Editing Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

{{short description|1991 film by Kazuki Ōmori}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
| image          = File:Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) Japanese theatrical poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Noriyoshi Ohrai]]
| native_name    = {{Infobox Japanese| katakana=ゴジラvsキングギドラ | revhep=gojira vs kingugidora}}
| director       = [[Kazuki Ōmori]]
| producer       = [[Shōgo Tomiyama]]
| writer         = Kazuki Ōmori
| starring       = [[Kōsuke Toyohara]]<br>[[Anna Nakagawa]]<br>[[Megumi Odaka]]<br>[[Katsuhiko Sasaki]]<br>[[Akiji Kobayashi]]<br>[[Yoshio Tsuchiya]]<br>Robert Scott Field
| music          = [[Akira Ifukube]]
| cinematography = {{ill|Yoshinori Sekiguchi|ja|関口芳則}}
| editing        = {{ill|Michiko Ikeda|ja|池田美千子}}
| studio         = [[Toho Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Toho]]
| released       = {{film date|1991|12|14}}
| runtime        = 103 minutes
| country        = Japan
| language       = Japanese<br/>English
| budget         = {{JPY|1.5 billion}}<ref name="CompleteWorks">{{cite book|title=Tōhō Tokusatsu Eiga Taizenshū|trans-title=Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works|last1=Motoyama|first1=Sho|last2=Matsunomoto|first2=Kazuhiro|last3=Asai|first3=Kazuyasu|last4=Suzuki|first4=Nobutaka|last5=Kato|first5=Masashi|publisher=villagebooks|date=September 28, 2012|isbn=978-4864910132|page=224|language=Japanese}}</ref>
| gross          = {{JPY|1.45 billion}} {{small|(Japan{{nbsp}}rentals)}}<ref name="Japanese Box Office">{{cite web| url = https://nendai-ryuukou.com/article/089.html| title = 歴代ゴジラ映画作品一覧}}</ref>
}}

{{Nihongo|'''''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'''''|[[Japanese language|Japanese]]: ゴジラvsキングギドラ|[[Hepburn romanization|Hepburn]]: Gojira tai Kingu Gidora}} is a 1991 Japanese [[Kaiju|''kaiju'' film]] written and directed by [[Kazuki Ōmori]] and produced by [[Shōgo Tomiyama]]. Distributed by [[Toho]] and produced under their subsidiary [[Toho Studios|Toho Pictures]], it is the 18th film in the [[Godzilla (franchise)|''Godzilla'' franchise]], and is the third film in the franchise's [[Godzilla (franchise)#Heisei era (1984–1995)|Heisei period]]. The film features the fictional monster characters [[Godzilla]] and [[King Ghidorah]], and stars [[Kōsuke Toyohara]], [[Anna Nakagawa]], [[Megumi Odaka]], [[Katsuhiko Sasaki]], [[Akiji Kobayashi]], [[Yoshio Tsuchiya]], and Robert Scott Field. The plot revolves around time-travelers from the future who convince Japan to travel back in time to prevent [[Godzilla (Heisei)|Godzilla]]'s mutation, only to reveal their true motives by unleashing [[King Ghidorah]] 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)|''Back to the Future'' franchise]], the producers of ''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' were compelled to create a film with more [[fantasy]] elements, along with [[time travel]].<ref name="Kalat">{{cite book|last1=Kalat|first1=David|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series|date=2010|publisher=McFarland & Co.|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=9780786447497|pages=179–183|edition=2nd}}</ref>

''Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'' was the first ''Godzilla'' film since 1975's ''[[Terror of Mechagodzilla]]'' to feature a newly orchestrated score by [[Akira Ifukube]]. 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]] in North America in 1998 by [[Sony Pictures Home Entertainment|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.<ref name="Ryfle">{{cite book|last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|title=Japan's Favorite Mon-star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G"|date=1998|publisher=ECW Press|location=Toronto|isbn=1550223488|pages=[https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/265 265–275]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/265}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stewardson|first1=Christopher|title=Review: Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991)|url=https://ourculturemag.com/2017/07/07/review-godzilla-vs-king-ghidorah-1991|website=Our Culture Mag|access-date=2020-02-17|date=2017-07-07|archive-date=2023-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206143507/https://ourculturemag.com/2017/07/07/review-godzilla-vs-king-ghidorah-1991/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Plot==
Two years after his battle with [[Biollante]],{{efn|As depicted in ''[[Godzilla vs. Biollante]]'' (1989).}} [[Godzilla (Heisei)|Godzilla]] is still weakened after being infected by the ANEB (Anti-Nuclear Energy Bacteria). Meanwhile, science fiction author Kenichiro Terasawa is writing a book about the monster and learns of a group of [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese soldiers]] stationed on Lagos Island during the [[Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign]]. In 1944, while threatened by [[United States Armed Forces|American forces]], the Japanese soldiers were saved by a mysterious dinosaur, Godzillasaurus, which Terasawa theorizes was subsequently mutated into the first Godzilla in 1954 after a [[Castle Bravo|hydrogen bomb test]] on the island.{{efn|As depicted in the 1954 [[Godzilla (1954 film)|self-titled film]].}} Yasuaki Shindo, a wealthy businessman and army veteran who commanded the Lagos Garrison, confirms that Godzillasaurus did indeed exist.

Meanwhile, a [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] named MOTHER lands near [[Mount Fuji]]. When the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|JSDF]] investigates, it is revealed that MOTHER is in fact a [[time machine]] and they are greeted by the Futurians Wilson, Grenchiko, Emmy Kano, and the [[Android (robot)|android]] M-11. The Futurians explain that they are from the year 2204, where Godzilla has completely destroyed Japan. The Futurians plan to travel back in time to 1944 and remove Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island before the island is irradiated, thus preventing the mutation of the creature into the first Godzilla. As proof of their story, Emmy presents a copy of Terasawa's book, which has not yet been completed in the present.

The Futurians, Terasawa, [[Miki Saegusa]], and Professor Mazaki, board MOTHER's time machine, KIDS, and travel back to 1944 to Lagos Island. There, as American forces land and engage the Japanese forces commanded by Shindo, Godzillasaurus attacks and kills the American soldiers. The [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] then uses a detachment of warships to bombard Godzillasaurus from the sea and gravely wounds it. After Shindo and his men leave the island, M-11 uses KIDS to teleport Godzillasaurus from Lagos Island to the [[Bering Strait]]. Before returning to 1992, the Futurians secretly leave three genetic-engineered dragons called [[King Ghidorah#Heisei era (1991–1998)|Dorats]] on Lagos Island, which are exposed to radiation from the hydrogen bomb test in 1954 and merge to become [[King Ghidorah]]. After returning to 1992, the Futurians use Ghidorah to subjugate Japan and issue an ultimatum, but Japan refuses to surrender.

Feeling sympathy for the Japanese people, Emmy reveals to Terasawa the truth behind the Futurians' mission: in the [[23rd century]], Japan is an economic [[superpower]] that has surpassed the [[United States]], [[Russia]], and [[China]], and even bought out the entirety of [[South America]] and [[Africa]]. The Futurians traveled back in time in order to change history and prevent Japan's future economic dominance by creating Ghidorah and using it to destroy present-day Japan. At the same time, they also planned to erase Godzilla from history so that he would not pose a threat to their plans. After M-11 brings Emmy back to MOTHER, she reprograms the android so it will help her.

Shindo plans to send his nuclear submarine to the Bering Strait and irradiate Godzillasaurus in order to recreate Godzilla. However, Terasawa discovers too late that a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] nuclear submarine sank there in the 1970s and released enough radiation to mutate Godzillasaurus into Godzilla.{{efn|As depicted in ''[[The Return of Godzilla]]'' (1984).}} En route to the Bering Strait, Shindo's submarine is destroyed by Godzilla, who absorbs its radiation, recovers from the ANEB and becomes larger. Godzilla arrives in Japan and is met by Ghidorah. They fight at equal strength, each immune to the other's attacks. With M-11 and Terasawa's aid, Emmy sabotages MOTHER's control over Ghidorah, causing Ghidorah to lose focus during the battle. Godzilla eventually ends the battle by blasting off Ghidorah's middle head. Before sending wounded Ghidorah crashing into the [[Sea of Okhotsk]], Godzilla destroys MOTHER, killing Wilson and Grenchiko, and then turns his ire on Japan by attacking [[Sapporo]] to Tokyo, where he kills Shindo in the process.

