San daikaijû: Chikyû saidai no kessen (1964)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writer:

Shinichi Sekizawa (writer)

Release Date:

13 September 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Three-Headed Monster battles Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan for the world!

Plot:

After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.

Plot Keywords:

Rodan | Godzilla | Mothra | Princess | Monster

Cast

Yosuke Natsuki	...	Detective Shindo
Yuriko Hoshi	...	Naoko Shindo
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Professor Miura
Akiko Wakabayashi	...	Mas Selina Salno, Princess of Sergina
Emi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Yûmi Ito	...	Shobijin (Twin Fairy)
Takashi Shimura	...	Dr. Tsukamoto
Akihiko Hirata	...	Chief Detective Okita
Hisaya Ito	...	Malmess, Chief Assassin
Minoru Takada	...	Prime Minister
Senshô Matsumoto	...	Alien Expert
Ikio Sawamura	...	Honest Fisherman
Kôzô Nomura	...	Geologist
Kenji Sahara	...	Editor in Chief Kanamaki
Susumu Kurobe	...	Moustachoied Assassin

Also Known As:

Earth's Greatest Battle (literal English title)
Ghidora, the Three-Headed Monster
Ghidrah
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (USA)
Gojira Mosura Kingu Gidora: Chikyu saidai no kessen (Japan) (reissue title)
Monster of Monsters: Ghidorah (International: English title)
The Biggest Battle on Earth
The Biggest Fight on Earth
The Greatest Battle on Earth
The Greatest Fight on Earth
Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

92 min | Japan:73 min (1971 reissue) | USA:85 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

This was the first movie to feature King Ghidorah, who would later go on to be Toho's main villain monster, fighting both Godzilla and Mothra as well as making appearances on Japanese television.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rodan flies out of Mt. Aso, you hear Godzilla's roar instead of Rodan's.

Quotes:

[the twin fairies translate a conversation between Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra]
Shobijin, Shobijin: Oh, Godzilla, what terrible language.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Fantastic Dinosaurs of the Movies (1990) (V)

The Beginning of Godzilla the Hero

This film marked the beginning of the shift in Godzilla's and Rodan's personalities from menaces to mankind to saviors. As the Godzilla series gained in popularity, the producers of the series began to see that Godzilla was particularly popular among children who saw Godzilla and the other monsters as heroes. Even though Godzilla destroys a ship when he first appears, by the end of the film you wind up cheering for Godzilla and Rodan at the end. By the end of the original series in 1975, Godzilla is seen as Earth's savior, defending man from all sorts or menaces from rogue monsters to aliens from space.