#Godzilla vs. Bionic Monster

[gojira-ekkusu]

[ronnymerchant]

GODZILLA VS THE COSMIC MONSTER (1974) aka GODZILLA VS. MECHA GODZILLA aka GODZILLA VS. THE BIONIC MONSTER (which was the name It was playing when I saw it on TV in 1976.

Poster by Basil Gogos!

Ya know- to cash in on the 6 Million Dollar Man  fad. With the ‘bionic’ shit and all.

[monsterasia-zero]

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla Gallery - Godzilla vs Bionic Monster Poster

[citystompers1]

Famous Monsters of Filmland #135 (1977) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla cover by Basil Gogos

[movieposters1]

[bog-o-bones]

Basil Gogos

March 12, 1939 – September 14, 2017

[doraemonmon]

Godzilla vs Bionic Monster!

[namesisfortombstones]

Original Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster 1977 theatrical title card reconstruction based on eyewitness descriptions.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Select: Heavy is the Head

There is a criminal lacking amount of material about Godzilla on this blog. I feel ashamed that i have so haphazardly neglected the Big G. I've spoken about this before, but Godzilla means a great deal to me. I didn’t have the warmest of experiences during my childhood so i cherished the ones that weren’t horrifying. I’m melancholy for a reason and a lot of that can be traced back to my unkind environments as a kid. Godzilla is tied to many of those good memories i was able to glean off the darker circumstance of my halcyon days. I’ve seen every movie and own about half of them. It occurs to me that there are, like thirty of these things and, with the release of the what might be the final Monsterverse movie on the horizon, Godzilla vs. Kong, i wanted to take a look at the entire catalog. I wanted to revisit the films and choose what i believe to be the best in the franchise.

10. The Return of Godzilla

This was probably the first Godzilla movie i ever saw in my entire life. The second is actually on this list a ways down but this one left a massive impression on me. It was gorgeous, lavishly produced, and completely different than the film i had just watched. Not in the sense of tone, they both are on the darker side of the Goji spectrum, but this is the first time i witnessed the “death” of a Godzilla and it f*cked me right up. I remember weeping about that for days. Imagine my surprise, years later, when i found out that Godzilla 1985 was the start of an entire era of Goji films. This thing is actually a direct sequel to the 1954 Gojira film, ignoring everything in the Showa era. As such, it takes a ton of cues from that film, not only the tone, but visually as well. This Goji is like an updated version of that Goji and it really shows. I initially saw this film in the re-cut, Americanized, version Godzilla 1985. It was fine. I was a kid so i didn’t even know about the way the US butchers foreign film yet. As an adult, i made it a point to watch the original Japanese version and i can say, hands down, that version is the superior watch. I’d say check both out, Godzilla 1985 and Return of Godzilla if you’re a Goji fan but Return is definitely the better of the two.

9. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

This is the first appearance of Kiryu, the third Mechagodzilla. You’ll notice that Mechagoji makes a ton of appearances on this list. That’s because it’s films are some of the best in the entire franchise, hands down. Plus, it’s my all-time favorite Goji villain. This particular version was our introduction into the loose continuity of the entire Millennium era. This saw Goji in a ton of one-shot type and experimental narratives. The only two story lines actually connected were this film and it’s direct sequel, Tokyo S.O.S. I chose this one over it’s follow-up because of the raw emotion i felt seeing the best design of Mechagoji ever captured on film, for the first time. Kiryu is a masterpiece and i loved every second it was onscreen. The narrative is an interesting one, too. It’s not top-tier but, for the Millennium series, it’s pretty ambitious. Objectively, Tokyo S.O.S might be the better film, but this one made a great first impression. If you see one, you have to see the other. They’re kind of a set.

8. Godzilla: Final Wars

Oh, Final Wars. Your ambition is only matched by your absurdity. Look, final Wars is Endgame before other was an Endgame. It’s the cap to the entire Godzilla franchise to that point, kind of like how Destroy All Monsters was supposed to close out the Showa era. We saw how well that worked, just like this “conclusion.” This thing is unapologetic fan service, rife with the campiest of performances. I mean, the Xilliens in this are a direct reference to the original, would-be world conquerors from Planet X, first introduced in 1965. I love that sh*t! It’s chock full of Aliens, Mutants, Monsters, and more! Almost every Goji villain gets a cameo, including the first US attempt at a Goji adaption, Zilla. Gigan got an updated design that was just gorgeous, King Ghidorah gets a promotion to Kaiser, and Monster X is introduced as it’s own thing. That initial design was absolutely filthy and immediately made my top five Goji villain designs. Speaking of designs, Final Wars Goji is my favorite version of the King, Slim, mean, and breathtakingly regal in statue, it was dope seeing this suit in action, even if it was the only time.

