Mekagojira no gyakushu (1975)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Yukiko Takayama (screenplay)
Yukiko Takayama (story)

Release Date:

March 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Metal meets monster.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Godzilla | Mechagodzilla | Alien | Scientist | Dinosaur

Cast

Katsuhiko Sasaki	...	Biologist Akira Ichinose
Tomoko Ai	...	Katsura Mafune
Akihiko Hirata	...	Dr. Shinzô Mafune
Katsumasa Uchida	...	Interpol Agent Jiro Murakoshi
Goro Mutsumi	...	Alien Leader Mugal
Tadao Nakamaru	...	Interpol Chief Tagawa
Shin Roppongi	...	Yûichi Wakayama
Tomoe Mari	...	Yuri Yamamoto
Tôru Ibuki	...	Tsuda (bearded alien)
Kenji Sahara	...	Army Commander Segawa
Kotaro Tomita	...	Professor Ôta
Ikio Sawamura	...	Mafune's Silent Butler
Masaaki Daimon	...	Submarine Captain Kusakari
Toshio Kirishima	...	Alien Henchman #2
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Alien Henchman #1

Also Known As:

Mechagodzilla vs. Godzilla
Mechagodzilla's Counterattack (Japan: English title) (literal title)
Monsters from an Unknown Planet
Monsters from the Unknown Planet
Revenge of Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla (USA) (video box title)
The Escape of Mechagodzilla
The Escape of Megagodzilla
The Terror of Godzilla (USA)

Runtime:

83 min | UK:89 min | USA:79 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Norway:11 (video premiere) | UK:15 | USA:G | West Germany:12 (nf)

Company:

Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc.

Trivia:

This, the 15th Godzilla film, was the last one in the original series (and the last for nine years) because of the oil shock (energy crisis) of the 1970s, which had affected both film and TV productions. After almost a decade of failed film proposals by Tôhô to revive the character, the next film, Gojira (1984), was the first of a new series of films (called the Versus Series in Japan, or, alternatively, the Heisei Series), which returned Godzilla to his destructive roots.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The sign (in English) in front of the Ocean Development Laboratory is misspelled "Laboratry".

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Little Red Riding Hood (2009) (V)

Much maligned Godzilla flick

As a longtime fan of Godzilla movies, I'm at a loss to explain why this film in particular is so hated. I loved this film as a child (perhaps I was already moving towards my love of tragedy), partly due to the coolness of the original Mechagodzilla, partly due to the fact I thought Titanosaurus was cool. There was also the part where I dug the little story of the mad scientist bent on his revenge for being laughed out of academia, and the whole love story angle between the scientist and the mad scientist's daughter. As you can see, there's a lot going on in this film, probably too much, but I enjoyed the attempt to have a more serious subplot going on in a Godzilla flick. The line from the horribly cut American version "But I can't love you, I'm a cyborg", is highlarious. Anyways, I finally tracked down a subtitled, uncut copy, and I was amazed to discover that the american distributors cut the scenes that explain a major character's sacrifice of her life-in the american version it just seems a senseless act. Anyways, don't expect much except a goofy star crossed lovers plot combined with a mad scientist plot and kaiju beating on one another and enjoy.