he began making films independently, with ''Kuraku naru m ...

and produced by

Shōgo Tomiyama is a Japanese businessman and former film producer. Filmography Producer * '' Yuki no dansho - jonetsu''(1985) * '' Young Girls in Love'' (1986) * '' Totto Channel'' (1987) * '' Gorufu yoakemae'' (1987) * '' Godzilla vs. Biollante'' (1989) * ...

. Distributed by

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

and produced under their subsidiary

Toho Pictures is a Japanese film studio and production company that is a subsidiary of Toho, Toho Co., Ltd. One of the most successful films produced by Toho Studio is the live-action film ''Godzilla Minus One'' (2023), which generated more than $100 million ...

, it is the 18th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and is the third film in the franchise's

Heisei period The was the Japanese era name, period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his 2019 Japanese imperial transition, abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the ...

. The film features the fictional monster characters

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

and

King Ghidorah is a fictional dragon-like alien monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1964 film ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'', produced and distributed by Toho. The creature was initially created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsubu ...

, and stars Kōsuke Toyohara,

Anna Nakagawa , real name (August 30, 1965 – October 17, 2014) was a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 11th Yokohama Film Festival for ''A Sign Days''. Death Nakagawa died on October 17, 2014, from endometrial cancer at the age of ...

Megumi Odaka is a former Japanese idol, actress and singer. She is best known for the role of Miki Saegusa in six Godzilla films from 1989 to 1995. Biography Megumi Odaka was born on May 9, 1972, in Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second ...

, Katsuhiko Sasaki,

Akiji Kobayashi , sometimes credited as Shōji Kobayashi, was a Japanese actor. He attended Nihon University College of Art, but withdrew before completing his degree and joined the Haiyuza Theatre Company in 1949. He made his film debut with ''Satsujin Yogisha' ...

Yoshio Tsuchiya was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal ''Bara No Soretsu'' (a.k.a. '' Funeral Parade of Roses'') and Akira Kurosawa's ''Seven Samurai'' (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and '' Red Beard'', and Kihachi Okam ...

, and Robert Scott Field. The plot revolves around time-travelers from the future who convince Japan to travel back in time to prevent

's mutation, only to reveal their true motives by unleashing

onto the nation. The production crew of ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' remained largely unchanged from that of the previous film in the series, '' Godzilla vs. Biollante''. Because the previous installment was a box office disappointment, due to a lack of child viewership and alleged competition with the ''Back to the Future'' franchise, the producers of ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' were compelled to create a film with more

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

elements, along with

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

. ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' was the first ''Godzilla'' film since 1975's ''

Terror of Mechagodzilla is a 1975 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Yukiko Takayama, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Henry G. Saperstein, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects ...

'' to feature a newly orchestrated score by

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese composer. He is best known for composing several entries in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise as well as developing the Godzilla, titular monster's roar. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born o ...

. The film was released theatrically in Japan on December 14, 1991, and was followed by '' Godzilla vs. Mothra'' released on December 12, 1992. It was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

in North America in 1998 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. Despite mixed reviews from critics, ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' was more financially successful at the box office than ''Godzilla vs. Biollante''. The film attracted controversy outside Japan due to its perceived Japanese nationalist themes.

Plot

Two years after his battle with Biollante,

is still weakened from being infected by the Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria. Meanwhile, science fiction author Kenichiro Terasawa learns of a group of Japanese soldiers stationed on Lagos Island during the

Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign The Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign was a series of engagements fought from August 1942 to February 1944, in the Pacific War, Pacific theatre of World War II between the United States and Empire of Japan, Japan. They were the first battl ...

; where they were threatened by American forces, before being saved by a mysterious dinosaur, Godzillasaurus, which Terasawa theorizes to have mutated into the original Godzilla due to nuclear notes on the island.. Powerful businessman and veteran, Yasuaki Shindo, who commanded the Lagos Garrison, confirms Godzillasaurus’ existence. Soon, a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

named MOTHER lands near

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

. When the

JSDF The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense wi ...

investigates, MOTHER is revealed to be time machine piloted by the Futurians — Chuck Wilson, Grenchiko, Emmy Kano, and the android M-11 — who explain that they are from the year 2204, claiming Godzilla has completely destroyed Japan. The Futurians plan to travel back to 1944 and remove Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island before the nuclear tests, preventing it’a mutation into Godzilla. To prove themselves, Emmy presents a copy of Terasawa's book, which he's yet to publish. The Futurians, Terasawa,

Miki Saegusa is a recurring fictional character from the Heisei series of ''Godzilla'' films. She is a psychic who uses her powers to communicate with and, in some instances, control the mutant dinosaur Godzilla, and is credited for being the most frequently r ...