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I’m a huge fan of the new Monsterverse being woven together by Legendary over here in the States. So far, I’ve enjoyed every release, even Kong: Skull Island. I don’t like King Kong. Never have. It’s a rather offensive allegory when you think about but that’ a discussion for another day. This is about the latest release of Legendary’s universe; King of the Monsters. Like Final Wars and Destroy All Monsters before it, this film is kind of a celebration of the Goji franchise as a whole but with a Yankee twist. For the first time, we get to see what classic Toho monster look like, filtered through a modern Hollywood lens and, let me tell you, it is a sight to behold. I was already on board for the Godzilla reveal a few years before but Mothra and Rodan killed it. Those designs were amazing, particularly Mothra. She seemed like a proper threat and not some mascot. I loved it. That said, and this might be blasphemy among the fandom, but the Monsterverse version of King Ghidorah is the best goddamn version of the monster ever captured on film. This motherf*cker is smarmy, conceited, arrogant, and just plain awesome. The design, the personalities, the cruelty; It’s everything a challenger to the Throne had to have and Legendary nailed it. The movie, itself, is kind of weak in the narrative department, mostly as a knee-jerk reaction to the heavily human story of the initial Godzilla release, but the monster action is premium.

6. Godzilla vs. Biollante

Among the fandom, this is considered the very best Godzilla movie in the entire franchise. I wouldn’t go that far but i can’t deny the objective quality saturating this film. It gets right what so many of these movies get wrong; The human story line. That aspect of the story, rather than feeling like something tacked on for perspective, is integral to the overall narrative. It’s rare for that to occur and this film was the first time experienced it, myself. This is easily the best film in the Showa era but it took some time for it to be seen as such by the entire fandom. Initially, people hated this movie. They hated Biollante and wanted to see old monster with new tech. They got their wish and those films are kind of bogus. Heisei closed out strong with Space Godzilla and Destroyah, but that was after a series of mediocre retreads. Toho should have followed their instincts and moved forward with the new look they pushed with Biollante. She was dope and deserved better initially. and, yes, Biollante is female. That’s part of that integral human story i spoke of before.

5. Terror of Mechagodzilla

The second appearance of Mechagodzilla was one for the history books. The bionic monster was just a ferocious, just as menacing, as his initial outing but even moreso here. Terror is less heavy that the first time we saw Mechagoji, but it’s still got a ton of blood on it’s hands. This thing skews closer to the darker Showa outing but never really gives you pause like those other films do. No, it;s true to the narrative established a year before and tends to be an exercise in violence the whole way through. I really like this film and it has one of the best stories in the Showa era. It's not as tight as it’s predecessor, which is on this list, but it does a spectacular job with what it has.

4. Godzilla

So this is the first of several adaptions of the the initial Godzilla encounter. This particular one, is the first appearance of the Big G in the Monsterverse. The 2014 Godzilla film is derided for having next to no Godzilla in it, but that didn’t bother me too much. Of course you want all Goji, all the time but that makes for a lousy film. King of the Monsters did that and it is vastly inferior, narrative wise, to this flick. This film, while Godzilla-starved, does accomplish that rare thing Biollante was able to pull off and so few others in the franchise seem to do; Make the human narrative relevant. This sh*t does that exceptionally, even if they kill off the best character in the entire goddamn movie, almost immediately. Still, after Bryan Cranston bites the dust, i was still on board. A lot of this movie feels like a test run for what comes later but what a Beta it turned out to be. As a film, Godzilla is amazing. I loved the narrative, the characters, and even the monster action, what little there was initial. I really hate the MUTO. They’re kind of corny looking, a little generic, but the best designed of all the US Titans. All of the US Titans are gross looking. All of them. Great movie though!

