Titanosaurus (Godzilla)
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is a 1975 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
, written by Yukiko Takayama, and produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the ''Godzilla'' series, beginning in 1954 with ''Godzilla'' and ending in 1995 with '' Godzilla vs. Destoroyah''. He was one of the mo ...
and Henry G. Saperstein, with special effects by
Teruyoshi Nakano was a Japanese special effects director. He is best known for helming the special effects of the last six Showa ''Godzilla'' films and ''The Return of Godzilla'' (1984). Early life Nakano was born on in Andong, Manchukuo (now Dandong, Lia ...
. Distributed by
Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 15th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, serving as a direct sequel to the 1974 film ''
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is a 1974 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 14th film of the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features ...
'' and the final entry of the franchise's
Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...
and the last to be directed by series co-creator
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, wit ...
before his death in 1993. The franchise would be rebooted nine years later with ''
The Return of Godzilla , is a 1984 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Koji Hashimoto, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 16th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the last film ...
'', beginning the franchise's
Heisei era The was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, when his ...
. ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' stars Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai,
Akihiko Hirata , known professionally as , was a Japanese film actor. He is known for his work in the ''kaiju'' genre, including such films as ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'', '' The Mysterians'', '' Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla'', '' Terror of Mechagodzilla'', and hi ...
, and
Gorō Mutsumi was a Japanese actor with more than 30 films to his credit. He has also appeared in numerous television shows, especially ''jidaigeki'', in which he specializes in villains, and in ''tokusatsu''. In addition, he is a stage and voice actor with pr ...
, and features
Toru Kawai (died 1996)オール東宝怪獣大図鑑 2014, p. 193. was a Japanese stunt man and actor best known for playing Godzilla in ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' and in episodes of '' Zone Fighter'', a tokusatsu show. He is the only known actor to have p ...
, Kazunari Mori, and Tatsumi Nikamoto as the fictional monster characters
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
,
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character, or monster, that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial villain, a robot created by a ...
2, and
Titanosaurus ''Titanosaurus'' (; ) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Richard Lydekker in 1877.R. Lydekker. (1877). Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks. ''Records of the Geological Survey of ...
, respectively. The film was released theatrically in Japan on March 15, 1975, to mostly positive reviews. It was released in the UK in June 1976 under the title ''Monsters From an Unknown Planet''. It received a
limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...
in the United States in 1978 by Bob Conn Enterprises under the title ''The Terror of Godzilla''. The film remains the least financially successful entry in the ''Godzilla'' franchise to this day.


Plot

Following
Mechagodzilla is a fictional mecha character, or monster, that first appeared in the 1974 film ''Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla''. In its debut appearance, Mechagodzilla is depicted as an Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial villain, a robot created by a ...
's and the Simeons' defeat by
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
and
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
n guardian monster King Caesar,
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
agents search for Mechagodzilla's remains at the bottom of the Okinawan Sea in the hopes of gathering information on the Simeons. Their
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
is attacked by a giant marine dinosaur they name Titanosaurus and the crew vanishes. Interpol launches an investigation into the incident. With the help of
marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...
Akira Ichinose, they trace Titanosaurus to a reclusive mad scientist named Shinzô Mafune, who wants to destroy mankind. While the group visits Mafune's home, they meet his daughter, Katsura, who secretly underwent surgery and became a
cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city i ...
without the Simeons' permission. While Interpol discovers Titanosaurus is vulnerable to supersonic waves, Katsura destroys their supersonic wave oscillator. Godzilla arrives and easily defeats Titanosaurus, causing the latter to retreat. When Ichinose visits Katsura, the Simeons capture him and unleash Mechagodzilla 2 and Titanosaurus on
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Interpol repairs their wave oscillator and the Japanese armed forces struggle to fend off the monsters. Godzilla arrives but is outmatched until Interpol distracts Titanosaurus with the repaired wave oscillator, allowing Godzilla to focus on Mechagodzilla 2. Interpol agents infiltrate the Simeons' hideout, rescue Ichinose, and kill Mafune and many of the Simeons. The remaining Simeons attempt to escape, but Godzilla shoots down their ships with atomic breath. The wounded Katsura shoots herself to disables Mechagodzilla 2's control device. Godzilla destroys Mechagodzilla 2, but Katsura dies in Ichinose's arms. With help from Interpol, Godzilla defeats Titanosaurus and returns to the ocean.


