Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a 1964 film from Japan, directed by Ishirō Honda, running 93 minutes. reelscum files it under kaiju & tokusatsu.
- Year
- 1964 · 1960s films
- Country
- Japan
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Director
- Ishirō Honda
- Updated
- 29 Oct 2026
- Obscurity
- known (23/100)
- Also known as
- Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster · Godzilla 5 - Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster · GTTHM
Defined in the glossary: Kaiju & tokusatsu
The film where Godzilla becomes a hero. Three of Toho's monsters team up against a golden space dragon.
The pivotal Toho film in which Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra put aside their differences to defend Earth from Ghidorah, a three-headed golden space dragon who becomes the series' greatest recurring villain. It is the moment Godzilla shifts from menace to protector, and the monster-summit scene, with Mothra's fairies translating, is pure fun.
It is faster and more purely entertaining than the sombre early films, and it established the team-up formula that carried the series for years. Ghidorah remains the definitive Toho villain. A key turning point in the franchise.
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