3. Gojira

The first appearance of Godzilla and the most harrowing tale in the entire franchise. The name Godzilla is actually a misnomer. Goji’s original name was Gojira, which basically means “whale ape’ but this was mispronounced by Americans as Godzilla, thus the moniker we use today. Gojira is the correct, Japanese name, for the King of Monsters but people, worldwide, recognize Godzilla more so it’s been accepted as the proper name. Now that that little tidbit is out of the way, let’s get into the many, MANY, different cuts of this film. Similarly to Return of Godzilla, this one was recut, had scenes added with a well known US actor, dubbed, and released under the title Godzilla: King of Monsters! I’ve seen both versions and there each have their merits but the aggressive bleak tone and tragic narrative of Gojira make for a truly emotional viewing experience. Godzilla isn’t a monster in this movie, he’s literally the physical personification of that devastation inflicted upon Japan, by the atomic bomb. This film is Japan mourning the death of their great country. This is Japan reflecting on their sins. It’s an incredibly raw, violently bleak, take on such content, easily held in the same vein as Schindler’s List. That’s not hyperbole either, this film hits the same as that one. The US cut is good as a film but lacks a lot of that genuine Japanese energy. Gojira does not and of the tow, this one is far superior. both version are absolutely required viewing if you’re trying to get into Godzilla.

2. Shin Godzilla

I love Shin Godzilla. I was mad hyped when Toho announced they were going to release a proper Goji film after some years and even more on board when i heard that Hideaki Anno was going to be in charge of it. Dude is the principal architect of my all-time favorite anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, so i knew there was going to be a brilliance to this flick not seen in the entire franchise. The take on Godzilla being a manifestation of how crippling bureaucracy and tradition clot the Japanese culture was not lost on me. This is another one of the Goji flicks that puts precedence on the human story and it does that so goddamn well, i was stunned. Look, i loved film and, as a film, this thing is outstanding. I get that it can come across as plodding and slow paced, but you have to understand, it’s showing you, real time, what it’s like to move through the Japanese government. All of that red tape, all of that inaction, is a noose around Japan’s neck and you get a real understanding of that. Not only does this thing have great direction and exceptional performances for a Japanese product, that Shin Goji design is absolutely horrifying. It’s wholly original, brilliantly executed, and easily my second favorite in the entire franchise. I love this movie and everything it represents. Shin Godzilla is absolutely required viewing for the Goji fan.

1. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

I alluded to this before, but Mechagoji is my favorite Godzilla villain of all-time. This film is why. Terror was the second Godzilla movie i had ever seen. It was the first VHS i ever bought with my own money. I remember, vividly, the emotions i felt watching this mechanical monstrosity decimate both King Shiisa and Godzilla. Mechagodzilla was a legitimate powerhouse and it demonstrated that with every assault on Tokyo. I mean, he shows up, and damn near rips Anguirus’ face right the hell off! We saw blood, so much blood, spew from Goji’s best friend and it was truly heartbreaking. Angie just scuttled away in defeat, inflicting almost no damage to the violent impostor and, from there, it was just a massive show of power. Unlimited power. Narrative wise, it’s actually one of the best, most coherent stories in the entire franchise. In my opinion, it could give Biollante a run for it’s money but most would place is a step behind. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is my favorite Goji film and required viewing for any fan of the series.

Honorable Mentions: Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs Gigan, Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out attack, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, Godzilla Raids Again

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Select: Heavy is the Head

There is a criminal lacking amount of material about Godzilla on this blog. I feel ashamed that i have so haphazardly neglected the Big G. I've spoken about this before, but Godzilla means a great deal to me. I didn’t have the warmest of experiences during my childhood so i cherished the ones that weren’t horrifying.  I’m melancholy for a reason and a lot of that can be traced back to my unkind environments as a kid. Godzilla is tied to many of those good memories i was able to glean off the darker circumstance of my halcyon days. I’ve seen every movie and own about half of them. It occurs to me that there are, like thirty of these things and, with the release of the what might be the final Monsterverse movie on the horizon, Godzilla vs. Kong, i wanted to take a look at the entire catalog. I wanted to revisit the films and choose what i believe to be the best in the franchise.

