Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) Gojira tai Mekagojira (original title)

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writers:

Jun Fukuda
Masami Fukushima (story)
(more)

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Put the Monster to the Metal!

Plot:

Apelike aliens build a robotic Godzilla to destroy Japan, and the true Godzilla may not be powerful enough to destroy it.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Alien | Monster | Cruise Ship | Fourteenth Part

Cast

Masaaki Daimon	...	Keisuke Shimizu
Kazuya Aoyama	...	Masahiko Shimizu
Reiko Tajima	...	Saeko Kanagusuku
Akihiko Hirata	...	Professor Hideto Miyajima
Hiromi Matsushita	...	Ikuko Miyajima
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Professor Wagura
Masao Imafuku	...	Tengan Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest
Beru-Bera Lin	...	Nami Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family Princess
Shin Kishida	...	Interpol Agent Nanbara
Goro Mutsumi	...	Alien Supreme Leader Kuronuma
Daigo Kusano	...	Yanagawa, Alien Agent #1
Takayasu Torii	...	Interpol Agent Tamura
Kenji Sahara	...	Ship's Captain
Yasuzô Ogawa	...	Construction Foreman
Takamitsu Watanabe	...	Alien Henchman # 1
Takanobu Toya	...	Alien Henchman # 2
Koji Ozaki	...	Alien Henchman # 3
Isao Zushi	...	Godzilla
Ise Mori	...	Mechagodzlla
Momoru Kusumi	...	Anguirus / King Shîsâ

Directed by
Jun Fukuda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jun Fukuda
Masami Fukushima		story
Shinichi Sekizawa		story
Hiroyasu Yamamura

Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Masaru Satô

Cinematography by
Yuzuru Aizawa

Film Editing by
Michiko Ikeda

Production Design by
Kazuo Satsuya

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tsunesaburo Nishikawa	....	chief assistant director

Sound Department
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Koichi Kawakita	....	assistant special effects director
Teruyoshi Nakano	....	director of special effects
Shôji Okawa	....	special effects wire work

Visual Effects by
Sokei Tomioka	....	special effects cameraman
Takeshi Yamamoto	....	special effects cameraman

Production Companies

• Toho Company
• Toho Eizo Co.

Distributors

• Cinema Shares International Distribution (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Downtown Distribution Company Inc. (1978) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release) (dubbed)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2008) (Japan) (TV)
• Filmax Home Video (video)
• New World Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Sinister Cinema (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (video)
• Video Yesteryear (1996) (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Marbling FineArts (miniatures and models)

Other Companies

• Gyokusendo  cooperation
• Terukuni Yusen  cooperation
• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Gojira tai Mekagojira" - Japan (original title)
"Godzilla vs. Bionic Monster" - USA
"Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster" - USA (reissue title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:12 (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | USA:G | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The metal in the bowl of Professor Miyajima (Akihiko Hirata)'s magnetic pipe is made of a fictional element called Astanopkaron ("Asutanopukaron" in Japanese), which was made up just for this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Keisuke drives to the cave to search for Masahiko, Professor Miyajima and Eiko, he drives there in a fast back coupe. However, when the car explodes it inexplicably changes into a four-door sedan.

Quotes:

Tengan Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest:Nami! Nami!
Nami Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family Princess:What's the matter, Grandfather?
Tengan Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest:The monster, as you had prophesied, Godzilla has appeared on the mainland!
Nami Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family Princess:Eh?
Tengan Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest:Only one thing can defeat Godzilla, and that is our own King Caesar! But no one can find the key to unlock the divine monster.
[kneels down]
Tengan Kunito, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest:O' Godzilla! Destroy the people of Japan, who once tried to conquer the Azumi Tribe! You will be the instrument of our revenge! O' Godzilla!
[Nami looks on in sadness]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Chinpokomon (#3.11)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

A Young Girl's Prayer

The Penultimate Film

This film was pretty much the beginning of the end of the Showa era. This film was very fast paced and had a lot of good fight sequences between the two monsters. However, the story left a little bit to be desired. In fact, the non monster scenes almost cause this movie to grind to a halt. At least the battle at the end featuring the new monster King Seesar helps to keep the film from going totally down the tubes. Also, this film isn't really for the faint of heart due to the fact that it is probably the bloodiest of all the Godzilla films. This film may not have been among the best in the series, but it still was pretty decent.