TALKBACK #14: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

[Giganfan]

I think that Terror of Mechagodzilla was an honest attempt to try and tell a very serious, "adult" story, amid all of inherant silliness that had become a mainstay of the Godzilla series. Yukiko Takayama's screenplay tries to create some emotional weight between Katsura and Ichinose. I think the gloomy cinematography and Ishiro Honda's somber direction give the film some added dimensions, but on the whole, Terror is far from perfect. Having said that, it's still one of my favorites. The return of Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube and their contributions alone are enough to vault it forward for me. Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster however, isn't so ambitious, which is why I agree with you, Mekagojira, that it easily the better film. Jun Fukuda and Masaru Sato in their elements trumps the last, desperate attempt on the part of Tomoyuki Tanaka to restore the series to prominence before it completely died out.

I enjoy both movies, no doubt, but Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster gets my vote as the best Godzilla movie of the seventies. The only real reason that Terror of Mechagodzilla ranks higher on my personal list is because of Honda, Ifukube and special effects director, Teruyoshi Nakano.

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[The Real McCoy]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Goji 84]

[H-Man]

[Goji 84]

[jellydonut25]

[H-Man]

[Xenorama]

[jellydonut25]

This movie is mega(mecha?littleplay on words)fun but if you give it any thought beyond "Aliens from a dying world want to conquer Earth and Godzilla needs to stop them" the movie blows up into smithereens.

space titanium?
'an earthman that knows space technology'?
we brought a giant cyborg mechnical doppleganger across millions of miles but we didn't think to bring anybody that could repair it?
the professor's daughter decides to go spelunking in a skirt?
this movie is RIFE with things like that. that doesn't make it a bad film by any means, to this day i find it to be one of the most entertaining films in the entire series, it's bright, colorful, there's plenty of action, the cast is likable enough, and the score is pretty fantastic.


i STILL remember when I first saw this though...up to that point i'd seen Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Gigan and Ghidrah and my grandfather gave me tapes of this and Raids Again...I watched Raids again first and was supremely disappointed. Why did Godzilla roar like Anguirus? That's not right...

then i watched this and when "godzilla" first appears, I almost turned it off. i was furious and upset at what they'd done to his roar. luckily it doesn't last very long or i might never have seen this movie until i was older.

[MekaGojira3k]

[metal_bryan]

[MekaGojira3k]

[The Real McCoy]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Megalon-5]

[MekaGojira3k]

[H-Man]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[lhb412]