10. The Return of Godzilla

This was probably the first Godzilla movie i ever saw in my entire life. The second is actually on this list a ways down but this one left a massive impression on me. It was gorgeous, lavishly produced, and completely different than the film i had just watched. Not in the sense of tone, they both are on the darker side of the Goji spectrum, but this is the first time i witnessed the “death” of a Godzilla and it f*cked me right up. I remember weeping about that for days. Imagine my surprise, years later, when i found out that Godzilla 1985 was the start of an entire era of Goji films. This thing is actually a direct sequel to the 1954 Gojira film, ignoring everything in the Showa era. As such, it takes a ton of cues from that film, not only the tone, but visually as well. This Goji is like an updated version of that Goji and it really shows. I initially saw this film in the re-cut, Americanized, version Godzilla 1985. It was fine. I was a kid so i didn’t even know about the way the US butchers foreign film yet. As an adult, i made it a point to watch the original Japanese version and i can say, hands down, that version is the superior watch. I’d say check both out, Godzilla 1985 and Return of Godzilla if you’re a Goji fan but Return is definitely the better of the two.

9. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

This is the first appearance of Kiryu, the third Mechagodzilla. You’ll notice that Mechagoji makes a ton of appearances on this list. That’s because it’s films are some of the best in the entire franchise, hands down. Plus, it’s my all-time favorite Goji villain. This particular version was our introduction into the loose continuity of the entire Millennium era. This saw Goji in a ton of one-shot type and experimental narratives. The only two story lines actually connected were this film and it’s direct sequel, Tokyo S.O.S. I chose this one over it’s follow-up because of the raw emotion i felt seeing the best design of Mechagoji ever captured on film, for the first time. Kiryu is a masterpiece and i loved every second it was onscreen. The narrative is an interesting one, too. It’s not top-tier but, for the Millennium series, it’s pretty ambitious. Objectively, Tokyo S.O.S might be the better film, but this one made a great first impression. If you see one, you have to see the other. They’re kind of a set.

8. Godzilla: Final Wars

Oh, Final Wars. Your ambition is only matched by your absurdity. Look, final Wars is Endgame before other was an Endgame. It’s the cap to the entire Godzilla franchise to that point, kind of like how Destroy All Monsters was supposed to close out the Showa era. We saw how well that worked, just like this “conclusion.” This thing is unapologetic fan service, rife with the campiest of performances. I mean, the Xilliens in this are a direct reference to the original, would-be world conquerors from Planet X, first introduced in 1965. I love that sh*t! It’s chock full of Aliens, Mutants, Monsters, and more! Almost every Goji villain gets a cameo, including the first US attempt at a Goji adaption, Zilla. Gigan got an updated design that was just gorgeous, King Ghidorah gets a promotion to Kaiser, and Monster X is introduced as it’s own thing. That initial design was absolutely filthy and immediately made my top five Goji villain designs. Speaking of designs, Final Wars Goji is my favorite version of the King, Slim, mean, and breathtakingly regal in statue, it was dope seeing this suit in action, even if it was the only time.

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I’m a huge fan of the new Monsterverse being woven together by Legendary over here in the States. So far, I’ve enjoyed every release, even Kong: Skull Island. I don’t like King Kong. Never have. It’s a rather offensive allegory when you think about but that’ a discussion for another day. This is about the latest release of Legendary’s universe; King of the Monsters. Like Final Wars and Destroy All Monsters before it, this film is kind of a celebration of the Goji franchise as a whole but with a Yankee twist. For the first time, we get to see what classic Toho monster look like, filtered through a modern Hollywood lens and, let me tell you, it is a sight to behold. I was already on board for the Godzilla reveal a few years before but Mothra and Rodan killed it. Those designs were amazing, particularly Mothra. She seemed like a proper threat and not some mascot. I loved it. That said, and this might be blasphemy among the fandom, but the Monsterverse version of King Ghidorah is the best goddamn version of the monster ever captured on film. This motherf*cker is smarmy, conceited, arrogant, and just plain awesome. The design, the personalities, the cruelty; It’s everything a challenger to the Throne had to have and Legendary nailed it. The movie, itself, is kind of weak in the narrative department, mostly as a knee-jerk reaction to the heavily human story of the initial Godzilla release, but the monster action is premium.

