Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
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Mechagodzilla's Counterattack (1975)
The Terror of Godzilla (1978)Terror of Mechagodzilla (メカゴジラの逆襲 Mekagojira no Gyakushū, lit. Mechagodzilla's Counterattack) is a 1975 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the fifteenth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on March 15, 1975.[1]
Plot
Continuing after the end of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Interpol agents, led by Inspector Kusaka, search for the wreck of Mechagodzilla at the bottom of the Okinawan Sea in the submarine, Akatsuki, to gather information on its builders, the aliens of the Third Planet from the Black Hole. But, the Akatsuki is suddenly attacked by a giant aquatic dinosaur called Titanosaurus, and the crew is apparently lost.
In response to the incident, Interpol begins to investigate. With the help of marine biologist Akira Ichinose, they trace the incident and Titanosaurus to a reclusive, mad scientist named Shinzô Mafune, who was forced to leave the institute, and now wants to destroy them as well as all of mankind. When visiting his old house in the seaside forest of Manazuru, they meet Mafune's lone daughter Katsura, who tells them that not only is her father dead, but she also burned all of his notes on the giant dinosaur, at her father's request. But unbeknownst to them, Mafune himself is alive and well, visited by his scientist friend Tsuda, who turns out to be an aide to the new black hole alien leader Mugal, who is leading the project to quickly rebuild Mechagodzilla. Mugal offers their services to Mafune, so that his Titanosaurus and their Mechagodzilla 2 will be the ultimate weapons. The ultimate goal of this new wave of black hole aliens is to wipe out mankind and rebuild cities around the world as a high-tech dystopia.
But things are complicated for both factions when Ichinose falls in love with Katsura, and unwittingly giving her Interpol's secret information against Titanosaurus, the new Mechagodzilla, and the aliens. We also find that Katsura is actually a cyborg, and Mugal may have use for her.
In the course of the film, Interpol discovers Titanosaurus' weakness: Supersonic waves. But when they construct a Supersonic Wave Oscillator, Katsura sabotages the machine, prompting Interpol to hastily repair it before Mafune and the aliens unleash Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus on Tokyo. The duo proceed to destroy large swathes of the city using their numerous abilities.
And when the situation gets desperate, Godzilla comes to the rescue. After a long battle, Katsura commits suicide, and ends the Simian's control over Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus. While Interpol distracts Titanosaurus with the Supersonic Wave Oscillator, Godzilla is able to destroy Mechagodzilla. After shooting down the Simian escape craft that are trying to get away from the planet, Godzilla then has a final battle with Titanosaurus after he was weakened by the Supersonic Wave Oscillator. Godzilla blasts Titanosaurus with atomic ray twice and Titanosaurus then falls back into into the water, with his fate being unknown.
As his human allies celebrate their victory, Godzilla returns to the sea and lets out a final roar.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Yukiko Takayama
- Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Henry G. Saperstein
- Music by Akira Ifukube
- Cinematography by Sokei Tomioka, Yukio Manoda
- Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa
- Production design by Yoshifumi Honda
- Assistant directing by Kensho Yamashita
- Special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Katsuhiko Sasaki as Biologist Akira Ichinose
- Tomoko Ai as Katsura Mafune
- Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Shinzo Mafune
- Katsumasa Uchida as Interpol Agent Jiro Murakoshi
- Goro Mutsumi as Black Hole Alien Leader Mugal
- Toru Ibuki as Black Hole Alien Tsuda
- Tadao Nakamaru as Interpol Chief Tagawa
- Shin Roppongi as Yuuichi Wakayama
- Tomoe Mari as Yuri Yamamoto
- Kenji Sahara as Army Commander Segawa
- Kotaro Tomita as Professor Ota
- Ikio Sawamura as Mafune's Silent Butler
- Masaaki Daimon as Submarine Captain Kusakari
- Toshio Kirishima as Black Hole Planet 3 Alien
- Haruo Suzuki as Black Hole Planet 3 Alien
- Kazuo Suzuki as Black Hole Planet 3 Alien
- Toru Kawai as Godzilla
- Ise Mori as Mechagodzilla 2
- Tatsumi Nikamoto as Titanosaurus
Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, Vehicles, and Races |
Gallery
- Main article: Terror of Mechagodzilla/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Terror of Mechagodzilla (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles
- Mechagodzilla's Counterattack (Literal Japanese Title)
- The Terror of Godzilla (United States)
- Monsters from an Unknown Planet (England)
- Monsters of the Lost Continent (Les mostres du continent perdu; France)
- The Brood of the Devil (Die brut des Teufels; Germany)
- Destroy Kong! The Earth is in Danger! (Distruggete Kong! La Terra è in pericolo!; Italy)
- Fighting in Starfield (Fezada mücadele; Turkey)
Theatrical Releases
View all posters for the film here.
