Talkback: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

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Beef Bigshot
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Beef Bigshot »

Presto wrote:I'm surprised they ended the series with this one. It was far from the worst. At least it went out on a good note.
I think thats what it was aimed at. That was there goal. They did an amazing job with keeping Godzilla in the same kind of spirit he had in the past few films while also making it more serious. Its not the best Godzilla movie, but its certainly memorable.

Personally I like this one more than GvMG, even in the nostalgia department. I saw this one more as a kid anyway and I loved it. Titanosaurus always seemed more appealing to me than king ceasar
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wasoha
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by wasoha »

Terror of Mechagodzilla is probably my favorite in the Showa monster fights (which excludes 54 which is #1).

I can't help it. It's the one-two punch of nostalgia (it's the one I saw the most as a kid) along with the fact that the human story is actually one of the better ones. The story is surprisingly coherent most of the time which is a luxury in these old flicks haha. I can actually stand to watch the human scenes, which is really hard for me to do in many of the other films.

It's fairly straightforward. Aliens come back and rebuild Mechagodzilla. A human scientist defects to the aliens for being ostracized by his peers. I'm in.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Pkmatrix »

Presto wrote:I'm surprised they ended the series with this one. It was far from the worst. At least it went out on a good note.
From what I've read in the past, it wasn't intended to be the end it just turned out that way. That's why there are so many unmade films from the late '70s/early '80s - they hadn't planned on ending the series in '75, but the series ended up in development hell for so long afterwards that they just ended up rebooting the whole thing when the next film finally got off the ground.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Legion1979 »

The main reason the series ended was that reissued Godzilla/Toho films, Disney movies and other films and cartoons were doing just as well at the Champion Festivals (if not better) and it simply made no sense for Toho to keep pumping money into new films.

I think "development hell" is too strong a word to use for what happened in the late '70s and early '80s. Until 1984 I don't think there was ever a real concrete plan to bring Godzilla back - just a lot of ideas that floated around that never went anywhere. You want development hell? Look at Biollante, which took years to get made.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Kaiser »

Just rewatched this yesterday, and it was a bit of a let down. I once considered this one of the best Godzilla films, but now I think it belongs in the middle of the pack. The main problems I had with the film were:
1) The tone, the serious vibe it was going for just did not mesh well with the aesthetic of the film and the overall camp atmosphere of an alien invasion led by guys in silver jumpsuits. The previous film is just so much more fun while this one feels dark for the sake of being dark.
2) The direction is uninspired. Honda just sort of feels like he's phoning it in sometimes. There's virtually no flair to the presentation here, I feel like I'm watching an Okawara film sometimes. Compared to the usual dynamic Honda style, the human scenes in this film feel flat.
3) Tomoko Ai just doesn't quite cut it for me as an actress. It's a shame because Katsura is such a great character, but her performance just isn't all that engaging to me. The way she falls over when electrocuted is also laughably bad.

The film's score (not one of Ifukube's best, but still some good work), the story and characters, and some excellent monster sequences, which are undoubtedly the highlight of the film, helped make up for some of the deficiencies but I can't help but compare it to the previous film which I prefer in every way.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Randy1209 »

I remember being very excited for the Classic Media DVD of this one leading up to when it came out. I hadn't seen the movie since I was very little and what with it being the finale to the Showa series, which I finally learned to love in my early teens (I grew up on the Heisei series), I was extremely hyped for this. When I finally saw it, I was somewhat mixed by the end. The brooding atmosphere was great, the score was phenomenal, and except for a laughable shot here and there, (G slowly soaring up feet-first when Titanosaurus punches him in the face) the monster fights were amazing. My only complaints were the scope of the story didn't feel very wide for an alien invasion, the seemingly empty city that MG2 and Titanosaurus level, and Godzilla taking a frustratingly long time to show up. Also I would've liked closure to see if those kids actually got stepped on or not. It's still one of my favorites of the showa series though.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Creature22 »

This is one of the Godzilla films I owned as a kid, so it's nostalgic in that respect. I always enjoyed it, and then kind of stopped watching it (along with most of the other 70s films) as I got older and more "mature." Recently, however, I got to see the Japanese uncut release, and it was FAR superior to the American cut (I can't even sit through the American version anymore; the Japanese version has much better quality and pacing).

It's awesome that Ishiro Honda directed for a final time, and it's also really interesting to note that this is the first time that Akira Ifukube's main Godzilla theme (from the 1954 original) makes it into a film since 1954.

