Terror of Mechagodzilla

"Ogres from a black hole in space use monsters to seize Earth!"

1975 1h 23m JA

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 254

Science FictionActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A submarine expedition to salvage the remains of Mechagodzilla is thwarted by a massive dinosaur named Titanosaurus. An Interpol investigation leads biologist Ichinose to uncover the work of Dr. Mafune and his mysterious daughter Katsura. Aligned with the Black Hole Aliens, Katsura's life becomes entwined with the resurrected machine.

“Ogres from a black hole in space use monsters to seize Earth!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Katsuhiko Sasaki
Biologist Akira Ichinose
Tomoko Ai
Katsura Mafune
Akihiko Hirata
Dr. Shinzô Mafune
Tadao Nakamaru
INTERPOL Chief Tagawa
Gorō Mutsumi
Commander Mugal
Masaaki Daimon
Captain Kusakari
Katsumasa Uchida
Jiro Murakoshi
Shin Roppongi
Yûuchi Wakayama

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ishirō Honda
Writers: Yukiko Takayama, Yukiko Takayama
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

51 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Godzilla (Showa) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Motoyoshi Tomioka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yoshitami Kuroiwa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Katsuhiko Sasaki and Tomoko Ai and Akihiko Hirata carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ishirō Honda directs. Motoyoshi Tomioka behind the camera. Akira Ifukube scores. Yoshitami Kuroiwa cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan, United States of America. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
251 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 2 countries: Japan, United States of America.
4Part of the "Godzilla (Showa) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Motoyoshi Tomioka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Yoshitami Kuroiwa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Katsuhiko Sasaki and Tomoko Ai and Akihiko Hirata carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Ogres from a black hole in space use monsters to seize Earth!".
10IMDB entry: tt0073373 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "mind control", "submarine", "self sacrifice", "mad scientist".
12Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Motoyoshi Tomioka
Original score: Akira Ifukube
Editing: Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Production design: Yoshifumi Honda
Costume design: Nobuyuki Yasumaru
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $970,000
Original language: JA
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Part of

Godzilla (Showa) Collection

Film series featuring Godzilla from the Showa era.

Also by

Ishirō Honda

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-01-04
★ 8/10
The last of the original wave of Zilla movies. It has a mixed reputation among the fans, but Terror of Mechagodzilla is a romp of a sequel, one that's not without deep emotional heart. Plot is bonkers of course, aliens are plotting to rule the world and have recreated Mechagodzilla after Godzilla shredded it to pieces in the previous meeting of the two beasts (Godzilla V Mechagodzilla). There's Interpol agents running around not exactly in control of anything, a vengeful scientist with an agenda who aids the aliens, while his daughter has become a cyborg designed to control Titanosaurus, a gigantic amphibious dinosaur that teams up with Mechagodzilla to stomp on Tokyo. All is lost for mankind, until Godzilla climbs out of the ocean to hopefully protect his domain. The return of Ishirō Honda to the director's chair is a reassuring presence, and it helps the film retain a classy production level. The monster smack-downs are neatly choreographed, the model work is wonderfully 1970s, and Akira Ifukube's thunderous score gladdens the spirit as it simultaneously rocks your bones. Yukiko Takayama's screenplay contains intelligence, where the sci-fi boffin speak is spliced with deep observations on humanity and what it means to be part of such a race etc. Fan division usually comes down to who likes super-hero Godzilla or who likes Godzilla in destroy everything mode. This is the former, and it's cheer worthy, the atomic lizard in a bad mood would not surface again for 10 years, and by then the direction of Zilla's fortunes got increasingly silly. This marks "Terror" as something of a franchise closure to be cherished, and rightly so because it has all the good parts that made the first Toho wave so enjoyable. So turn up the volume, open your screens out and indulge. Wonderful. 8/10

Production companies

Who made it

TOHO
JP
TO
Toho Eizo Bijutsu
JP
Tokyo Laboratory
JP

Key crew

Production DesignYoshifumi Honda
Executive ProducerTomoyuki Tanaka
Production ManagerKeisuke Shinoda
EditorYoshitami Kuroiwa
Lighting TechnicianToshio Takashima
Sound RecordistFumio Yanoguchi
Associate ProducerKenji Tokoro
Visual Effects Art DirectorToshiro Aoki
Still PhotographerKazukiyo Tanaka
Special EffectsYoshio Tabuchi
Visual Effects CameraYoshikazu Manoda
Visual Effects Art DirectorHiroshi Komura
Special Effects AssistantYoshio Tabuchi
Special EffectsKoji Matsumoto
Special EffectsTadaaki Watanabe
Visual EffectsYoshio Ishii
Visual EffectsKazunobu Sanpei
Visual EffectsYoshikazu Manoda
Special EffectsTakesaburô Watanabe
Production AssistantShizuo Nakajima
Visual Effects Art DirectorYasuyuki Inoue
Visual EffectsTeruyoshi Nakano
First Assistant DirectorKensho Yamashita
Visual Effects DirectorTeruyoshi Nakano

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

mind control
submarine
self sacrifice
mad scientist
mechagodzilla
alien
dinosaur
alien invasion
kaiju
invasion of earth
female cyborg
complex
godzilla
suicide by gun
understated
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical1978-03-01G· Bob Conn Enterprises release titled "The Terror of Godzilla". Heavily censored, trimmed to 79-minutes. Uses the Toho export dub. Exact date unknown.
TV1978-10-29· United Productions of America (UPA) 89-minute extended cut. Features new 6-minute prolog and mild censoring. Uses the Toho export dub. Also referred to as "The Terror of Mechagodzilla".

Also known as