Ganheddo (1989)

Directors:

Masato Harada
Alan Smithee

Writers:

Jim Bannon (writer)
Masato Harada (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

2038. Computer domination is a reality - Gunhed - man's last defence in the great robot war

Plot:

Brooklyn's smuggling companions are slaughtered, sometimes violently, one by one as they wantonly defy the security systems of the Kyron-5...

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Computer | Pre Cyberpunk | Explosion | Future War

Cast

Masahiro Takashima	...	Brooklyn
Brenda Bakke	...	Texas Air Ranger Sgt. Nim
James Brewster Thompson	...	Barabbas
Aya Enjôji	...	Babe
Kaori Mizushima	...	Eleven
Yôsuke Saitô
Doll Nguyen	...	Boomerang
Jiei Kabira	...	Bombbay
Randy Reyes	...	Gunhed (voice)
Mickey Curtis	...	Bansho
Michael Yancy	...	Narrator
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eugene Harada	...	Steven

Also Known As:

Gunhed

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | Japan:100 min | UK:97 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Company:

3D

Trivia:

The concept for the film came from a story contest that Toho held in 1986, which was to decide on the narrative for the next installment in the Godzilla series. Jim Bannon was the contestant who was noted for his Godzilla 2 script, which had Godzilla facing off against a giant computer, but was beat out by Shinichiro Kobayashi with his early draft for Godzilla vs. Biollante. However, Toho didn't scrap Bannon's second place entry, but instead had Masato Harada heavily rework the idea, removing Godzilla and other elements from the film, until they were left with the final product: the infamous Gunhed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Soundtrack:

Theme Song for GUNHED

Inventive and Fun

Ganheddo was produced by the same Japanese studio which brought us Godzilla, and it shows... but in a good way. Where many, higher-budgeted films of the time were moving to computer-generated effects, Toho stuck with scale models and stop-animation, giving this movie a gritty look not often found in films of similar provenance.

Though the plot is difficult to keep up with at times, it is still enjoyable, made especially the more so by the character of Seven. This movie will be a godsend for fans of the Mechwarrior/vertical tank type stories. The plot revolves around a group of scavengers who happen across a defunct lair controlled by machines, cyborgs, and their master, a central computer. The scavengers are after a rare power source which fuels the complex. Having detected their presence, the computer counts down to self destruct. Matters are complicated when one of the crew becomes incorporated into the machine's consciousness.

Good cinematography, decent acting, and a fantastic story all contribute to this film's warrants. It's too bad that CGI has taken the forefront -- I think modern filmmakers could learn a lesson from this one.