Godzilla, the original giant
| Movie | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| German title | Godzilla, the original giant | ||
| Original title | Gojira vs. Biorante | ||
| Country of production | Japan | ||
| original language | Japanese | ||
| Publishing year | 1989 | ||
| length | 105 minutes | ||
| Age rating | FSK 12 | ||
| Rod | |||
| Director | Kazuki Omori | ||
| script | Kazuki Omori, Shin'ichirō Kobayashi |
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| production | Tomoyuki Tanaka | ||
| music | Kōichi Sugiyama | ||
| camera | Katsuhiro Kato | ||
| cut | Michiko Ikeda | ||
| occupation | |||
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| chronology | |||
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Godzilla the Urgiant ( Japanese ゴ ジ ラ vs ビ オ ラ ン テ , Gojira tai Biorante ) is a Japanese monster film from 1989 . It is the direct sequel to Godzilla: The Return of the Monster (1984). The film was released on video in Germany in February 1991.
action
Japan 1984: Immediately after Godzilla fell into the Mihara volcano, the government began clearing rubble in devastated Tokyo . In the midst of the rubble, they finally find organic remains of Godzilla that still contain living cells. Suddenly, American soldiers storm the rescue work, rob the cells and are able to flee from the Japanese soldiers before they are killed and their Godzilla cells robbed by an agent of the Saradia Oil Company from the Middle East. There he hands over the cells to the oil company and these are supposed to be carried out by the Japanese scientist Dr. Shiragami and his daughter Michiko, who want to use the Godzilla cells to grow an extremely resilient type of wheat that could be grown in the desert. But the Americans attack the laboratory with a bomb and destroy it, while Michiko Shiragami is killed.
Five years later: Dr. Shiragami has decided to return to Japan after the death of his daughter and tries to get in contact with her with the help of roses and the telepathic Miki Saegusa, but fails.
The army, under the guidance of Colonel Koroki, is meanwhile observing various activities in the Mihara volcano, ensuring that Godzilla could free himself, and has therefore developed a four-stage warning system. But other precautionary measures were also taken. With the Super-X2, a further development of the Super-X known from its predecessor was built, which, among other things, has a heat deflector made of synthetic diamonds that can focus and reflect Godzilla's heat beam and is even remote-controlled unmanned. But the most important weapon are the anti-nuclear bacteria , which can be used both for decontamination in the event of a nuclear accident and for the fight against Godzilla. However, these are the target of various parties. Not only the Japanese army is interested, the agent of the Saradia Oil Company as well as two agents of the American genetic society, also known as the bio-cartel , want these bacteria, as the bio-cartel plans to monopolize the global gene market. To do this, however, genes have to be extracted from Godzilla's cells in order to strengthen the bacteria. The Okuchi Foundation, which still has Godzilla cells, agrees to do so.
As an executive genetic scientist, Dr. Shiragami, who has sworn because of the death of his daughter that he will never work with Godzilla cells again, and who therefore refuses. However, since an eruption of the Mihara volcano destroys his rose bushes and he fears that he will lose contact with the soul of his deceased daughter, he finally agrees, on the condition that he can work with the Godzilla cells alone. Then he crosses the Godzilla cells with rose cells.
A short time later he was broken into and there was a shootout with agents from the Saradia Oil Company and the American bio-cartel. The three are attacked by a kind of tentacle that strangles one of the American agents. The other two escape, but the Japanese realize what the organic cartel is up to. A trail of this strange creature leads to the nearby Lake Ashi , in the middle of which suddenly stands a gigantic rose, which was created by Dr. Shiragami Biolante is baptized.
At the same time, the Japanese government received a blackmail letter. The bio-cartel demands the handover of the anti-nuclear bacteria, otherwise the Mihara volcano will be blown up and Godzilla will be freed. To back up the demand, a pre-explosion was carried out. Military member Colonel Gondo and young genetic student Kirishima meet with the agent of the bio-cartel, but the handover fails due to an attack by the Saradia agent who steals the anti-nuclear bacteria. In the course of the shooting, the bio-cartel agent had an accident in his truck, while the rollover switched on the ignition device. All attempts to stop the countdown fail, the Mihara volcano is blown up and Godzilla is free again.
The now stomps through the sea towards Tokyo and the Japanese Navy is powerless, so the Super-X2 is used. He can't defeat Godzilla, but he can at least get him to change the route.
Meanwhile, the pursuit of the Saradia agent, who tried to smuggle the anti-nuclear bacteria out of the country by plane, begins, but the Japanese authorities have closed the airports and the agent is located on the highway towards Tokyo.
Godzilla, meanwhile resurfaced and moves, due Biolantes Call, direction Odawara . A second fight with the Super-X2 breaks out, but this time the Super-X2 has no chance and is badly damaged by Godzilla. So the advance of Godzilla towards Odawara and Lake Ashi cannot be stopped and the fight against Biolante ensues. But while Biolante can only treat Godzilla with tendrils, she is very susceptible to his heat ray and eventually burns while the ashes rise into the sky.
