Gojira vs. Biorante (1989)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Kazuki Omori

Writers:

Shinichirô Kobayashi (story)
Kazuki Omori (writer)

Release Date:

16 December 1989 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The most terrifying monster of all time is back in his greatest movie ever

Plot:

After rising from his volcanic grave, Godzilla is threatened by a mutated rosebush.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Creature | Reporter | Monster Movie | Creature Feature

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kunihiko Mitamura	...	Kazuhito Kirishima
Yoshiko Tanaka	...	Asuka Okouchi
Masanobu Takashima	...	Major Sho Kuroki
Koji Takahashi	...	Dr. Shiragami
Tôru Minegishi	...	Lieutenant Goro Gondo
Megumi Odaka	...	Miki Saegusa
Toshiyuki Nagashima	...	Director Seiichi Yamamoto
Ryunosuke Kaneda	...	Azuka's Father
Kazuma Matsubara	...	Self Defense Forces Officer
Yasunori Yuge	...	Prime Minister
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Prime Minister's Wife
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Erika Shiragami
Haruko Sagara	...	TV reporter
Kôichi Ueda	...	General Hyodo
Kosuke Toyohara	...	Super-X2 Controller

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Biollante
Gojira Vs Biorante (USA)

Runtime:

105 min | USA:104 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Spain:13 | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

In 1986, a contest was held to decide the plot for the next Godzilla movie. The winner was Shinichirô Kobayashi, a dentist and part-time screenwriter. After the script was heavily altered, the movie came to the screen in 1989. However, the second place script would later become the other Toho science fiction film, Ganheddo (1989).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the gunfight in Shiragami's lab when the body of one of Biomajor's agents is being removed a man states " the bodies belonged to two of Biomajor's agents" making it appear that two men were killed instead of one. In fact, the second agent is later seen making the negotiations to hand over the Anti Nuclear Energy Bacteria.

Quotes:

Dr. Shiragami: Godzilla and Biollante aren't monsters. It's the unscrupulous scientists who create them that are monsters.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Gojira VS Mekagojira (1993)

A Huge Step Forward in the Series...

"Gojira 1985" signaled the return for the Big G, and certainly left fans starving for more. So, the boys at Toho put this film together. At first glance, it may seem foolish: big plant creature against Godzilla? Seems like a cake walk for Godzilla.

But no. Biollante, the fiend in this film, is easily Godzilla's most formidable enemy, save perhaps King Ghidorah. Heck, Biollante actually got Godzilla in her mouth! The film was executed very well for a Godzilla movie. It was very fun, with good battle sequences and a good plot for the humans of the movie. It was an interesting take on the Godzilla series, actually.

The monster's costumes were very impressive, and both looked very good... very realistic.

My biggest gripe for the film, however would have to be the pacing. Biollante and Godzilla really only had one good fight, with Biollante's final form only being seen for about ten minutes. The rest of the movie just illustrates Biollante's metamorphosis.

Anyway, the film is fun and worth a look. Unfortunately, unless you want to get the Region 2 version for $65, you'll have to find a bootleg disc... which is the one I have.

8/10.