Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
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Dreaded Megalon from the undersea kingdom! A miraculous deathblow from the wound-ridden Godzilla! (海底王国のすごいやつメガロ!傷だらけのゴジラ必殺のウルトラC!)
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— Japanese tagline |
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Monster against monster for the lost continent of Mu
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— International tagline |
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GIANT AGAINST GIANT... the ultimate battle!
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— American tagline |
Godzilla vs. Megalon (ゴジラ対メガロ is a Gojira tai Megaro, lit. Godzilla Against Megalon)1973 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the thirteenth installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on March 17, 1973.[2]
Plot
The underground civilization Seatopia has been heavily affected by nuclear testing conducted by the surface nations of the world. The nation's people, the Seatopians, watch in horror as a nuclear test conducted near the Aleutian Islands critically damages Monster Island. Godzilla, Rodan and Anguirus had been resting on the island when a huge fissure generated by the test ripped the idyll in two. As Godzilla called out for his friends, Rodan and Anguirus fell down the growing chasm. The earthquake generated by the test that destroyed Monster Island also left the capital city of Seatopia in ruins. Naturally upset by this, they unleash their civilization's protector, Megalon, to the surface to destroy those who would — unknowingly or not — destroy them. The ground opens to reveal Megalon, who goes on a rampage outside of Tokyo. Meanwhile, two Seatopian Agents attempt to steal the newly constructed super-robot Jet Jaguar, which can be used to guide and direct Megalon. They also capture the robot's inventor, Goro Ibuki, his kid brother Rokuro and their friend Hiroshi Jinkawa. One of the Agents stays with Jinkawa and directs Jet Jaguar towards Megalon. The other agent takes Rokuro and Goro into a cargo container and bribes a pair of truckers to dump the container in the lake. Things get out of hand, though, and the Seatopian agent is thrown from the truck after threatening the two truckers with a pistol. Soon afterward, Jinkawa, Goro and Rokuro are reunited and try and convince the Military into using Jet Jaguar to re-direct Megalon, who is attacking Tokyo. Goro manages to regain control using his hand-held voice-command devise, and sends Jet Jaguar to Monster Island to bring Godzilla back to fight Megalon. An extended fight scene then takes place, with Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, the latter newly giant-sized and self-directed, fighting Megalon in a generic small field. The Seatopians, however, summon Gigan to aid Megalon. The film ends with Megalon and Gigan (who for the second time abandons an ally) defeated, Godzilla returning to Monster Island, and Jet Jaguar returning to his previous, human-sized state, reuniting with Goro, Rokuro and Jinkawa.
Staff
- Main article: Godzilla vs. Megalon/Credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Jun Fukuda
- Written by Jun Fukuda, Kaoru Mabuchi, Shinichi Sekizawa
- Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music by Riichiro Manabe
- Cinematography by Yuzuru Aizawa
- Edited by Michiko Ikeda
- Production design by Yoshifumi Honda
- Assistant directing by Tsunesaburo Nishikawa
- Special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano
- Theme Song "Godzilla and Jet Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch!"
- Performed by Masato Shimon
- Lyrics by Shinichi Sekizawa
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Katsuhiko Sasaki as Goro Ibuki
- Yutaka Hayashi as Hiroshi Jinkawa
- Hiroyuki Kawase as Rokuro Ibuki
- Kanta Mori as JSDF Commander
- Kotaro Tomita as Head Seatopian agent
- Wolf Otsuki as Seatopian agent
- Sakyo Mikami as Truck driver's assistant
- Fumio Ikeda
- Gen Nakajima as Truck driver
- Robert Dunham as Emperor Antonio
- Ralph Jesser
- Shinji Takagi as Godzilla
- Hideto Date as Megalon
- Tsugutoshi Komada, Masachika Mori as Jet Jaguar
- Kenpachiro Satsuma as Gigan
- Takamitsu Watanabe
International English Dub
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Chris Hilton as Goro Ibuki / Truck driver's assistant (road)
- Warren Rooke as Hiroshi Jinkawa / Truck driver's assistant (dam)
- Linda Masson as Rokuro Ibuki
- Ted Thomas as Emperor Antonio / Narrator / Radio announcer
Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, Vehicles, and Races
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Production
In mid-to-late 1972, Toho held a contest for elementary school children to design a robot who would appear in the next Godzilla film.[3] The winner's creation was named "Red Alone," which superficially resembled both Ultraman and Mazinger Z. The character was renamed Jet Jaguar for its inclusion in the film.