, and Professor Mazaki, travel back to 1944 to Lagos Island, where Japanese forces led by Shindo fight with attacking American forces. As per Shindo's story, Godzillasaurus fights off the Americans, but is mortally wounded by

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. After Shindo and his men leave the island, M-11 has Godzillasaurus teleported from Lagos Island to the Bering Strait. Before departing, the Futurians secretly leave three genetic-engineered dragons called Dorats on Lagos Island, which are later irradiated by nuclear tests, mutating and merging

. Returning to 1992, the Futurians use Ghidorah to subjugate Japan and issue an ultimatum of surrender. Becoming sympathetic for Japan’s people, Emmy reveals to Terasawa the truth behind the Futurians' mission: in the

23rd century In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 ( MMM), spanning the 21st to 30 ...

, Japan is an economic

superpower Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to Sphere of influence, exert influence and Power projection, project power on a global scale. This is done through the comb ...

surpassing the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, even buying out

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The Futurians sought to change history and prevent this by creating Ghidorah and having him destroy present-day Japan; and planned to erase Godzilla from history to prevent him from threatening their plans. After M-11 brings Emmy back to MOTHER, she reprograms the android to help her. Shindo plans to send his nuclear submarine to the Bering Strait and irradiate Godzillasaurus, and recreate Godzilla. However, Terasawa discovers that a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

nuclear submarine sank there in the 1970s, releasing enough radiation to mutate Godzillasaurus into the current Godzilla. Godzilla destroys Shindo's submarine and feeds on the radiation, consequently recovering from the ANEB and becoming larger. Godzilla arrives in Japan and faces Ghidorah. M-11 and Terasawa help Emmy sabotage MOTHER's control over Ghidorah, causing Ghidorah to lose focus, before Godzilla blasts off Ghidorah's middle head. Sending Ghidorah crashing into the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

, Godzilla destroys MOTHER, killing Wilson and Grenchiko. Godzilla turns his ire on Japan, rampaging from

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

to Tokyo, where he kills Shindo after seemingly recognizing him. Emmy travels to the future with M-11 and returns having created Mecha-King Ghidorah, a

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Godzilla vs. Biollante'' had been the most expensive ''Godzilla'' film produced at the time, its low audience attendance and loss of revenue convinced executive producer and ''Godzilla'' series creator

Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the ''Godzilla'' series, beginning in 1954 with ''Godzilla'' and ending in 1995 with '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah''. He was one of the mo ...

to revitalize the series by bringing back iconic monsters from pre-1984 ''Godzilla'' movies, specifically Godzilla's archenemy

. ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' director and writer

had initially hoped to start a standalone series centered on

Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...

, and was in the process of rewriting a 1990 script for the unrealized film ''Mothra vs. Bagan''. The film was ultimately scrapped by Toho, under the assumption that, unlike Godzilla, Mothra would have been a difficult character to market overseas. The planning stages for a sequel to ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' were initially hampered by Tanaka's deteriorating health, thus prompting the takeover of

as producer. The new producer felt that the financial failure of ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' was due to the plot being too sophisticated for child audiences, and thus intended to return some of the fantasy elements of the pre-1984 ''Godzilla'' films to the series. Ōmori himself blamed the lackluster performance of ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' on competition with ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...

'', and thus concluded that audiences wanted plots involving time travel. His approach to the film also differed from ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' in his greater emphasis on developing the personalities of the monsters rather than the human characters.

agreed to compose the film's score on the insistence of his daughter, although he had been dissatisfied with the way his compositions had been treated in ''Godzilla vs. Biollante''.