Toru Kawai also played a very good Godzilla, who is kind of an underdog in this film. Godzilla's purpose seems like it is more of to restore order as opposed to being the hero, and it's nice to see him with a somewhat fierce persona again as opposed to the previous films. It turns out that Toru Kawai, the suit actor, actually passed away in 1996, and this (along with some Zone Fighter episodes) was the only time he got to play Godzilla. I was sad to find that out, but his legacy lives on in this film, and he did a very fine job.

Overall, "Terror of Mechagodzilla" is a pretty good movie. Not the best, in my opinion, but it did take a step in the right direction and was a pretty satisfying way to finish off the Showa series.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by KaijuFiend »

This is an excellent film and one of the best of the Showa series. It's one of few G-films to have characters with a lot of depth, and the darker tone is great. I still prefer the first MechaGodzilla film, but this one is great nonetheless. Watching the original Japanese version recently likely caused me to love it all the more.
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by tymon »

I think the characters had more depth in the script than what was executed on-screen, but if this movie had had the budget/resources of a 60's G-film, then it could have really been one of the franchise's best and most emotionally potent.

I do enjoy the first MG film more, if anything because it meets its goals more effectively, and feels more consistent in its production/editing.
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Kaiju no Kami »

I think the best things about this movie are Katsura and Titanosaurus. Oh yeah, and Ifukube's score. There is a lot of greatness here, but I do think the first one is better.

I also feel the biggest missed opportunity here was the lack of developing the space men. This is the first time we have ever had the same villains return, so why not actually develop their character?

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by eabaker »

tymon wrote:I do enjoy the first MG film more, if anything because it meets its goals more effectively, and feels more consistent in its production/editing.
I feel like the first one succeeds more consistently with much less ambitious goals. I'm one who'll usually take an interesting failure over a bland success, though. Terror may falter here and there, but it's never due to a lack of ambition.
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Mechagigan »

I thought it was as much better than GvMG as possible, especially considering how bad it easily could've been going by the other 70's movies. The characters were really good, the story was great, and the Monsters looked pretty good - well, maybe not Godzilla entirely. Even though he's more menacing than in Megalon and GvMG, I feel like his face looks a little smashed, or pug-like. I would've preferred if they kept the facelift from MG, but it isn't that bad for what it is.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Space Hunter M »


I extracted the Clair de Lune rendition from the cafe scene.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by eabaker »

^Sweet! Tonight, that shall make its way to my iTunes!
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by darthzilla99 »

I am curious about Mechagodzilla here. Are the revolving missiles in this movie his standard missiles he fires alot like in his all out assault attack, or are they specialized missiles he fires sometimes depending on the target? In otherwords, does he have two types of finger missiles or just one in this movie?
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Kaijunator »

I'm watching it on Hulu for the first time and it's great! Godzilla's entrance and the fight with Titanosaurus (around where I'm at) is the best part so far. What's the name of the track when Goji enters? I really like it!
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

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Kaijunator wrote:What's the name of the track when Goji enters? I really like it!
Godzilla Appears. Pfft.

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Kaijunator »

Space Hunter M wrote:
Kaijunator wrote:What's the name of the track when Goji enters? I really like it!
Godzilla Appears. Pfft.
Thanks. I saw it's in the Best of Godzilla 1954-1975 soundtrack. Looks like I'll be getting that along with the Best of Godzilla 1984-1995 from Amazon so I get a free digital version as well as the physical copy.
If you have digital copy codes for movies you want to give away, I'll gladly take them! :)
Dillyziller wrote:Evangelion 4.0: This is (not) a joke

It opens with Shinji, Asuka, and Rei walking along the lifeless, red earth. Suddenly the ground begins to shake.
Godzilla bursts from the ground, killing the 3 pilots. Godzilla will then battle his newest opponent...
parental issues.
TitanoGoji16 wrote:"Do you think C-Rex and FeMUTO could make sweet love down by the fire and give birth to Gabara?"
Best song ever.
YouTube!

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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Post by Space Hunter M »

Kaijunator wrote:
Space Hunter M wrote:
Kaijunator wrote:What's the name of the track when Goji enters? I really like it!
Godzilla Appears. Pfft.
Thanks. I saw it's in the Best of Godzilla 1954-1975 soundtrack. Looks like I'll be getting that along with the Best of Godzilla 1984-1995 from Amazon so I get a free digital version as well as the physical copy.
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Re: Talkback Thread #15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

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