Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

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

Director:

Jun Fukuda

Writers:

Jun Fukuda, Masami Fukushima (story)

Stars:

Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Kunigami, the Azumi Royal Family High Priest
Bellbella Lin	...	Nami Kunigami, the Azumi Royal Family Princess (as Barbara Lynn)
Shin Kishida	...	Interpol Agent Nanbara
Gorô 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

Storyline

Aliens intend to take over the planet and, just in case Godzilla tries to interfere, have built a mechanical version of him to put an end to his interference. The Earth humans summon the legendary King Seesar to assist Godzilla in the battle.

---

Plot Keywords:

godzilla | alien | giant robot | robot | robot monster battle | 

---

Taglines:

Mechanical Titan of Terror!

---

Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

Filming Locations:

Okinawa, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,873,268

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Toho Eizo Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ferry Shimizu (Masaaki Daimon) and Saeko (Reiko Tajima) travel in to get to Okinawa is called the Sunflower Sapporo, which is a real-life (and still active, as of 2013) ferry. The original owners, Nippon High-Speed Ferries (Nippon Kôsoku Fêrî), was one of this film's sponsors.

---

Goofs

When MechaGodzilla reveals his robotic form, the fires burning in the background jump position due to two separate shots being edited together into a single continuous shot.

---

Quotes

Alien Supreme Leader Kuronuma: Damn Godzilla... You're mistaken if you think your powers are a match for Mechagodzilla.

---

Alternate Versions

The older US television and video version (and no longer used) released by Cinema Shares had the "Godzilla vs the Cosmic Monster" title (red background with title written in white letters in an almost circular pattern). Also, in the beginning of the film when they show Anguirus in Siberia, the Cinema Shares version is slightly bright, enabling you to see Anguirus and to see the snow on the mountain. The Japanese version is the same. In addition, the Cinema Shares version cuts the ending out and ends a few seconds after the huge explosion and when King Seesar re-seals himself back in the mountain. The end title shows a statue of King Seesar on the left and shows a red background with the words "The End" on the right. Later video re-releases use the newer "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" title in the US and has the Siberia scene exceptionally dark, making it hard to see Anguirus. But, this newer video version restores the full ending of the film, where you see the characters putting the King Seesar statue back in place (without this full ending, it would appear the heroes also die in the explosion).

---

Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Gamera vs. Jiger (2013)

---

Soundtracks

A Young Girl's Prayer
("Miyarabi No Inori")
Performed by Bellbella Lin
Music by Masaru Satô
Lyrics by Jun Fukuda

User Reviews

Review

When I was young, I was very poor, and this was pretty much the only Godzilla film I owned at the time. That being said, I've seen this one more than most others just out of the fact I had not much else to watch. However, It's definitely not bad. There is a scene in the film that was a bit more gruesome than many other Godzilla films, the splitting open of Anguirus's mouth kinda caught me off guard, even though it looked like they used pepto bismol for blood. MechaGodzilla is one of the most popular and well known monsters in the series, and for good reason, he has an awesome design and concept. The first MechaGodzilla, which is in this film was created by aliens, but the other ones were made by humans, which takes some of the novelty out of it. It's a great film, not the best but not the worst.