Terror of Mechagodzilla
by Ishiro Honda
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Ishiro HondaBrand: Genius
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 83 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: LVD80317
Studio: Classic Media
Product features:
- Evil spacemen from the Black Hole are plotting to flatten Tokyo and build their own utopian city. Aided by deranged scientist Dr. Mefune, the aliens unleash a rebuilt Mechagodzilla and the monster Titanosaurus to do their evil bidding, until Godzilla surfaces to defend his homeland and the earth-shattering destruction begins. The 15th and final entry in the original Godzilla series, Terror Of M
Movie Reviews of Terror of Mechagodzilla
Movie Review: The Greatest Home Video Presentation Of The Greatest Godzilla Movie Of The 1970s (Until The Blu-Ray Comes Out)
Summary: 5 Stars
Confession time: I am a big Godzilla fan. There are few delights more... delightful to me than to see two (or more) Japanese men in rubber monster suits beating the absolute snot out of each other. So it goes without saying that I had already seen "Terror of Mechagodzilla" before this DVD came out. Or had I? As it turns out, the VHS copy I had been watching since I was a kid was heavily edited, cutting out whole portions of the film and eliminating important plot points. And the worst part was, this was the only way to experience the film in the US until Classic Media released this on their line of remastered Godzilla DVDs (which have stopped by now, by the way - come on, Classic Media, when are we going to get "Godzilla vs. Megalon?")
The Story: after being defeated by Godzilla in the previous film ("Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla"), the evil alien cyborg Mechagodzilla has been lying broken and dormant on the ocean floor near Japan... or has he? A Japanese submarine expedition is sent to find the remains of the metal monster, but finds that they have disappeared. Even worse, they run into and are destroyed by another monster altogether: Titanosaurus, a dinosaur that has somehow survived in the modern world. Interpol(!) is called in to investigate, along with marine biologist Akira Ichinose. Ichinose finds that Titanosaurus had already been discovered 15 years previously, by outcast scientist Doctor Shinji Mafune. Arriving at his house to investigate, he finds the doctor's lovely young daughter, Katsura who claims that her father is dead. Well, as it turns out Dr. Mafune is alive - and that he is in cahoots with the evil Black Hole aliens from the last film who are rebuilding Mechagodzilla to (what else?) take over the world so that they can build their utopian city over the ruins of Tokyo (so all the evil aliens want to do is do some urban renewal and build cities? Why can't they just buy up some land in California or something? I love 70s Godzilla movies!). Also turns out that Katsura is a cyborg, brought back from the dead owing an accident some years ago (hey, I'm not spoiling anything - this was all revealed in the movie's trailer) and tasked with controlling Titanosaurus through her cybernetic link with the monster. With the combined might of Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus, nothing can stand in the aliens' way... except, of course, the Big G himself. Will Godzilla be able to take on these two foes and prevail? Will Interpol and Ichinose be able to stop the aliens and help Godzilla? And what role will Katsura, the conflicted half woman/half machine play in all this?
I remember buying this disc how many years ago the day after it was released (on my birthday - thanks for the present, Classic Media!). I took it home, put it in my PC's DVD drive and selected the Japanese version of the movie in the menu. Then I watched the Toho logo come up on the screen and...
Wow.
Let me say that again.
WOW!
The titles burst onto the screen in Japanese in front of a fiery, exploding background, backed by Akira Ifukube's bombastic, ear pounding score. Then Godzilla and Mechagodzilla appeared in a flashback from the previous movie and started slugging it out through the opening credits. And I nearly wet myself. This was so much better than the version I had seen before. It was in Japanese. It was widescreen. And it was uncut. And viewing the movie in its entirety with the bits that had been excised put back in changed my opinion of this movie from pretty good Godzilla movie to Great Godzilla Movie. In fact, rate this one now as being behind only the original 1954 "Gojira" and "Mothra vs Godzilla".
What makes this film so great is that it works on more levels than just the monster fight scenes (although those are certainly important). Unlike some other Godzilla movies, the human plot in "Terror of Mechagodzilla" matters a great deal to the overall story. The cyborg character of Katsura is easily the most complex, being torn between her humanity and her mechanical nature, which has been twisted into one of hate and revenge by both her father (who was forcefully rejected from the scientific community for his discovery of Titanosaurus) and the evil aliens. She is a tool, but wants to be more than that; one of the main struggles in the film is her choice between her two conflicting natures. This is not to say that "Terror of Mechagodzilla" is some arthouse masterpiece of cinematic complexity - there are still silly costumes, silly acting, plot holes, monster fights and explosions galore, so don't worry. It's just nice to see a little bit of complexity in a film that most will dismiss as kiddie fare.
And this has something to do with the director. After a string of very silly (but very fun in an MST3K sort of way) and very low budget Godzilla movies Toho decided to bring back the original director of Godzilla, Ishiro Honda to do a sequel to the successful "Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla", which had been directed by Jun Fukuda. Honda decided to do something a little more adult and made this film, which actually ended up being the worst attended film in Godzilla's original "Showa" period (1954-1975). This also ended up being the last film in that series, and Honda's last film as a director. He ended up helping his buddy Akira Kurosawa in the 1980s and 90s, acting as 2nd unit director on "Kagemusha" and "Ran". He also directed some of the segments for "Akira Kurosawa's Dreams". I wonder how many people realize this when they watch these... it's amusing to think that a major contributor to some of the greatest films of all time (directed by one of the greatest directors of all time) once made a living filming men in monster costumes ravaging models of Tokyo.
All is not perfect, though. Akihiko Hirata goes over the top as Dr. Mafune, and leading man Katsuhiko Sasaki is adequate, but just as bland here as he was in "Godzilla vs Megalon". In fact, it's almost as if he's playing the same character. And I have to laugh at some of the insane logic of this - Dr. Mafune is shown to have been banished, nay, even savagely beaten by his fellow scientists for his theories on animal control and his discovery that a dinosaur was still alive after millions of years. So... while a giant mutant radioactive-fire breathing dinosaur has been strolling around leveling cities and fighting other reawakened prehistoric beasts, giant insects and even alien monsters, these guys refuse to admit that an underwater dinosaur could survive to the present day. I weep for Japan.
This Classic Media DVD presents "Terror of Mechagodilla" in its original Japanese form uncut (how I love saying that!) and in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The video on this disc is awesome, especially for a Japanese film from 1975 (keeping in mind that the Japanese have not always been as concerned with film preservation as the US). Colors are good and not too washed out or too saturated. There is little to no scratches, dirt, etc. The sound is also good, being in Dolby Digital 2.0 for both the Japanese and English language versions. The English version is the UPA Television version (NOT the butchered edited version) which also available for the first time on DVD (but you can learn more from the audio commentary). It's weird in that it starts out with an introduction that isn't in the original film (that is presented at a different aspect ratio than the rest of the movie) with a narrator that won't shut the hell up even through the opening title and credits. It thus ends up being longer than the original version. And is it my imagination or is the guy who dubs Katsuhiko Sasaki the same guy who dubs him in "Godzilla vs Megalon?" How's that for some Zappa-esque conceptual continuity?
This disc has a few extras, the foremost of which is a commentary by SciFi Japan contributors Keith Aiken and Bob Johnson. Neither are great orators and Johnson starts the commentary with what sounds like a cold, but they have a wealth of information on the movie and are interesting to listen to. And I have to say that wow, these dudes really like Ultraman. Throughout the film they will point out which actors appeared in which "Ultraman" series, or which monsters from "Ultraman" make a cameo and so on and so forth. I don't think I ever needed to know so much about the relationship between Godzilla and Ultraman - thanks guys. The only real complaint that I have about the commentary is a disturbing part where Bob Johnson ogles and growls at leading lady Tomoko Ai, appearing in a short skirt and pigtails - during a flashback sequence in which she is presumably very, very underage. Thank you, Mr. Johnson for scarring me for life. Don't do that ever again. Ever. The next time you do, I'm alerting the authorities. The other extras include a gallery of photos and movie posters (which is neat) and a short featurette on the "Women of Godzilla" by Godzilla expert Steve Ryfle. The only oopsie I found on this release is that while the DVD case says that it contains the "Original Japanese Trailer," I was never able to find it on the actual disc. I had to end up watching it on YouTube. What the -?! Oh well. Even if you don't have the original trailer, "Terror of Mechagodzilla" DVD, I still love you.
Pluses - Great story, good monster fight action, great music score.
Minuses - Some of the acting, some very minor plot holes.
Conclusion - This DVD is a must-have purchase for any Godzilla fan, or any fan of Japanese fantasy cinema in general. In fact, this is just a good movie period. And now you actually get to see the whole thing!
Summary of Terror of Mechagodzilla
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