6. Godzilla vs. Biollante

Among the fandom, this is considered the very best Godzilla movie in the entire franchise. I wouldn’t go that far but i can’t deny the objective quality saturating this film. It gets right what so many of these movies get wrong; The human story line. That aspect of the story, rather than feeling like something tacked on for perspective, is integral to the overall narrative. It’s rare for that to occur and this film was the first time experienced it, myself. This is easily the best film in the Showa era but it took some time for it to be seen as such by the entire fandom. Initially, people hated this movie. They hated Biollante and wanted to see old monster with new tech. They got their wish and those films are kind of bogus. Heisei closed out strong with Space Godzilla and Destroyah, but that was after a series of mediocre retreads. Toho should have followed their instincts and moved forward with the new look they pushed with Biollante. She was dope and deserved better initially. and, yes, Biollante is female. That’s part of that integral human story i spoke of before.

5. Terror of Mechagodzilla

The second appearance of Mechagodzilla was one for the history books. The bionic monster was just a ferocious, just as menacing, as his initial outing but even moreso here. Terror is less heavy that the first time we saw Mechagoji, but it’s still got a ton of blood on it’s hands. This thing skews closer to the darker Showa outing but never really gives you pause like those other films do. No, it;s true to the narrative established a year before and tends to be an exercise in violence the whole way through. I really like this film and it has one of the best stories in the Showa era. It's not as tight as it’s predecessor, which is on this list, but it does a spectacular job with what it has.

4. Godzilla

So this is the first of several adaptions of the the initial Godzilla encounter. This particular one, is the first appearance of the Big G in the Monsterverse. The 2014 Godzilla film is derided for having next to no Godzilla in it, but that didn’t bother me too much. Of course you want all Goji, all the time but that makes for a lousy film. King of the Monsters did that and it is vastly inferior, narrative wise, to this flick. This film, while Godzilla-starved, does accomplish that rare thing Biollante was able to pull off and so few others in the franchise seem to do; Make the human narrative relevant. This sh*t does that exceptionally, even if they kill off the best character in the entire goddamn movie, almost immediately. Still, after Bryan Cranston bites the dust, i was still on board. A lot of this movie feels like a test run for what comes later but what a Beta it turned out to be. As a film, Godzilla is amazing. I loved the narrative, the characters, and even the monster action, what little there was initial. I really hate the MUTO. They’re kind of corny looking, a little generic, but the best designed of all the US Titans. All of the US Titans are gross looking. All of them. Great movie though!

3. Gojira

The first appearance of Godzilla and the most harrowing tale in the entire franchise. The name Godzilla is actually a misnomer. Goji’s original name was Gojira, which basically means “whale ape’ but this was mispronounced by Americans as Godzilla, thus the moniker we use today. Gojira is the correct, Japanese name, for the King of Monsters but people, worldwide, recognize Godzilla more so it’s been accepted as the proper name. Now that that little tidbit is out of the way, let’s get into the many, MANY, different cuts of this film. Similarly to Return of Godzilla, this one was recut, had scenes added with a well known US actor, dubbed, and released under the title Godzilla: King of Monsters! I’ve seen both versions and there each have their merits but the aggressive bleak tone and tragic narrative of Gojira make for a truly emotional viewing experience. Godzilla isn’t a monster in this movie, he’s literally the physical personification of that devastation inflicted upon Japan, by the atomic bomb. This film is Japan mourning the death of their great country. This is Japan reflecting on their sins. It’s an incredibly raw, violently bleak, take on such content, easily held in the same vein as Schindler’s List. That’s not hyperbole either, this film hits the same as that one. The US cut is good as a film but lacks a lot of that genuine Japanese energy. Gojira does not and of the tow, this one is far superior. both version are absolutely required viewing if you’re trying to get into Godzilla.

2. Shin Godzilla

I love Shin Godzilla. I was mad hyped when Toho announced they were going to release a proper Goji film after some years and even more on board when i heard that Hideaki Anno was going to be in charge of it. Dude is the principal architect of my all-time favorite anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, so i knew there was going to be a brilliance to this flick not seen in the entire franchise. The take on Godzilla being a manifestation of how crippling bureaucracy and tradition clot the Japanese culture was not lost on me. This is another one of the Goji flicks that puts precedence on the human story and it does that so goddamn well, i was stunned. Look, i loved film and, as a film, this thing is outstanding. I get that it can come across as plodding and slow paced, but you have to understand, it’s showing you, real time, what it’s like to move through the Japanese government. All of that red tape, all of that inaction, is a noose around Japan’s neck and you get a real understanding of that. Not only does this thing have great direction and exceptional performances for a Japanese product, that Shin Goji design is absolutely horrifying. It’s wholly original, brilliantly executed, and easily my second favorite in the entire franchise. I love this movie and everything it represents. Shin Godzilla is absolutely required viewing for the Goji fan.

1. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

I alluded to this before, but Mechagoji is my favorite Godzilla villain of all-time. This film is why. Terror was the second Godzilla movie i had ever seen. It was the first VHS i ever bought with my own money. I remember, vividly, the emotions i felt watching this mechanical monstrosity decimate both King Shiisa and Godzilla. Mechagodzilla was a legitimate powerhouse and it demonstrated that with every assault on Tokyo. I mean, he shows up, and damn near rips Anguirus’ face right the hell off! We saw blood, so much blood, spew from Goji’s best friend and it was truly heartbreaking. Angie just scuttled away in defeat, inflicting almost no damage to the violent impostor and, from there, it was just a massive show of power. Unlimited power. Narrative wise, it’s actually one of the best, most coherent stories in the entire franchise. In my opinion, it could give Biollante a run for it’s money but most would place is a step behind. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is my favorite Goji film and required viewing for any fan of the series.

Honorable Mentions: Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla vs Gigan, Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Destroyah, Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out attack, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S, Godzilla Raids Again

[omniversalobservations]

8-Bit Worlds Collide (2014)

I'm happy to announce that our new "8-Bit Worlds Collide" pixel poster is now in stock and ready to ship out in time for this holiday season! Pox and I decided to pit our favorite pixels against one another for an all-out brawl of epic proportions, and with so many battles going on, this is easily our most ambitious poster to date. Imagine how awesome your wall will look when you have this beautiful print featuring over 170 unique characters hanging on it. You and your friends will stare at this for ages, discovering new things each time. Plus, if you made suggestions for the poster, there's a good chance some of them made the cut! Just visit the store page to see some close-up detail shots of it to see what I mean. Also, after many requests, this is our first print that comes in a standard 18" x 24" framing size, so no more worries about having to search everywhere for a frame that it will fit in!

Source: I-Mockery

(image via Gallery1988)

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[ronnymerchant]

GODZILLA VS THE COSMIC MONSTER (1974) aka GODZILLA VS. MECHA GODZILLA aka GODZILLA VS. THE BIONIC MONSTER (which was the name It was playing when I saw it on TV in 1976.

Ya know- to cash in on the 6 Million Dollar Man  fad. With the ‘bionic’ shit and all.

[ronaldcmerchant]

I saw this movie as GODZILLA VS THE BIONIC MONSTER (1974) at the Strand as a kid. Still one of my favorite Godzilla movies, just because I had such a good time then watching it. I was 12.

[aion-rsa]

Godzilla vs. Kong: A Brief History of Mechagodzilla

https://ift.tt/3sB2eYO

this article contains spoilers for godzilla vs. kong.

It may not have quite the cache or iconic status of Mothra or King Ghidorah, but Mechagodzilla has managed to become a consistent element in the Godzilla movie universe for years. And now the metallic wonder makes its Hollywood debut (not counting Ready Player One) in director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong, the fourth film in the modern MonsterVerse that kicked off in 2014 with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla.

Ever since making its first appearance in 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the gigantic robotic reptile has stuck around as a relatively constant thorn in the side of his flesh-and-blood counterpart. If Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra are the Joker, Penguin, and Catwoman to Godzilla’s Batman, then Mechagodzilla hovers near the top of the second tier of rogues, the equivalent to a Two-Face or Mr. Freeze.

Mechagodzilla’s first appearance some 47 years ago came during the Showa era of the original Toho Studios series of Godzilla films. It was the result of some creative brainstorming following two absolutely terrible entries in the series, Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), which featured two of the big lizard’s more uninspiring enemies–a cyborg with a buzzsaw in its stomach and an oversized beetle, respectively.

