Talkback: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

[Handsome Jack]

I Cannot exactly say that they knew it was the end. Remember this was supposed to bring money backto Toho so consider this.

[Goji]

^ Come again?

[Handsome Jack]

Toho wanted to make more money and beacause of Jun Funkudas fails, They brought Honda back to try to see if Honda could fix the past fails since Godzillas Revenge. The whole point of the last shot was to say if it was the end, that it was only momentary and that Godzilla will never die. It was sorta similar to Final Wars.

[JAGzilla]

Did anybody other than myself get the vibe that Toho knew Terror of Mechagodzilla was going to be the last movie? Everything that was set up was so much like a climax.

I always kind of assumed that was a fact, actually. It feels like a finale. I've only seen it once, though. Weirdly, I was actually just about to rewatch it. I already have the DVD in my Xbox, but my brother wanted to watch the last few minutes of World's Dumbest first. A good thing, as it turns out. Now I have a different perspective to watch it with.

EDIT: Yeah, the opening 'history' segment and the end with Godzilla wading dramatically out to sea definitely give the impression that Toho was at least prepared for the possibility that ToMG might be the last one. They must've wanted to go out with a bang, too; the main battle was a lot more intense than I'd remembered. Very cool.

[Crazy Jim Films]

Just revisited this one, the other night. Watched the restored version of the U.S. cut. Couple comments.

- I cannot stand the overlong prologue. The narration does nothing for me. I had heard about how they incorporate footage from so many different Godzilla films but it's only two. "Godzilla's Revenge" and "Monster Zero".

- Love the camera work on some of the monster scenes. The low-angle shot of Titanosaurus rising from the sea and the awesome moving shots around Godzilla and the others when they are about to do battle are phenemonal.

- The death of the hero from the first "Mechagodzilla" really drives home how much more treacherous these Blackhole aliens are, the second go-around.

[20th Century Boy]

^ Actually, that wasn't the hero from the previous movie. Just the same actor playing a different character, according to the commentary.

[LegendZilla]

The human story was pretty intriguing for a Showa film.

[Crazy Jim Films]

^ Actually, that wasn't the hero from the previous movie. Just the same actor playing a different character, according to the commentary.

For real? I was under the impression that they were one and the same.

[gojira96]

^Sorry, which character are you referring to?

[Rodan]

Rewatched this tonight.

My feelings toward it have become somewhat more positive. It's a nice note to end the series on, it's not quite as dirgy and poorly paced as I'd remembered, has some gorgeously filmed monster action, and its notes of humanity and sacrifice, as cheesy as they are, make a nice capstone and throughline with earlier films. Ifukube's soundtrack here is also on point, even if I prefer the Mechagodzilla theme he had under Masaruo Sato. It does feel refreshing when watched recently after several of the other '70s films as well.

I still prefer vs. Mechagodzilla of the two '70s Mechagodzilla films, and I don't think this is a top-ten entry for me, but it's a fun one.

[gojira96]

I now have a poster of this great film hanging on my bedroom wall [although it's under the British release title "Monsters From an Unknown Planet"].

[ultragonk]

I haven't seen this movie in so long I didn't remember a lot about it so I thought I'd rewatch it on Netflix and I really liked the film. While it isn't the best Godzilla film from that era there is plenty to enjoy. Titanosaurus is great, it looks great and has a good roar and does the job in the fight scenes, they do a good job of making it look like Titanosaurus could be a viable opponent for Godzilla on his own not just with Mechagodzilla. Mechagodzilla itself is fine and is a pretty standard return for the mechanical monster.

Some of the best stuff comes from the humans and aliens, Katsura's first death scene is wonderfully over the top as she spins herself round and brings her arm across her forehead in a dramatic pose before falling to the floor. Then you have the scene where Titanosaurus is attacking Tokyo and initially Tsuda is angry at this but Mugal realises that this is perfect because it will draw in Mechagodzilla's most powerful foe, Godzilla then we get a suitable echoing, evil laugh from both Mugal and Tsuda. We also find that Mechagodzilla has a terrifying new weapon, rotating missiles, I'm not sure why rotating missiles are better than non rotating ones but we are told that this makes Mechagodzilla a match for Godzilla. We also find out, after Godzilla rips Mechagodzilla's head off, that Mechagodzilla is actually a cylon in a suit.

I wish I could be 11 years old again and have this on Saturday morning TV, would have loved that.

[Godzilla Lover101]

Just watching this film recently, I'd say it's at least as good as Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. The film doesn't have the best pacing or scene cuts, but the film diffidently has the serious tone and great acting that make it a more deserving film than what people rate it. It also has this kinda metaphorical tone that's most present when Godzilla makes his entrances. The score is great, the acting is done well, the tone is perfect. Honestly this is one of my top 5 favorite Showa films. If any film should have a higher rating, it's this film.

[he-ba]

I want to see the Japanese version, and I heard a rumor it was rated R. Is that true?

[Godzilla Lover101]

I want to see the Japanese version, and I heard a rumor it was rated R. Is that true?

It shouldn't be any different that the English version, except for that when the aliens are operating on Karsura, they added a scene where they show her "rubber" breasts.

[he-ba]

That's it? I thought there was a lot more gore.

[ScrumpBump]

Terror is one of my favorites G movies for reasons stated in this thread.

It also has one of my favorite Godzilla scenes of Godzilla charging through Mechagodzilla's assault. Godzilla just takes everything that his weapon rack of a doppelganger can give out before he get close enough to just freakin' brutalize him.

[he-ba]

I would have loved to see this movie released in the 60's. I think it would have had a much bigger impact on people.

[Godzillian]

So other scientists laughed at Dr. Mafune when he said he discovered Titanosaurs but why would they do that? Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and many other kaiju appeared before so why is it such a strange idea to them that another one might be living in the ocean?

[ScrumpBump]

"It has a fin tail and sounds like a horse? That's ridiculous! Hohohoho!"