SAN DAIKAIJÛ: CHIKYU SAIDAI NO KESSEN (Ghidora, the Three-Headed Monster,1964) *** You have to at least admire the variety of story elements that Ishirô Honda has to play with: faeries, Martians, a prophet princess, cops, a professor, politicians and killers and monsters. Akiko Wakabayashi has the face of a prophet, shimmering an exaltation beyond the sensual. I love the way they just casually start covering her as a news story. Honda's pacing is deceptively elliptical, letting out line and then reeling itself back in, and several of the scenes are just incredible: the Shobijin-narrated peace summit between Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan is definitely my favorite, but the avalanche is also absolutely glorious. And that's before you even start talking about the historic battle sequences (the tennis match, omigawsh!). The scene where the bad guy tries to catch some big ones is genre definitive, but only one of many entertaining things that Honda does with rocks. It's all very philosophical, meticulous, brutal, oriental. Am I the only one who wonders why these incredible creatures keep converging on Tokyo, without any apparent intentions to destroy it? It's a contemporary form of fairytale, obviously, and an argument could be made that it has roots in the collective subconscious. Having made such a brilliant observation I shouldn't be expected to elaborate (e.g. Godzilla represents the unbridled id, Mothra our determination to evolve), but I can nearly promise to laugh at anyone who does. That's why there are symbols, that's why there's poetry. Honda has a good thing going in this alternate reality of his (which he proudly concedes by referencing his previous works, repeatedly), and I wonder how much the comprehensive nature of his vision was a frame of inspiration for George Lucas. Oh, and the closing scenes, when the monsters wander off to their homelands, I wonder how much of an inspiration that was for "Teletubbies."
back to Brilliant Observations on 1776 Films page, or Index
go back home, or send me email
Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your novel!