Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Godzilla comes to the rescue when an alien race rebuilds Mechagodzilla to destroy Earth's cities. A traitorous scientist gives them a second weapon: Titanosaurus.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Yukiko Takayama (screenplay), Yukiko Takayama (story)

Stars:

Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Katsuhiko Sasaki	...	Biologist Akira Ichinose
Tomoko Ai	...	Katsura Mafune
Akihiko Hirata	...	Dr. Shinzô Mafune
Katsumasa Uchida	...	Interpol Agent Jiro Murakoshi
Gorô Mutsumi	...	Alien Leader Mugal
Tadao Nakamaru	...	Interpol Chief Tagawa
Shin Roppongi	...	Yûichi Wakayama
Yasuko Agawa	...	Yuri Yamamoto (as Tomoe Mari)
Tôru Ibuki	...	Tsuda (bearded alien)
Kenji Sahara	...	Defense Force Commander
Kôtarô Tomita	...	Professor Ôta
Ikio Sawamura	...	Mafune's Silent Butler
Masaaki Daimon	...	Submarine Captain Kusakari
Yoshio Kirishima	...	Alien Henchman #2
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Alien Henchman #1

Storyline

Aliens from a dying galaxy plan to destroy our cities and build their new home on Earth. Their weapon is Mechagodzilla, a 400-foot-tall robot armed with powerful lasers and guided missiles. Only Godzilla is mighty enough to stop the colossal machine, but when Professor Mafune joins the aliens, not even Godzilla will be able to defeat them. Mafune controls Titanosaurus, a gigantic amphibious dinosaur, through a biochemical connection with his cyborg daughter, Katsura. Godzilla is no match for Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla together, but Interpol agents have discovered Titanosaurus' weakness, which may give Godzilla the fighting chance he needs to save the world!

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla | mechagodzilla | alien | robot | scientist | 

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Taglines:

From a black hole in space...they came to conquer Earth...!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terror of Mechagodzilla

Company Credits

Production Co:

Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 89 min (UPA TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the only Godzilla films with nudity. The scene occurs when Katsura is being operated on, at which point Katsura's breasts are exposed (although the body is actually a mannequin). This scene was cut from the US, both for the theatrical and TV versions of the film.

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Goofs

When Titanosaurus kicks Godzilla out of the city, Godzilla's body flies in a straight line, then does in an upward curve over a hill, then begins falling again.

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Quotes

Alien Leader Mugal: Forward, Titanosaurus, Mechagodzilla!! Destroy them utterly!!!

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Connections

Follows Son of Godzilla (1967)

User Reviews

Mechagodzilla Returns.

Terror of Mechagodzilla follows "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla". It would be the last film from the original "Showa" series of Godzilla Films.

A submarine goes looking for the remains of Mechagodzilla. It is attacked by a giant dinosaur monster known as Titanosaurus. Later the Simians make a return to Earth and align with a scientist called Dr. Mafune. They bring Mechagodzilla up and repair him and also control Titanosaurus as well. Mafune's daughter Tetsura is killed, so the Simians insert a control for Mechagodzilla into her. Soon the Simians unleash Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus on Tokyo. Godzilla appears and appears to be the only thing that can save the Earth.

Mechagodzilla returns in this film. Definitely one of Godzilla's greatest foes, so it was no surprise that he appeared in another film with Godzilla. Mechagodzilla is a little different acting in this film in that he must wait for Tetsura to give commands. Also his fingers are longer and has revolving missiles added to his arsenal. Also if Mechagodzilla loses his head he has a smaller head underneath that fires a powerful beam of energy. Mechagodzilla can still function without his head in this film. He just can not function once Tetsura is destroyed.

Mechagodzilla is not by himself in this film. Titanosaurus assists him in battle with Tokyo and Godzilla. Titanosaurus is a bright red and yellow color and has a long neck and tail that becomes like a fan to create wind storms. Also he can jump far and is quite a formidable fighter. However Titanosaurus is not really an evil monster, he is just taken control of by Mafune and the Simians and forced to be evil. A really good monster that only shows up in this film, but I like that he is in it. In fact, Titanosaurus is the main monster in this film and is on screen more than Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla is not in this movie as much as he probably should be, he is over shadowed by both Titanosaurus and Mechagodzilla. This really is more of a Mechagodzilla film than a Godzilla film. But Godzilla does get his fair share of action towards the end. Godzilla has no help in this film, it is him against both Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus. That is pretty cool.

The monster action is pretty good in this film. Mechagodzilla gets to do some awesome destruction scenes on Japan. Godzillas fight with Mechagodzilla at the end of this film I think is a better overall fight because both monsters get to get in some action. It is not just one sided. There is no blood spilling all over the place in this one, I am not complaining just saying that I guess they thought that they went overboard in the last film.

FOr the most part I thought the acting was good in this film. The young man who is in love with Getsura really shows great emotion and the SImians and Dr. Mafune are good bad guys.

The story is great. It starts off with a search for Mechagodzilla's head. Then Titanosaurus appears and becomes the main focus for a while. Then Godzilla shows up and later Mechagodzilla comes back. Just a lot of good timing for monsters entering. A really well written and well acted film. This is one of the best and most under rated of the entire series.

The music is great. It is not the same score from Terror of Mechagodzilla, it is different and more darker sounding. I guess they made great music a priority in the films starring Mechagodzilla. THis is one of my favorite music scores from any Godzilla movie.

Complaint, well this will be tough. I guess one thing is that if you are watching this film to see Mechagodzilla you have to wait a long time to see him up and going. But that is really nitpicking.

One last thing, the Japanese Version has quite a few differences. FOr one when the Simians are turning Tetsura into a cyborg you can see her nude breasts, I think that is the only nudity in a Godzilla Film. Also the American Version completely botches the ending where Tetsura must make a vital decision in regards to saving herself or the planet. I do not want to give away too much.

A great film. If you liked Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla then you will love this one. Highly recommended.