- Japan - March 15, 1975[1] [view poster]
- United States - 1978 [view poster]
- England [view poster]
- France [view poster]
- Germany [view poster]
- Italy [view poster]
- Poland [view poster]
- Yugoslavia [view poster]
- Turkey [view poster]
- Greece [view poster]
- Mexico [view poster]
U.S. Release
Terror of Mechagodzilla was distributed theatrically in the United States by Bob Conn Enterprises in 1978, under the title The Terror of Godzilla. As had become custom for American releases of Godzilla films since Godzilla vs. Gigan, Bob Conn Enterprises simply used Toho's international English dub for the film rather than commission a new one. To ensure a G rating, several minutes of violence and nudity were cut from the film. This is most noticeable during the film's climax, as Dr. Mafune is never seen being killed in the gun battle between INTERPOL and the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens, which is itself greatly shortened, and Katsura's fatal wound seems to come from Murakoshi's bullet to her shoulder, rather than the laser pistol she turns on herself to shut down Mechagodzilla. As a result, Mechagodzilla seems to shut down abruptly compared to the uncut version. In addition, Mugal vanishes once he jumps over a cliff into the ocean, and his ship is never seen being shot down by Godzilla. An uncut version was released at the same time.[2]
That same year, UPA began to air the film on American television, using its international title, Terror of Mechagodzilla. The only deleted footage in this cut was the shot of Katsura's breasts. UPA's version of the film also added a prologue consisting of a narrated recap of the Showa series of Godzilla films over stock footage of the two other Godzilla films owned by the company, Invasion of Astro-Monster and All Monsters Attack, leading to a run time several minutes longer than the Japanese version. In the 1980's, UPA replaced their cut with one based on the heavily altered Bob Conn release, though the Terror of Mechagodzilla title was retained. Both UPA TV versions have since been released on VHS and DVD in the United States.
Box Office
In Japan, Terror of Mechagodzilla sold 970,000 tickets, the least in series history. Godzilla vs. Megalon is the only other Godzilla film to sell less than 1,000,000 tickets. Though Toho never formally put Godzilla on hiatus, with multiple projects developed over the following years, he did not star in another film until The Return of Godzilla in 1984.
Reception
Despite being considered a bomb at the Japanese box office, Terror of Mechagodzilla is often looked upon as a strong fan favorite. Fans praise this movie for its fun fight scenes, the return of series veterans like Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube, the darker tone compared to other Godzilla films from the 1970's, and interesting characters, like Dr. Mafune and Katsura.
Video Releases
Power Multimedia DVD (Year Unknown)
- Region: N/A
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (Mono), Mandarin (Mono)
- Special Features: None
- Notes: Presents an unaltered 16mm transfer of the film's international version, albeit cropped to 1.33:1. Includes traditional and simplified Chinese subtitles. Out of print.
Simitar DVD (1998)[3]
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Special Features: Simitar-produced trailers for the company's kaiju releases, art gallery, trivia game
- Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Out of print. Uses the heavily edited UPA cut of the film.
Toho DVD (2002)
- Region: 2
- Audio: Japanese
Classic Media DVD (2002)[4]
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (2.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Special Features: Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee trailer
- Notes: Cropped 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Out of print. Uses the heavily edited UPA cut of the film.
Madman DVD (2007)
- Region: 4
Classic Media DVD (2008)[5]
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
- Special Features: Audio commentary for the U.S. version by Keith Aiken and Bob Johnson, The Women of Godzilla featurette (11 minutes), image gallery
- Notes: Uses the original UPA cut of the film. Read the details of the U.S. version's reconstruction here.
Videos
Trailers
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Trivia
- Yukiko Takayama is the first and only woman to write a Godzilla screenplay, although two women, Lindsey Beer and Cat Vasko, have been named members of the writers room for the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong.
- In her original scenario, the role of Titanosaurus was filled by two dinosaurs called Titans, who became violent only when their necks were entangled.[6] Her script also called for the total annihilation of Tokyo by Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla, who would enter the city through Tokyo Bay and target Shinagawa ward first. Budget constraints forced Toho to scale back the destruction.
- This is the final Godzilla film to not mention Godzilla himself in its Japanese or international titles.
- This is the final Godzilla film in which Godzilla is not attacked by Japanese, American, or international armed forces.
- This was the last Godzilla film directed by Ishiro Honda.
- Terror of Mechagodzilla was the last Toho-produced Godzilla film to be released in a month other than December until Shin Godzilla in 2016.
- This was Akihiko Hirata's final appearance in a Godzilla film. Hirata was set to portray Doctor Hayashida in The Return of Godzilla, but became severely ill prior to the start of filming, and passed away prior to the film's release.
- This was Tomoko Ai's film debut. She was previously a semi-regular in the TV series Ultraman Leo as a member of MAC.
- This is the first Godzilla film to feature an original score by Akira Ifukube since 1968's Destroy All Monsters; although Ifukube's music had previously been used in 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan, it was recycled from previous scores.
- Dr. Mafune's anatomical drawings in his lab are from Ultra series kaiju, specifically Kemular, Zaragas and Telesdon.
- This film also had the first shot of nudity in a Godzilla film: Katsura's breasts (a prosthetic) are exposed while alien surgeons operate on her lower heart area.'
- The American theatrical poster for this film features King Caesar, from the previous film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, in place of Titanosaurus.
External Links
References
This is a list of references for Terror of Mechagodzilla. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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