While Godzilla vs. Megalon was made over the course of six months, its allocation of time was unusual.[4] As special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano recalled, "That movie seemed to take forever to develop, then it went into production without enough preparation."[5] Due to the time constraints, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa simply provided a story outline, while director Jun Fukuda wrote the script. Principal photography started immediately thereafter and took place over approximately three weeks.
Gallery
- Main article: Godzilla vs. Megalon/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Godzilla vs. Megalon (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles
- Godzilla vs. The Megalon Brothers: The Undersea Kingdom's Annihilation Strategy (ゴジラ対メガロ兄弟 海底王国全滅作戦 Gojira tai Megaro Kyōdai Kaitei Ōkoku Zenmetsu Sakusen, Early Japanese Title)[6]
- Godzilla vs. Megalon: The Undersea Kingdom's Annihilation Strategy (ゴジラ対メガロ 海底王国全滅作戦 Gojira tai Megaro Kaitei Ōkoku Zenmetsu Sakusen, Early Japanese Title)[7]
- Insect Monster Megalon vs. Godzilla: The Undersea Kingdom's Annihilation Strategy (昆虫怪獣メガロ対ゴジラ 海底王国全滅作戦 Konchū Kaijū Megaro tai Gojira Kaitei Ōkoku Zenmetsu Sakusen, Early Japanese Title)[7]
- Gorgo and Superman Meet in Tokyo (Gorgo y Superman se citan en Tokio; Spain)
- Planetary Titans (Titanes planetarios; Mexico)
- Godzilla 1980 (Godzilla 1980; France; French Belgium)
- King Kong: Demons from Outer Space (King Kong — Dämonen aus dem Weltall; Germany)
- At the Borders of Reality (Ai confini della realtà; Italy)
- Godzilla Against Megalon (Godzila protiv Megalona; Yugoslavia)
Theatrical Releases
View all posters for the film here.
- Japan - March 17, 1973[2] [view poster]
- United States - 1976 [view poster]
- Spain [view poster]
- France [view poster]
- Germany [view poster]
- Italy [view poster]
- Belgium [view poster]
- Mexico [view poster]
- Australia [view poster]
- Yugoslavia [view poster]
U.S. Release
In 1976, CinemaShares released a dubbed version of Godzilla vs. Megalon theatrically. Riding the coattails of Dino De Laurentiis' big-budget King Kong remake, poster art showed Godzilla and Megalon battling on top of the World Trade Center, despite the fact that no scenes were set in New York.
To obtain a G-rating from the MPAA, CinemaShares cut three minutes of footage, including:
- The opening credits.
- Rokuro being abducted by Seatopian agents, who pull him into their car.
- Scenes in the container truck that showed pornographic material on the back wall (There was more dialogue in the scenes that added to the story, thus making these cut scenes somewhat confusing).
- A fight scene between Hiroshi and the lead Seatopian agent.
- A scene of the bearded Caucasian Seatopian agent being thrown down a cliff by the truck drivers.
- Some scenes of bloody violence, when the toy jet (which Rokuro borrowed from the hobby shop) flies into the lead Seatopian agent's face, there was a brief shot of blood dripping from his face and when Hiroshi says "Get him!!!", Rokuro swings on the chained picture boxes in Goro's lab, and strikes the agent above the chest.
- The Seatopian agent being crushed by a boulder hurled by Megalon.
- Dialogue: "What the hell's that?" and "Go to hell!"
With this being the second of the three CinemaShares Godzilla releases, the publicity factor was high. Along with the poster, buttons with one of the four kaiju's faces on them were released. A couple of weeks before the release of Godzilla vs. Megalon, CinemaShares had a comic book released to promote the film, but in the comic there are numerous errors present in the monster's names and locations and events. The theatrical trailer for the film also contain these errors, such as Jet Jaguar being called "Robotman."
Box Office
When Godzilla vs. Megalon was released on March 17, 1973 in Japan, it only sold 980,000 tickets, making it the first Godzilla film to sell less than a million tickets.
Reception
Godzilla vs. Megalon has been widely disliked among critics and fans. Common sources of criticism revolve around the film's extensive use of stock footage, the Godzilla suit used in the film, and the film's overall tone.
Video Releases
Before Media Blasters acquired the rights to Godzilla vs. Megalon, numerous American companies distributed fullscreen versions of the film on unlicensed VHS and DVD releases, operating under the impression that it was in the public domain.
