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| Godzilla Vs King Ghidora | 
 enlarge | List Price: $12.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 66 reviews)
Sales Rank: 14071
Category: Video
Actors: Kosuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi
Director: Kazuki Omori
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Label: Sony Pictures
Format: Color, Ep, Ntsc
Languages: Japanese (Original Language), English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 89 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0767801601
UPC: 043396283930
EAN: 9780767801607
ASIN: 0767801601
Release Date: April 28, 1998
Theatrical Release Date: 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 A peek into nutty Japanese ultranationalist mentality August 14, 2008
I loved watching giant Japanese lizards beat each other up and stomp on humanity as a child. Who could not love Godzilla movies as a kid? So, I'm coming at this review as someone who was raised on the Showa era of Godzilla movies.
Mostly, I haven't liked Heisei era movies so far. They sort of detracted from the awesomeness of the earlier Showa era movies. While this one used a recycled monster, it's really a new story. Ever been to Tokyo? If you have, you've probably seen the crazy black vans driven around by Mishima-esque ultra nationalists, spouting off insane Japanese propaganda, demanding they go back to Emperor worship and the glories of Imperial Japan. I'm pretty sure these guys took over production of this film. In fact, one of these guys is featured as one of the main heroes of the movie! This is a first for me. I've never seen these guys portrayed in any movies before, but they really exist.
All Godzilla movies are somewhat Japanese "right wing." Godzilla is a personification of America and the atom bomb. Sometimes Godzilla is a destructive force, sometimes he helps out poor Japan: sort of like America. The Japanese military, while it always fails against Godzilla and other giant monsters, is seen as a glorious thing in Godzilla movies. Really, Godzilla movies are the only outlet I know of for modern Japanese military porn. It's allowed, presumably because they lose. In this movie, however, they take out all stops. Liberal Americans from the future steal a time machine, and wreak havoc on Japan, to prevent their inevitable rise to the biggest and most powerful nation on earth by the 22nd century (their overwhelming might being driven by economic growth: a plausible scenario in 1990). They bring along a token race-traitor in the guise of a curly haired Japanese woman, and make fun of her a lot for having sympathy for her countrymen whose annihilation she somehow supported for a while. They go back in time to witness a heartless American attack on innocent Japanese soldiers, thwarted by a proto-Godzilla dinosaur! The Japanese in this movie even have a secret privately owned nuclear missile submarine "of course, we haven't kept this submarine in Japanese waters (since Japan doesn't like nuclear weapons being based in the homeland); it's somewhere not to far away from us ... in southeast Asia..." What glorious fantasy!
The monster fights are particularly good in this movie. King Ghidorah is one of the most spectacular enemy monsters of this franchise. Sure, the story doesn't make much sense: it's a Japanese monster movie for crying out loud! I haven't watched most of the more recent 'Zilla movies: I'm hoping they're all as weird and insane as this one is. I suppose some people would complain about the crazy nationalism and racism in this movie. Personally, I don't feel threatened by Japanese nationalism: I found those aspects of this movie to be completely hilarious and awesome. I mean, how can you be threatened by a film which has a brief scene showing a modernist building labeled, "the Institute for Superscience?"
 Pretty good December 12, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I actually think this movie deserves 3.5 stars, but oh well. One good thing about this movie is that we get to see what Godzilla looked like before coming Godzilla! It's SO cool!
 Barely Hidden Agenda May 13, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although this is a fairly entertaining movie, Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah is the most nationalistic, imperialist, racist Godzilla movie I have seen In the future, Japan is the most powerful country in the world, occupying much of Asia and South America. The scenes from World War II are unapologetic, and the Americans are portrayed as the aggressors. In addition to this, the Caucasian soldiers are incompetent; they all charge right under the feet of the proto-Godzilla and are killed to the last man. The Japanese, knowing better, don't antagonize the beast, and get away unharmed. The special effects and action scenes of this film are decent for a Godzilla movie of the time. The story is lacking: the overly ambitious time-travel plot leaves many holes to be filled. This is a fun movie to watch, but bear in mind that it is politically subversive, overtly so.
Worthy to be noticed as an orginal September 6, 2004
The best of the new Godzilla series. It reminded me so much of the orginal movies with Ghidorah. Too Bad Godzilla was evil and Rodan wasn't in it. Oh well...still as good as King of the monsters...
One of my favorites April 22, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Godzilla Vs. King Gidorah is the third movie in the Heisei series, the first two being Godzilla 1985 and Godzilla Vs. Biollante, and continues with the higher production values.Humans from the future have come to Japan to warn that Godzilla will soon recover from the anti-nuclear bacteria and lay waste to Japan. The best way to stop him would be to go back to 1945 and move the godzillasaurus from the Marshal Islands before it can be mutated into Godzilla. They then go back to perform the deed. After that the dinosaur saves a troop of Japanese soldiers from the attacking Americans it is teleported to the Bering Strait. But the future humans leave behind three small bio-engineered creatures called dorats. Back in our present day Godzilla no longer exists (although there are no real changes). But now a new monster, King Gidorah, has risen. King Gidorah was created when the dorats were exposed to the radiation that originally created Godzilla. That the future humans are actually here to prevent Japan from becoming the number-one world power. With King Gidorah under their control they should be able to destroy Japan. The Japanese government decides to locate the godzillasaurus and expose it to enough radiation to recreate Godzilla. But a sunken nuclear sub has beat them to it. Godzilla lives and is bigger than ever. At about that time a schism opens among the future humans and two, a Japanese woman and an android, decide to help current Japan. Godzilla manages to defeat King Gidorah and blow off its middle head. But then Godzilla takes up where King Gidorah left off. Now Japans only hope is for the future humans to restore King Gidorah and defeat Godzilla. Back in the future King Gidorah is located and augmented into Mecha-King Gidorah who comes back to drive off Godzilla. In the end the two monsters plummet into the sea. This is a real fun one. I am glad Tri-Star Pictures was able to finally release this one in America after a long delay (although the portrayal of Americans is not too favorable).
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