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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (Gojira tai Mekagojira) (1974)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (Gojira tai Mekagojira) (1974)

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Released 16-Aug-2006

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Science Fiction Theatrical Trailer
Gallery-Photo-Image
Trivia-Image
Trailer-Madman Trailers
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1974
Running Time 80:52
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Jun Fukuda
Studio
Distributor
Toho Company
Madman Entertainment
Starring Masaaki Daimon
Kazuya Aoyama
Akihiko Hirata
Hiroshi Koizumi
Reiko Tajima
Hiromi Matsushita
Masao Imafuku
Beru-Bera Lin
Shin Kishida
Goro Mutsumi
Takayasu Torii
Daigo Kusano
Kenji Sahara
Case Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI $14.95 Music Masaru Satô


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.55:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla has previously been released as a stand alone disc and has been reviewed on this site here. Although the disc included in the Godzilla Showa Classics Volume 2 box set has identical specifications, including the incorrect aspect ratio, my take on the film is a bit more positive than my college RobertW.

     Under a shrine in Okinawa Keisuke Shimizu (Masaaki Daimon) and archaeologist Saeko (Reiko Tajima) discover a statue of the Okinawan lion-dog guardian King Caesar and a prophesy concerning unnatural events and two monsters destroying the world. They take the statue back to Japan but are shadowed by a number of mysterious men who seem determined to steal it. Elsewhere on Okinawa Keisuke’s brother Masahiko in a cave finds a strange metal object which he takes back to Japan to Professor Miyajima (Akihiko Hirata), who identifies the metal as coming from outer space. Then suddenly Godzilla appears to visit destruction upon the Japanese, but things are not what they seem. When another Godzilla appears, it becomes clear that one Godzilla is really a metal cyborg version which becomes known as Mechagodzilla.

     Believing that the key to the mystery is on Okinawa, the brothers, Saeko and the professor and his daughter Ikuko (Hiromi Matsushita) all travel back to the island. When the Professor, Ikuko and Masahiko revisit the cave where the space metal was found, they are captured by men from outer space. They discover that the spacemen control Mechagodzilla and intend using the metal monster to destroy the peoples of world so they can take over. The only hope for the world is for Keisuke to awake King Caesar who, combined with Godzilla, may be able to defeat Mechagodzilla.

     Gojira tai Mekagojira, to give it the Japanese title, has a lot of good points and a few not so good. On the plus side the plot is more elaborate than most Godzilla films and builds to a nice tension at the end. The humans are more interesting than usual as well and there are some excellent model effects and interesting creature fights. The battle between the two Godzillas in and around a model oil refinery is suitably dramatic and explosive and the climactic battle between Godzilla, King Caesar and Mechagodzilla with fireballs, explosions and thumping effects is mostly quite entertaining.

     On the other hand, the fights (both monster and human) are too often spoiled by jerky hand held cameras that zoom in very close creating a blur of motion that is singularly ineffective. The monster fights are also more violent than is normal in the Godzilla series, with blood spurting from open wounds. The pacing of the film is also uneven; there are lots of travelogue type shots of nothing in particular, too much time is spent in people sitting around and, more crucially, the impending climax is comes to a crashing full stop as an Okinawan priestess (Beru-Beru Lin) sings a very long, boring orchestra supported song to awake King Caesar. For most, the effect would be the opposite of what is intended.

     Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla from 1974 is a patchy effort from director Jun Fukuda but this is his 5th Godzilla by my count he knows his monsters. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla when it gets into stride is an entertaining film with some excellent model work and monster fights. It might not be the best in the series, but it is a long way from being the worst and so is well worth a look for fans.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.55:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The original theatrical ratio was 2.35:1 and I have no idea why this particular film is presented in this ratio. The change is mostly not too obvious although on a number of occasions heads are cut off or disappear out of the top of the frame, which can be disconcerting.

     On the other hand, this is a good looking print, perhaps one of the best of the Godzilla films I have reviewed. While some back projection scenes and matte paintings lack sharpness, the rest of the film looks very sharp indeed. Blacks and shadow detail are fine, brightness, contrast and skin tones are good and the colours warm and natural. There is mild grain but I did not notice and film or film to video artefacts.

     The English subtitles are in a yellow font in American English. On two occasions ( 34:28, 47:09) the name Ikuko appears as “Lkuko” in the subtitles, there were a number of annoying abbreviations, such as “wanna” and “gonna”, and the usual American spelling, such as “color”. None of this was too distracting however.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is a choice between Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps, Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono at 224 Kbps and English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono at 224 Kbps. The 5.1 is one of the best I have heard so far in the Godzilla films and, for a change, I actually prefer it to the 2.0 mix. Dialogue was clear, it has separation and reasonable clarity, the surrounds are used for music and effects and the sub woofer did support the music in a minor way. It is not particularly enveloping but is effective. The original theatrical release was in mono so we have this track on the DVD. It is also quite effective. The English dub is there if one just cannot read subtitles.

     This was the last Godzilla score of composer Masaru Sato. It is quite good in the earlier sequences, but later it does become quite obtrusive especially during the monster battle at the climax where the jazz score seems out of place. And the less said about that song, the better!

     Lip synchronisation is was mostly good, but not always.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Original Trailer (2:26)

Image Galleries

     Behind the Scenes

     34 Black and white stills, some of interest as they show the monster scale models and the men in the monster suits.

     Promotional Stills

     10 Black and white stills.

Trivia Section

     One silent screen of facts about Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

Madman Trailers

     Trailers for other films from Madman. Included is Godzilla – Final Wars (0:55), Godzilla vs. Mothra (2:17) and Beautiful Boxer (2:50).

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     There is a Region 2 Japanese version with an audio commentary by Director of Special Effects Teruyoshi Nakano, plus other featurettes but the feature, featurettes and commentary do not have English subtitles. The US Region 1 disc has only Japanese and English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio tracks but is reported to be in the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Maybe a draw between Region 1 and Region 4 for English speakers.

Summary

     Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla from director Jun Fukuda is a patchy effort, but it is a long way from being the worst Godzilla and so is well worth a look for fans of the series. The film is presented on a DVD with good video (except the incorrect ratio), good audio and minimal extras.

     Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is included in the Madman 6 disc box set Godzilla Showa Classics Volume 2 along with Godzilla: All Monsters Attack (1969), Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) and Terror of Mechagodzilla: (1975). For a RPI of $49.95 this set is a fabulous way to stay in touch with “the original monster of mass destruction”.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S350, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 42inch Hi-Def LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

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