Emmy travels to the future with M-11 and returns to the present day with Mecha-King Ghidorah, a [[cyborg]] version of Ghidorah. Ghidorah blasts Godzilla with beams, which proves useless. Godzilla then counters by relentlessly blasting Ghidorah with his atomic breath before Ghidorah launches clamps to restrain Godzilla. Ghidorah carries Godzilla out of Japan, but Godzilla breaks from its restraints and causes Ghidorah to send both crashing into the ocean, killing Ghidorah in the process. Emmy then returns to the future with M-11 in KIDS, but not before informing Terasawa that she is his descendant.

At the bottom of the ocean, Godzilla roars over Ghidorah's remains.

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Kōsuke Toyohara]] as {{nihongo|Kenichiro Terasawa|寺沢 健一郎| Terasawa Kenichiro}}, science fiction author and one of the film's main protagonists.
* [[Katsuhiko Sasaki]] as Professor Hironori Mazaki
* [[Yoshio Tsuchiya]] as Yasuaki Shindo, the wealthy businessman and World War II veteran.
* [[Robert Scott Field]] as M-11, an android and the member of the Futurians.
* [[Anna Nakagawa]] as {{nihongo|Emmy Kano|エミー カノー| Emī Kanō}}, the member of the Futurians and one of the film's main protagonists.
* Richard Berger as Grenchiko, the rogue member of the Futurians and one of the film's main antagonists.
* Chuck Wilson as Wilson, the rogue member of the Futurians and one of the film's main antagonists.
* [[Megumi Odaka]] as {{nihongo|[[Miki Saegusa]]|三枝 未希| Saegusa Miki}}
* [[Akiji Kobayashi]] as {{nihongo|Ryuzo Dobashi|土橋 竜三| Dobashi Ryuzo}}
* Tokuma Nishioka as {{nihongo|Takehiko Fujio|藤尾 猛彦| Fujio Takehiko}}
* {{ill|Kiwako Harada|ja|原田貴和子}} as {{nihongo|Chiaki Morimura|森村 千晶| Morimura Chiaki}}
* [[Kenji Sahara]] as Takayuki Segawa
* [[So Yamamura]] as Hayashida, [[Prime Minister of Japan]].
* Koichi Ueda as Masukichi Ikehata, Lagos Island veteran.
* [[Kenpachiro Satsuma]] as [[Godzilla (Heisei)|Godzilla]], the irradiated dinosaurian creature.
** [[Wataru Fukuda]] as Godzillasaurus, Godzilla's pre-irradiated form who lives in Lagos Island.
* [[Hurricane Ryu]] as [[King Ghidorah]], the irradiated three-headed dragon created from Dorats and one of the film's main antagonists.
** Ryu also portrays Mecha-King Ghidorah, the cyborg version of Ghidorah.
}}

==Production==
[[File:GvKG - behind scenes.jpg|thumb|Preparations for the first fight scene]]

===Conception===
Although the previously filmed ''[[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]] to revitalize the series by bringing back iconic monsters from pre-1984 ''Godzilla'' movies, specifically Godzilla's archenemy [[King Ghidorah]].<ref name="Ryfle"/>

''Godzilla vs. Biollante'' director and writer [[Kazuki Ōmori]] had initially hoped to start a standalone series centered on [[Mothra]], 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 [[Shōgo Tomiyama]] 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]]'', and thus concluded that audiences wanted plots involving time travel.<ref name="Kalat"/> 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.<ref name="Wong">{{cite book|last1=Wong|first1=Kin Yuen|title=World Weavers: Globalization, Science Fiction, and the Cybernetic Revolution|date=2005|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=9789622097216|page=182|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWnqAQAAQBAJ&q=godzilla+ghidorah&pg=PA182|access-date=29 November 2015}}</ref>

[[Akira Ifukube]] 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''.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=315}}

===Special effects===
[[File:KIDS prop model right front view at Akashi City Museum of Culture July 29, 2018.jpg|thumb|A prop of the time machine KIDS on display at Akashi City Museum of Culture]]
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.<ref>Robert Biondi, "The Evolution of Godzilla – G-Suit Variations Throughout the Monster King’s Twenty One Films", ''G-FAN'' #16 (July/August 1995)</ref>