Special effects

The Godzilla suits used in ''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' were reused in ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'', though with slight modifications. The original suit used for land-based and full body shots had its head replaced with a wider and flatter one, and the body cut in half. The upper half was used in scenes where Godzilla emerges from the sea and during close-ups during the character's first fight with King Ghidorah. The suit used previously for scenes set at sea was modified with rounder shoulders, a more prominent chest, and an enhanced face, and was used throughout the majority of the film's Godzilla scenes. The redesigned King Ghidorah featured much more advanced wirework puppetry than its predecessors, and effects team leader Koichi Kawakita designed the "Godzillasaurus" as a more paleontologically accurate-looking dinosaur than Godzilla itself as a nod to American filmmakers aspiring to direct their own ''Godzilla'' films with the intention of making the monster more realistic. Ōmori's original draft specified that the dinosaur that would become Godzilla was a ''

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived througho ...

'', though this was rejected by creature designer Shinji Nishikawa, who stated that he "couldn't accept that a tyrannosaur could become Godzilla". The final suit combined features of ''Tyrannosaurus'' with Godzilla, and real

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

blood was used during the bombardment scene. Because the Godzillasaurus' arms were much smaller than Godzilla's, suit performer

Wataru Fukuda (born April 7, 1964) is a Japanese suit actor. Partial filmography * '' Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' (1991) as Godzillasaurus * '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II'' (1993) as Mechagodzilla/Super Mechagodzilla * '' Yamato Takeru'' (1994) as Utuno ...

had to operate them with levers within the costume. The creature's distress calls were recycled

Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...

cries.

Home media

The Columbia/TriStar Home Video DVD version was released in 1998 as a single disc double feature with '' Godzilla vs. Mothra''. The picture was full frame (1.33:1) TSCand the audio in English (2.0). There were no subtitles. Extras included the trailer for ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' and ''Godzilla vs. Mothra''. The Sony Blu-ray version was released on May 6, 2014, as a two-disc double feature with '' Godzilla vs. Mothra''. The picture was MPEG-4 AVC (1.85:1) 080pand the audio was in Japanese and English (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0). Subtitles were added in English, English SDH and French. Extras included the theatrical trailer and three teasers in HD with English subtitles.

Reception

Joseph Savitski of ''Beyond Hollywood'' said "This entry in the popular monster series is a disappointing and flawed effort unworthy of the 'Godzilla' name." Film historian and critic David Kalat wrote "Despite its shortcomings, illogic, and overpopulated cast, ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' is crammed full of ideas, richly visualized innovations, a genuine spirit of fun, and some of the most complex emotional manipulation ever to grace the series."

Controversy

The film was considered controversial at the time of its release, being contemporary to a period of economic tension between America and Japan, but mainly due to its fictional

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

depictions. Gerald Glaubitz of the

Pearl Harbor Survivors Association The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association (PHSA), founded in 1958 and recognized by the United States Congress in 1985, was a World War II veterans organization whose members were on Pearl Harbor or three miles or less offshore during the Japanese at ...

appeared alongside director

on ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'' and condemned the film as being in "very poor taste" and detrimental to American-Japanese relations.

Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...

also criticized Ōmori, stating that the scene in which Godzilla attacks and crushes American G.I.s went "too far". Conversely, Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle said American media reports of supposed anti-Americanism "weren't really thought-provoking or insightful." Ōmori has denied all such allegations, stating that the American extras in the film had been "happy about being crushed and squished by Godzilla." Commenting on the controversy in 2006, Ōmori stated:

Notes

References

External links

* * * Watch a behind-the-scenes documentary (Japanese with English subtitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah 1991 films 1990s Japanese-language films 1990s monster movies 1991 science fiction films Films about androids Films about dinosaurs Films about dragons Films about nuclear war and weapons 1990s films about time travel Films directed by Kazuki Ōmori Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films set in 1944 Films set in 1992 Films set in the 23rd century Films set in Fukuoka Films set in Hiroshima Films set in Sapporo Films set in Tokyo Films set in Yokkaichi Films set in the Marshall Islands Films set in the Pacific Ocean Films set on fictional islands Giant monster films Godzilla films Japanese sequel films Kaiju films Mecha films Japanese robot films Submarine films TriStar Pictures films Toho films Japanese World War II films Pacific War films 1990s English-language films 1990s Japanese films King Ghidorah Science fiction adventure films 1990s adventure films Films with posters by Noriyoshi Ohrai