Power Multimedia DVD (1999)
- Region: N/A
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (Mono), Mandarin (Mono)
- Subtitles: Chinese (traditional and simplified)
- Special Features: None
- Notes: Presents an unaltered 16mm transfer of the film's international version, albeit cropped to 1.33:1. Out of print.
Media Target DVD (2002)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: German (2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: None
- Special Features: Trailers, photo gallery, production notes, information on the cast and crew
Toho DVD (2004)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (1.0 Mono and 5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: Japanese
- Special Features: Audio commentary by Katsuhiko Sasaki, Godzilla vs. Megalon trailer, scans of the theater program, interview with Teruyoshi Nakano (one hour), two sings-alongs for "Godzilla and Jet Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch!"
Aventi DVD (2006)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 2
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono)
- Subtitles: French (forced)
- Special Features: None
- Notes: Packaged with Godzilla vs. Mothra. Cropped to 1.33:1.
Madman DVD (2006)
- Region: 4
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono)
- Special Features: Trailers for All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Gigan, and Godzilla vs. Megalon
- Notes: Both versions of the film use the same Japanese video track.
Media Blasters DVD/Blu-ray (2012/2014)
- Region: 1 (DVD) or A/1 (Blu-ray)
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono, 5.1 Surround), English (2.0 Mono)
- Special Features: None (standard version) OR audio commentary by Steve Ryfle and Stuart Galbraith IV, image gallery (13 minutes), interview with Ted Thomas (30 minutes), Toho trailer reel (37 minutes), Godzilla vs. Megalon TV spots and trailers, opening credits from the U.S. theatrical print (accidental release only)
- Notes: Both versions of the film use the same Japanese video track. Difficulties in securing Toho's approval for the special features led to Media Blasters releasing Godzilla vs. Megalon without any.[8] However, the duplicating facility the company used accidentally pressed over 500 DVDs using the original digital files. Because this version of the release was an accident, the only way to tell if a given disc has the special features is to play it.
Toho Blu-ray (2014)
- Region: A/1
- Discs: 1
The Criterion Collection Blu-ray (2019) [Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975]
- Region: Unknown
- Discs: 8
- Audio: Japanese, English
- Subtitles: English
- Special Features: All bonus features on Criterion's Godzilla Blu-ray, 1990 Ishiro Honda interview by Yoshimitsu Banno, interview with director Alex Cox, interviews with actors Bin Furuya and Tsugutoshi Komada, 2011 interview with critic Tadao Sato, unused effects sequences from Toho releases including Destroy All Monsters, trailers, illustrated hardcover book with an essay by Steve Ryfle and liner notes on each film by Ed Godziszewski[9]
- Notes: Uses a new English subtitle translation. To be released on October 29, 2019.
Videos
Trailers
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Credits
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Audio Commentary
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Trivia
- According to the DVD commentary for this film by Steve Ryfle and Stuart Galbraith IV, the nuclear detonation at the beginning of the film may be a reference to Cannikin, a test of a 5-megaton hydrogen bomb conducted on the island of Amchitka in the Aleutian Island chain of Alaska on November 6, 1971. It was the largest American underground nuclear test.
- There are no female characters in this film, except for the Seatopian dancers.
- For the German release of this film, Jet Jaguar was renamed "King Kong." However, there is no connection to the real King Kong beyond his name. Contrary to a widespread misconception, the dub does not say the character is a giant ape wearing a robot suit.
- According to production stills, in one scene, where Godzilla was meant to beat Gigan and Megalon with a tree, he was going to have a telephone pole in his mouth.
- When Megalon attacks fighter jets that are firing at him, stock footage of Gigan's claws from the previous film are used. In addition, a shot of Gigan's lower body smashing through a freeway is used to depict Megalon stomping through the city.
- The scene where Megalon attacks Tokyo is almost entirely done with stock footage. The only original shots that weren't taken from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster or Godzilla vs. Gigan are close-up shots of Megalon.
- Godzilla vs. Megalon was released at the Spring Toho Champion Film Festival on March 17, 1973 alongside a film called Prominent Youth about a boy's soccer team and an animated film called Panda! Go Panda!: The Rainy Day Circus.
- Godzilla vs. Megalon was featured on Season 2 of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. The episode is known for its comedic translation of the "Godzilla and Jet Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch!" song at the end of the film.
External Links
References
This is a list of references for Godzilla vs. Megalon. 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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