Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

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

Director:

Kazuki Ohmori

Writers:

Shinichirô Kobayashi (story), Kazuki Ohmori

Stars:

Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kunihiko Mitamura	...	Kazuhito Kirishima
Yoshiko Tanaka	...	Asuka Okouchi
Masanobu Takashima	...	Major Sho Kuroki
Kôji Takahashi	...	Dr. Genichiro Shiragami
Tôru Minegishi	...	Lieutenant Goro Gondo
Megumi Odaka	...	Miki Saegusa
Toshiyuki Nagashima	...	Director Seiichi Yamamoto
Ryûnosuke Kaneda	...	Seizo Okouchi
Kazuma Matsubara	...	Self Defense Forces Officer
Yoshiko Kuga	...	Keiko Owada, Prime Minister's Representative
Yasunori Yuge	...	Prime Minister's Aide
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Erika Shiragami
Haruko Sagara	...	TV Reporter
Kôichi Ueda	...	Joint-Chief of Staff Yamaji
Kosuke Toyohara	...	Osamu Amesawa

Storyline

A scientist combines the cells of a rose with those of Godzilla to create a biological creature more horrifying than any seen before. The two do battle after a destructive tour of Japan by Godzilla. A newly released version includes many new fight scenes that were cut out of the theatrical version.

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla | kaiju | japan | tokusatsu | fictional country | 

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Taglines:

The ultimate battle has only just begun.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for traditional Godzilla violence

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

16 December 1989 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Biollante

Filming Locations:

Osaka, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,538,198

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Toho Eizo Co., Toho Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 83 min (VHS Screener Release)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Fall 1985, Toho held a contest to decide the plot for the next Godzilla movie, inviting writers and fans to submit story treatments for the project. Out of the 5,024 submissions, and with 10 finalists, the winner was Shinichirô Kobayashi, a dentist and part-time screenwriter. A big fan of Godzilla and Ultraman, Kobayashi had done the story treatment for Episode #34 ("The Forgiven Life") of Return of Ultraman (1971) (when he was just 16 years old), which inspired this film's story. This film was originally geared for a December 1986 release, but King Kong Lives (1986) was released in Japan and bombed at the box-office. Toho assumed that the movie failed because there was no interest in giant monster films, and "Godzilla Vs. Biollante" was scrapped. Finally, in 1989, the project was revived for Godzilla's 35th Anniversary. After the script was heavily altered, the movie was greenlit by Summer, filmed from early August to late November, and released to theaters on December 16th. However, the second place script ("Godzilla Vs. the Robot Army"/"Gojira tai Robotto Gundan," by James Bannon) would later become the other Toho science fiction film of 1989, Gunhed (1989).

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Goofs

After Shiragami is briefly interviewed by the media Biollante is shown for a brief second appearing regular, but in the very next shot with Biollante it's fully blossomed.

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Quotes

Lieutenant Goro Gondo: [to Godzilla] All this intravenous stuff is no good for you. Stick to smoking.

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Alternate Versions

Deleted scenes:

• When Godzilla comes ashore at Abarishi a scene of him walking past a lighthouse and smashimng it with his tail was cut.
• After Godzilla's first confrontation with Biollante in Lake Ashino in the which is set ablaze by Godzilla's radioactive breath, spores from the plant creature shower the surrounding countryside causeing flowers to suddenly bloom.
• Originally Godzilla was to atack the Osaka's Kansie airport, which was under construction at the time of filming, but permission could not be obtained. Instead Godzilla and Miki engage in a telepatch battle near a heliport for the site in the Ise Channel.
• A discarded concept was to have Biollante attempt to physically absorb Godzilla during the climatic battle. This was scrapped due to time and budgetary considerations but was the concept was visualised for the climax of 'Godzilla 2000'.

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Connections

Followed by Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002)

User Reviews

One of the Godzilla movies with a distinctive plot.

This is a Godzilla movie that tells a very different story than the previous films. The root of the story all lies on one aspect-the Godzilla cell. The plot is solid and intriguing - a story about some of the world's power-hungry people who want to get their hands on some Godzilla DNA for their own devious purposes. When the Japanese refuse to hand over the DNA, terrorists release Godzilla from his lair and he begins a new spree of terror. In an act of desperation, a scientist merges some of the Godzilla cells with a rosebud, mutating it into the one of the most unique monsters in the Toho universe - Biollante. The two do battle as our protagonists in the film try to track down the terrorists. As a result, what we have is not the usual Godzilla vs. movie with an alien-invasion plot. This one is unique and substantive in its monster origins, plot flow and character development.

While an exciting movie, there are some people that this film could have done without, like the horrible Saradian agent SSS9 and the campy Biomajor people. I have to give credit to this movie, anyhow, because it introduced the Godzilla-centered psychic Miki Saegusa (played by Megumi Odaka). She would take a very significant role in this and the following Godzilla films. Her using her psychic powers to locate Godzilla and stopping him from coming ashore in Osaka was intriguing.

Overall, not a bad Godzilla film. Very distinctive, albeit a little too focused on the human subplot and the military, and the Biollante angle wasn't emphasized enough.

Grade B-