Cast


Production


Development

The original screenplay that Yukiko Takayama created after winning Toho's story contest for the next installment in the Godzilla series was picked by assistant producer Kenji Tokoro and was submitted for approval on July 1, 1974, less than four months after ''
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is a 1974 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects subsidiary Toho–Eizo, it is the 14th film of the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features ...
'' was released. The original concept is similar to the finished version of ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'', with many of the changes being budgetary in nature. The most obvious alteration is the removal of the two dinosaurs called the Titans, which merged to become Titanosaurus in the first draft. It was an interesting concept, although something that was also under-explained, considering the magnitude of such an occurrence of the creatures merging. Another noticeable change to the script is that of the final battle, which does not move to the countryside but instead would have reduced Tokyo to rubble during the ensuing conflict between the three monsters. After her initial draft, Takayama submitted a revised version on October 14, 1974. This went through a third revision on December 4, and then yet another on December 28 of that same year before it was met with approval and filming began.
Jun Fukuda was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for directing five entries in the ''Godzilla'' series starting with '' Ebirah, Horror of the Deep'' (1966) as well as the spy films The spy film, also known as the ...
was initially offered the role of director for this installment but refused having finally had enough of the series. Before Ishiro Honda agreed to return rumours persist
Yoshimitsu Banno was a Japanese film director, best known for the cult-classic ''Godzilla vs. Hedorah'' (1971), which he directed and co-wrote. Banno was a special guest at G-Fest, G-Fest XII in 2005. He was an executive producer on Legendary Pictures' ''Godzill ...
was also asked to direct due to Tomoyuki Tanaka being pleased with his work on '' Prophecies of Nostradamus.'' Director Ishiro Honda later lamented not having been able to work with the story's writer, Yukiko Takayama, on other films, enjoying that a "woman's perspective was especially fresh" for the genre. Kensho Yamashita, who would later direct '' Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla'' was the chief assistant director on the project. He notes, though, that Honda never actually assigned any of the shooting to him, possibly because he was happy to be directing again after a long gap in his career and wanted to do the work himself.


Nudity

This film is one of two ''Godzilla'' films with brief nudity (the other being 1994's '' Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla''). The scene occurs when Katsura undergoes an operation to have Mechagodzilla 2's control device placed inside her body, at which point her breasts are exposed. While she was portrayed by a mannequin in the scene, the scene was cut when the film was released in the U.S., both from the theatrical and TV versions of the film, and was also missing from the UK theatrical version, though the scene was intact in the 1992 VHS release which used the ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' title.


