GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE (1989)
Director: Kazuki Omori
Genre: Daikaiju eiga
Country: Japan
After the Showa series ran its course with 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla, the Godzilla franchise went on a long hiatus until 1984’s relaunch, Godzilla (known here as Godzilla 1985). The movie was praised for its return to the darker themes of the early films but was criticized for its often ponderous tone and its lack of a monster opponent for the Big G. It would be another five years before the new Heisei, or versus series, would resume in earnest with Godzilla vs. Biollante, a movie that is notable for its remarkably unique and imaginative creature design, introduction of new “hard” science fiction elements, and often bizarre plot.
Biollante begins in the aftermath of the previous movie, as scientists are sifting through the rubble of Godzilla’s most recent attack on
Much of the human activity in the movie concerns the quest to obtain and use the Godzilla cell samples by different factions. This is actually kind of a cool idea, and if there had been a Godzilla attack, you can bet that lots of people would like to get their hands on his samples to use for their own ends. Researcher Dr. Shiragami, mourns the loss of his young daughter in a terrorist attack and spends much of his time looking into psychic phenomena, especially the psychic properties of roses (Um, whaaa?). One of his students is Miki Saegusa, a psychic who develops a bond with Godzilla. Miki becomes a fixture in the later Heisei movies, which feature a fairly tight continuity.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shiragami has come into possession of some Godzilla cells and has been tasked with using them to create a weapon to be used against Godzilla. Unbeknownst to his employers, Shiragami has been combining them with both the DNA of one of his psychic roses and that of his dead daughter (WTF?!), needless to say this does not end up well, and the resulting creature, Biollante, escapes into a nearby lake and grows to an enormous size. Biollante is a genetic relative of Godzilla and begins calling him to her. When the King of the Monsters arrives, the two have a skirmish, and Biollante is apparently defeated.
Godzilla then makes his way to the nearest nuclear power plant (as is his wont) he faces an all out attack from the humans, who unsuccessfully attempt to use Shiragami’s weapon against him. A fully-grown Biollante also appears, and battles Godzilla, nearly destroying him, before he triumphs and heads to sea. Biollante releases spores which briefly form into an image of Shiragami’s daughter and then head out into space(!?).
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
First, Biollante features a new look for Godzilla and one that stayed fairly consistent throughout the 1990’s. The Biollante suit remains an iconic look for the character and one that is beloved by many fans. Strangely, it adds features that are actually less reptilian, such as a set of mammalian specialized teeth instead of the fangs or jagged teeth of past suits, an almost feline face, topped with what look like cornrows, and small, intelligent eyes. Apparently, this Goji has been doing push-ups, because he has a more muscular upper body, with pronounced pectorals and deltoids (the lower body is still flabby though).
The real star, however, is Biollante herself, who is totally unique in the history Godzilla monsters. This is the rare instance of Toho forgoing the usual man-in-suit technique and opting for a different approach to bring its monster to life. Biollante, in her final form, looks like a giant Audrey 2 from Hell and actually dwarfs Godzilla in comparison. She is a genuinely horrible monster and not at all goofy-looking, as many other Toho monsters are. Her “body” is sort of bulbous with a luminescent potbelly, crisscrossed with sinewy vines . She moves on a bed of tentacle-like vines, many of which end in toothy jaws. On her back are mossy scales. Half of her body is taken up by an absolutely huge and croc-like mouth, which is full of teeth, even on the base and roof of the mouth, and from which she sprays a radioactive sap. She is definitely one of the most original and compelling monsters to have appeared in a Toho movie.
As a Toho monster, Biollante is part of a long line Godzilla clones, demi-Godzillas, usurpers, and wanna-bes that include, the original Mechagodzilla, Spacegodzilla, and Orga (from Godzilla 2000). Even the American Godzilla has been worked into the mythos as a pretender with his reference in Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah and finally his appearance in Godzilla Final Wars. In GMK, poor Baragon, is temporarily confused with Godzilla and it doesn’t end well for him. If there is a real theme to the Godzilla franchise, is that there can only ever be one Godzilla, and you’d better not even try to replace him.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE
The battle at the end is quite good, and represents a rare moment where Goji is truly outmatched by an opponent.
SEQUELS
Followed by the also interesting, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
Sadly, this is Biollante’s sole appearance in a Godzilla movie. She does appear in the recent Wii game, Godzilla Unleashed as a playable character. And Shiragami appears in the cutscenes as well.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY
In the DVD and Bluray age, Godzilla vs. Biollante has been pretty much unavailable in the USA. With no official DVD release, it is necessary to order it as an import or wait for the movie’s eventual release on Bluray. As of yet, only the very first Godzilla has been released on Bluray and the 1998 remake. If Toho and Columbia follow suit with what they did last time, you can expect most of the catalog to be released on Bluray with the new American movie in 2012.
TRAILER
Patrick Garone
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