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.<ref name="Kalat"/> Ōmori's original draft specified that the dinosaur that would become Godzilla was a ''[[Tyrannosaurus]]'', 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]] blood was used during the bombardment scene. Because the Godzillasaurus' arms were much smaller than Godzilla's, suit performer [[Wataru Fukuda]] had to operate them with levers within the costume. The creature's distress calls were recycled [[Gamera]] cries.<ref name="Wong"/>

==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 (cinematography)|full frame]] (1.33:1) [NTSC] and 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]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Godzilla-vs-King-Ghidorah-Blu-ray/44284/#Review |title=Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah Blu-ray |website=Blu-ray.com |date=2014-05-01 |access-date=2014-07-07}}</ref> The picture was MPEG-4 AVC (1.85:1) [1080p] and 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==
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|56|4.80|9|ref=yes|access-date=September 19, 2023}}

Joseph Savitski of ''Beyond Hollywood'' said "This entry in the popular monster series is a disappointing and flawed effort unworthy of the 'Godzilla' name."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Savitski|first1=Joseph|title=Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991) Movie Review|url=http://www.beyondhollywood.com/godzilla-vs-king-ghidorah-1991-movie-review/|website=Beyond Hollywood|publisher=Wayback Machine|access-date=2017-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826042056/http://www.beyondhollywood.com/godzilla-vs-king-ghidorah-1991-movie-review/|archive-date=26 August 2017|date=2004-08-04}}</ref> 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."{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=181}}

===Controversy===
The film was considered controversial at the time of its release, being contemporary to a period of [[Japan-United States relations#1990s: After the cold war|economic tension]] between America and Japan, but mainly due to its fictional [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|World War II]] depictions. Gerald Glaubitz of the [[Pearl Harbor Survivors Association]] appeared alongside director [[Kazuki Ōmori]] on ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' and condemned the film as being in "very poor taste" and detrimental to American-Japanese relations.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=273}} [[Ishirō Honda]] also criticized Ōmori, stating that the scene in which Godzilla attacks and crushes American G.I.s went "too far".<ref>{{cite interview |last=Honda |first=Ishirō |subject-link=Ishirō Honda |interviewer=David Milner |title=Ishirō Honda Interview |work=Kaiju Conversations |url=http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/honda.htm |access-date=2020-01-06 |archive-date=2017-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114133740/http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/honda.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Conversely, Godzilla historian Steve Ryfle said American media reports of supposed anti-Americanism "weren't really thought-provoking or insightful."{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=273}} Ōmori has denied all such allegations, stating that the American extras in the film had been "happy about being crushed and squished by Godzilla."<ref name="Wong"/><ref name="youtube">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4CCF4tPRUY | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/D4CCF4tPRUY| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) - CNN Report |website=YouTube |access-date=2014-07-16}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Commenting on the controversy in 2006, Ōmori stated:<ref>{{cite web|last1=Homenick|first1=Brett |title=Kazuki Omori Recalls the Heisei Godzilla Series! Toho's Writer-Director Shares His Memories of the King of the Monsters!|url=https://vantagepointinterviews.com/2017/05/13/kazuki-omori-recalls-the-heisei-godzilla-series-tohos-writer-director-shares-his-memories-of-the-king-of-the-monsters/|website=Vantage Point Interviews|access-date=2021-01-06|date=2017-05-13}}</ref> {{cquote| I am not anti-American. I love American movies, and I've always watched American movies. Most American movies are, in the same sense,  made the way I made my movie. I just wanted to make a movie with American army people in it, and to put the rumors to rest, I am not anti-American. I love American war movies, but looking at all the ones I've watched over the years, Americans never lose. And so I thought they should lose at least once! Why don't the Americans ever lose?!}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}

* {{IMDb title|id=0101962|title=Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|id=godzilla_vs_king_ghidora|title=Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah}}
* [[iarchive:1991ghidorahbts|Watch a behind-the-scenes documentary (Japanese with English subtitles)]]

{{Godzilla|state=expand}}
{{Kazuki Ōmori}}

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