English version

Toho titled its English version of the film ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' and had it dubbed into English in Hong Kong. This “international version” has never seen wide release in the United States, but has been issued on VHS in the United Kingdom by PolyGram Video Ltd. and on DVD in Taiwan by Power Multimedia. The film was given a North American theatrical release in March 1978 by independent distributor Bob Conn Enterprises under the title ''The Terror of Godzilla''. Just as Cinema Shares had done with the previous three ''Godzilla'' movies, Bob Conn Enterprises chose to utilize the Toho-commissioned English dub instead of hiring a new crew to re-dub the film. ''The Terror of Godzilla'' was heavily edited to obtain a "G" rating from the
MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, the mini-major Amazon MGM Studios, as well as the video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. F ...
. Several scenes with violent content were entirely removed, disrupting the flow of the narrative. Henry G. Saperstein, who sold the theatrical rights to Bob Conn Enterprises, also released the film to television in late 1978, this time under Toho's international title, ''Terror of Mechagodzilla''. Unlike ''The Terror of Godzilla'', the television version remained mostly uncut, with only the shot of Katsura's naked breasts excised. Saperstein's editors also added a 10-minute prologue that served as a brief history of Godzilla, with footage from Saperstein's English versions of ''
Invasion of Astro-Monster is a 1965 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the sixth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise and Shōwa period. The film was a Japanese-American co-production; it was the second collaboration ...
'' and ''
All Monsters Attack is a 1969 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the tenth film in the ''Godzilla'' series, and fea ...
'' (the latter of which utilized stock footage from both ''
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is a 1966 Japanese '' kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda and produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. The film stars Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Akihiko Hirata and Eisei Amamoto, and features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, ...
'' and ''
Son of Godzilla is a 1967 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, with special effects by Sadamasa Arikawa, under the supervision of Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the eighth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. It st ...
''). In the mid-1980s, the U.S. television version, ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'', was replaced by the theatrical edit, ''The Terror of Godzilla'', on television and home video. For some reason, the title was also changed to ''Terror of Mechagodzilla''. The 1994 Paramount release of ''Terror of Mechagodzilla'' listed a running time of 89 minutes on the slipcase, implying that this release would be the longer version first shown on American TV. The actual video cassette featured the edited theatrical version. In a 1995 interview with ''G-Fan'' magazine, Saperstein was surprised to hear about this mistake. In 1997 on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in the U.K., three Godzilla movies were shown back to back late at night, starting with '' Godzilla vs. Megalon'', ''
Godzilla vs. Gigan , is a 1972 Japanese Kaiju, ''kaiju'' film directed by Jun Fukuda, written by Shinichi Sekizawa, and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Distributed by Toho and produced under their effects-based subsidiary Toho ...
'' and then ''Terror of Mechagodzilla''; all were dubbed versions. This showing was uncut, including the Katsura nudity scene, but it did not have the Western-made prologue. In the mid-2000s, the television version showed up again on
Monsters HD Monsters HD was a 24 hour, seven-days-a-week, linear horror film and monster movie network.Kiernan, Matthew (July 2004) "The New Future of Fear: Meet 13 Rising Talents Who Promise To Keep Us Terrified For The Next 25 Years", Fangoria Magazine Ju ...
, and in 2007, it made its home video debut as the U.S. version on the
Classic Media DreamWorks Classics is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded as Classic Media in 2000 by Eric Ellenboge ...
DVD. Although the added prologue was originally framed for fullscreen television, it was cropped and shown in widescreen on the disc. The rest of the movie featured the audio from Saperstein's television version synced to the video from the Japanese version. The first article about the movie's storyline was published in
Japanese Giants ''Japanese Giants'' was a kaiju (giant monster) fanzine with an emphasis on Japanese monsters, such as Godzilla. The first issue was published in 1974 by Stephen Mark Rainey and publication continued under different editors until 2004. History ' ...
#

in 1977, edited and published by Bradford G. Boyle, and was written by Richard H. Campbell, creator of ''The Godzilla Fan News Letter'' (a.k.a. "The Gang").


Reception


Critical response

On American
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, approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews, with a rating average of 6/10."


Box office

In Japan, the film sold 980,000 tickets. Despite earning mixed, though generally positive reviews, it sold poorly; the film was the least-attended ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' film in Japan and also one of only two ''Godzilla'' films to sell less than 1 million tickets. The film's poor performance was part of a wider downturn in ticket sales for monster movies as a genre, and Toho put the production of monster movies on hold. However, Toho had no intention of permanently ending the ''Godzilla'' series, and intended for the pause to only be a temporary hiatus. Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, several treatments for new ''Godzilla'' films were proposed by various writers and producers. None of these films, however, were ultimately made. It was not until 1984 and ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
s 30th anniversary that Toho would start production on a new Godzilla movie.


Home media

The film has been released several times on DVD in the United States. The first release, by Simitar Entertainment, was on May 6, 1998, in a fullscreen version under the title ''The Terror of Godzilla''. The second release, by First Classic Media and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment, was on September 17, 2002. It was released both individually and as part of the ''Ultimate Godzilla DVD Collection'' box set, the latter being released on the same day. It was then re-released by Second Classic Media, this time distributed by Genius Entertainment, on November 20, 2007, both individually and as part of the ''Godzilla Collection'' box set on April 29, 2008. In 2019, both the Japanese version and the export English version were included in a Blu-ray box set released by the Criterion Collection, which included all 15 films from the franchise's
Shōwa era The was a historical period of History of Japan, Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death on January 7, 1989. It was preceded by the T ...
.


Notes


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * *


External links


Godzilla on the web (Japan)
* * * {{Ishirō Honda 1975 films 1970s Japanese-language films Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films directed by Ishirō Honda Films set in Okinawa Prefecture Films set in Shizuoka Prefecture Films set in Yokosuka Giant monster films Godzilla films Japanese science fiction films Japanese sequel films Kaiju films Mad scientist films 1970s monster movies UPA films Toho films Mecha films Apes in popular culture Films about father–daughter relationships 1970s Japanese films 1975 science fiction films Japanese robot films Films about dinosaurs Films about cyborgs Films about alien invasions