While Godzilla then disappears back into the sea and Super-X2 is repaired, a crisis team advises what Godzilla could plan. Since he lost a lot of energy due to the fight with Super-X2 and Biolante, he will go to the nearest nuclear power station to regenerate. Since it is assumed that Godzilla will go ashore at Ise Bay , he should be fought there. Army, navy and air force are preparing for battle with a large contingent. But the crisis team has vastly miscalculated, because Godzilla's route leads directly to Osaka.
The city is evacuated. Gondo and Kirishima break into the administration office of the Saradia Oil Company there and manage to get the anti-nuclear bacteria back. A little later, Godzilla reached Osaka and caused great damage there. The third battle with the Super-X2 breaks out. However, this can only attack with missiles that Godzilla does not mind. Therefore the defective heat deflector should be used, but that turns out to be a fiasco and the Super-X2 crashes. However, Colonel Gondo manages with a small task force to infect Godzilla with the anti-nuclear bacteria. But suddenly he stands behind him and thus gets another load straight into his mouth. To do this, the dinosaur destroys the building in which Gondo is located, kills him and continues through Osaka.
But Godzilla showed no signs of illness the next day either, although the bacteria should work in eight hours and he received four times the dose. Kirishima got the idea that it couldn't work because Godzilla was cold-blooded. So Colonel Koroki suggests trying the M-6000 T-System , a weather control system that causes thunderstorms and heat. This is to increase Godzilla's body temperature so that the bacteria can multiply quickly. The system is set up in front of the nuclear power plant in Takahama and the plan works, Godzilla's temperature rises. The monster suddenly looks weak. But there is not enough time, Godzilla is about to destroy the reactor.
Suddenly the ashes of the believed dead Biolante rains from the sky, who stands in a new form in front of Godzilla and fights him. Biolante cannot defeat Godzilla, but at least stop him until the anti-nuclear bacteria work and Godzilla collapses lifeless. The head of the Okuchi Foundation is delighted with the sheer inexhaustible source of Godzilla cells and tries Dr. To persuade Shiragami to create more benign forms of life, but he finally refuses. After Biolante goes back into space, Dr. Shiragami shot dead by the Saradia Oil Company agent to prevent the Japanese from using any more Godzilla cells. Kirishima pursues the agent and can finally catch him on the T-System, but the agent can fight for an advantage and threatens to shoot Kirishima. However, he is killed by the T-System, which was accidentally activated by Colonel Koroki.
Kirishima then meets his girlfriend when Godzilla suddenly rises in front of them because the sea water has lowered his body temperature. But instead of attacking the two, he returns to the sea.
background
The film, directed by Kazuki Omori, is the 17th Godzilla film and the second film in the so-called Heisei era. This film era is not identical to the Heisei period , the current reign of Emperor Akihito from 1989. It is already set with Godzilla - The Return of the Monster (1984) and counted up to the beginning of the "millennium season" of the Godzilla films (1999).
In the US, the movie was called Godzilla vs. Biollante and heralded the "VS series" called Godzilla season, in which Godzilla competes against a main opponent. Since this film with the fight of Godzilla against the genetically bred monster Biollante did not go down well with the audience, the production company Toho decided to use more conventional opponents for Godzilla again in the future. The one on Godzilla vs. Biollante's following film was Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (German title: Godzilla - Duell der Megasaurier ) in 1991.
The Success of Godzilla - The Return of the Monster in 1984 caused a problem with the writers. They didn't know how to continue the story and therefore came up with a curious idea. Toho announced a competition in which Godzilla fans were allowed to explain their thoughts and ideas about the second film. As a result, Toho received a number of letters in the form of slips of ideas about comics / mangas and even entire scripts. Here the script was awarded with the idea of a fight between Godzilla and a genetically modified plant. A script that was also shortlisted was used for the Toho production Gunhead.
Traditionally, the “man-in-suit” technique was used here, that is, a human actor in a heavy rubber costume. That this is a dangerous business became clear during an incident during the shooting. The "Godzilla actor" Kenpachiro Satsuma almost suffocated in his costume when one of the few air holes was closed by a fold of latex. Only with a lot of luck and the swift action of the crew could Satsuma be saved unscathed, who shot the next scenes shortly afterwards.
A scene from Godzilla's destruction of Osaka was later featured in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks! used.
reception
The budget for this film was $ 5 million. The gross profit was around $ 7 million.
The film received very similar reviews, with the critics and the audience on the Rotten Tomatoes website rating the film as positive 71 percent.
“The simple trick technique of the“ Godzilla ”series is also retained in the 17th adventure of the prehistoric monster. Instead, shootings increasingly determine the naive story. At most "collectors" of the series should get their money's worth. "
Web links
- Godzilla vs. Biollante in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Godzilla, the original giant in the online film database
- Godzilla vs. Biollante atrotten tomatoes(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Certificate of release for Godzilla, the original giant . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2003 (PDF; test number: 65 046-a V).
- ↑ Godzilla, the original giant. Retrieved July 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989). Retrieved August 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Godzilla, the original giant. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .