It's great to review a movie that's as old as I am (only 6 months *older* than I am). :) TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, the sequel to GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA, was released in Japan 30 years ago today. I've had a lot of fond memories about this, the film that closed the original Godzilla film series, when a dark time was looming over Japanese pop culture (the collapse of the Japanese film industry, the Energy Crisis, etc.), and it all went to hell when STAR WARS came along (and don't get me wrong, I still love STAR WARS, at least the first three films).
I have to admit, from a depressing time when Godzilla's popularity declined and the budgets were slipping with each film, the production values were not bad. The return of Ishirou Honda (directing his last Godzilla film) surprisingly brought some serious power back into the genre. Teruyoshi Nakano's FX still put in a very strong performance, especially the scene where Mechagodzilla and new monster Titanosaurus rampage a very nicely built miniature Tokyo set. Plenty of powerful pyrotechnics abound! And the action was really fast & furious, while still superhero styled like other films in that decade. Yukiko Takayama, this film's screenwriter, was one of the few female Godzilla writers (the other being SON OF GODZILLA co-writer Kazue Shiba), and turned up a very strong story! And Akira Ifukube turns up what I thought was his last best Godzilla score, not counting his excellent GODZILLA FANTASIA concerto! His score for the Heisei Series was good, very powerful, but slow and sometimes repetitious (and I worried for him, considering his old age). The cast turns in a serviceable performance, and the monster action is great! And I wish I could say more, but IMDb wouldn't give me any more room on this review for commentary on this film's many aspects! :)
This film, sadly, was a failure at the Japanese box-office, and also the Godzilla film with the lowest attendance figures in history. After this film's release, there have been many rumors and proposed projects that had collapsed, even Toho's attempted US co-productions (including GODZILLA LIVES AGAIN or THE RESURRECTION OF GODZILLA, GODZILLA VS. THE DEVIL, GODZILLA VS. THE GARGANTUA, etc. etc.) before Toho finally brought Godzilla back 9 years later (after very successful film festivals), with mixed results. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA was destined to be Godzilla's poignant swan song until then.
What's even more poignant is the treatment this film got in America. Toho's international English print is the root here: Initially brought to the US for a very limited theatrical release by Bob Conn in 1978 as THE TERROR OF GODZILLA, it was very badly cut and edited to the point where some scenes don't even make sense! An infinitely superior version, United Pictures of America (UPA)'s 1979 TV version, Terror of Mechagodzilla premiered, and not only was it completely uncut (except for the aforementioned "breast" scene), but as a treat, a cool 6 minute prologue with narration was added! The prologue consisted of footage from MONSTER ZERO and GODZILLA'S REVENGE (the only other Godzilla films UPA had the rights to), and interestingly, this prologue made it seem like this was a sequel to MONSTER ZERO (as though the X-Xians were somehow behind the whole Mechagodzilla scheme), and although it really wasn't, I thought it was a really nice touch! I've often seen it on ABC's 4:30 MOVIE in my youth. Unfortunately, this version is now lost. The last time I saw this version was on Easter Weekend of 1986, on NY's WNEW/WNYW Channel 5 (a year before it became a Fox affiliate). Now, America is stuck with the ultra-sucky TERROR OF GODZILLA version. You ain't seen Nothing' until you see the Japanese version (with subs), the uncut international English version, or the old UPA version, which I still remember nostalgically and sentimentally! Stay far away from Bob Conn's castrated version.
I love the new series of films Toho did (from 1999-2004), but for me, TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA is, deep down, the last Godzilla film. As much as I appreciate the original evil Godzilla, this was the last film with the *heroic* Godzilla (which GODZILLA 2000 and GODZILLA FINAL WARS recaptured for me), the Godzilla I grew up with from my childhood. And in more ways than one, this film (like DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, Eiji Tsuburaya's last Godzilla film) was the tearful end of an era, reflected in the film's poignant final shot of Godzilla swimming away into the sunlit ocean one last time.
I have to admit, from a depressing time when Godzilla's popularity declined and the budgets were slipping with each film, the production values were not bad. The return of Ishirou Honda (directing his last Godzilla film) surprisingly brought some serious power back into the genre. Teruyoshi Nakano's FX still put in a very strong performance, especially the scene where Mechagodzilla and new monster Titanosaurus rampage a very nicely built miniature Tokyo set. Plenty of powerful pyrotechnics abound! And the action was really fast & furious, while still superhero styled like other films in that decade. Yukiko Takayama, this film's screenwriter, was one of the few female Godzilla writers (the other being SON OF GODZILLA co-writer Kazue Shiba), and turned up a very strong story! And Akira Ifukube turns up what I thought was his last best Godzilla score, not counting his excellent GODZILLA FANTASIA concerto! His score for the Heisei Series was good, very powerful, but slow and sometimes repetitious (and I worried for him, considering his old age). The cast turns in a serviceable performance, and the monster action is great! And I wish I could say more, but IMDb wouldn't give me any more room on this review for commentary on this film's many aspects! :)
This film, sadly, was a failure at the Japanese box-office, and also the Godzilla film with the lowest attendance figures in history. After this film's release, there have been many rumors and proposed projects that had collapsed, even Toho's attempted US co-productions (including GODZILLA LIVES AGAIN or THE RESURRECTION OF GODZILLA, GODZILLA VS. THE DEVIL, GODZILLA VS. THE GARGANTUA, etc. etc.) before Toho finally brought Godzilla back 9 years later (after very successful film festivals), with mixed results. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA was destined to be Godzilla's poignant swan song until then.
What's even more poignant is the treatment this film got in America. Toho's international English print is the root here: Initially brought to the US for a very limited theatrical release by Bob Conn in 1978 as THE TERROR OF GODZILLA, it was very badly cut and edited to the point where some scenes don't even make sense! An infinitely superior version, United Pictures of America (UPA)'s 1979 TV version, Terror of Mechagodzilla premiered, and not only was it completely uncut (except for the aforementioned "breast" scene), but as a treat, a cool 6 minute prologue with narration was added! The prologue consisted of footage from MONSTER ZERO and GODZILLA'S REVENGE (the only other Godzilla films UPA had the rights to), and interestingly, this prologue made it seem like this was a sequel to MONSTER ZERO (as though the X-Xians were somehow behind the whole Mechagodzilla scheme), and although it really wasn't, I thought it was a really nice touch! I've often seen it on ABC's 4:30 MOVIE in my youth. Unfortunately, this version is now lost. The last time I saw this version was on Easter Weekend of 1986, on NY's WNEW/WNYW Channel 5 (a year before it became a Fox affiliate). Now, America is stuck with the ultra-sucky TERROR OF GODZILLA version. You ain't seen Nothing' until you see the Japanese version (with subs), the uncut international English version, or the old UPA version, which I still remember nostalgically and sentimentally! Stay far away from Bob Conn's castrated version.
I love the new series of films Toho did (from 1999-2004), but for me, TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA is, deep down, the last Godzilla film. As much as I appreciate the original evil Godzilla, this was the last film with the *heroic* Godzilla (which GODZILLA 2000 and GODZILLA FINAL WARS recaptured for me), the Godzilla I grew up with from my childhood. And in more ways than one, this film (like DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, Eiji Tsuburaya's last Godzilla film) was the tearful end of an era, reflected in the film's poignant final shot of Godzilla swimming away into the sunlit ocean one last time.