Faced with the task of freshening up the Godzilla movies via some better antagonists, Toho execs were intrigued by the success of the robot anime genre in Japan at the time, and also wanted to recycle the idea of Mechani-Kong, the android Kong seen in the animated 1966 series The King Kong Show and the largely disastrous 1967 film, King Kong Escapes. Between Mechani-Kong, Gigan, and the robot Jet Jaguar, mechanical monsters already had a presence in Toho’s kaiju films, paving the way for Mechagodzilla.

Toho

Mechagodzilla in the Showa era

In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the title villain is the creation of alien invaders from the “Third Planet of the Black Hole,” who plan to use the robot to conquer Earth. Mechagodzilla’s initial rampage–in which it’s actually disguised as Godzilla–sets it against veteran Godzilla ally Anguirus, before Godzilla himself gets involved and goes head to head with the robot. A third monster–the massive protector deity King Caesar, also making his screen debut–gets involved in the action as well, helping the big G defeat his metallic counterpart in a rousing finale.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which didn’t arrive in the U.S. until 1977, under the name Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster, earned somewhat more at the box office than Godzilla vs. Megalon, even though the franchise was well past its glory days. Critics were a little kinder to the movie too, although not that much: Monthly Film Bulletin pointed out that it could have been “much less shambling than it was.”

Nevertheless, Toho tried again the following year with Terror of Mechagodzilla, the 15th film in the Godzilla series and the last of the initial Showa era. Even though it marked the return of director Ishiro Honda, who had helmed some of the franchise’s biggest classics, Terror ended up becoming (relative to inflation) the lowest grossing entry of all the Godzilla films–a distinction it sadly holds to this day.

The story followed a plot hatched by a mad scientist and the same aliens from the previous film to rebuild Mechagodzilla and team it up with a new monster called Titanosaurus in the hope of defeating Godzilla and wiping out humankind, but our fire-breathing hero and his human allies eventually smack that scheme down.

Interestingly, the screenplay for Terror of Mechagodzilla was written by Yukiko Takayama, who won a contest to provide Toho with an original story for its next Godzilla movie. Takayama’s initial concept for Titanosaurus was a pair of creatures called Titans–which is, of course, the overall name given to the giant creatures that now inhabit the MonsterVerse movies, including in Godzilla vs. Kong. The Titans in Terror were combined into one monster due to budget concerns.

Two Titans, or one lonely Titanosaurus, it didn’t matter much, because the financial struggle of Terror led to Toho ending the Showa era and putting the entire Godzilla franchise on ice for nearly 10 years. But while the big G re-emerged in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla 1985), it would be another nine years until a shiny new version of his mechanical opponent turned up in the Heisei era.

Toho

A new Mechagodzilla for the Heisei era

1993 brought Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, the 20th film in the franchise and, strangely enough, not a sequel to the 1974 film of the same name. This time out, the United Nations’ military anti-Godzilla unit, G-Force, uses the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah from the previous film, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, to create two machines capable of battling Godzilla: a weaponized aircraft called Garuda and a robot named–you guessed it–Mechagodzilla.

G-Force also has another advantage: it’s in possession of a new Baby Godzilla and uses the infant’s cries to lure Godzilla into battle with Mechagodzilla and Garuda. The latter two ultimately merge into something called Super-Mechagodzilla, and just when it looks like the big green guy is on the ropes, Rodan (who had been nearly killed by the machines earlier in the movie) shows up for a late assist.

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As with the other films of the Heisei era, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II benefits from a more serious approach and better special effects than were available in the 1960s and ‘70s, earning the film good reviews and decent box office. The Mechagodzilla suit itself was much more rounded than its predecessor in the earlier films, although still played by a man inside.

Toho

Mechagodzilla enters the Millennium era

It was another nine years before Mechagodzilla showed up again, and it was after the Heisei era had ended and the Millennium era began. The movie was 2002’s Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, and like the other movies in this era, it ignored the events all previous movies except the original Gojira and essentially rebooted Mechagodzilla.

In this case, Mechagodzilla, nicknamed Kiryu, is literally built on the skeleton of the original Godzilla by the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It’s piloted remotely by humans, but the plan to use it against Godzilla backfires when memories of the original Godzilla’s death are triggered in the robot, causing it to go on a rampage of destruction. The Self-Defense Forces eventually regain control of it and send it into battle against its counterpart, although this time the movie ends in a draw.

Mechagodzilla seemed to strike a chord with audiences and critics again, as reviews and box office for the film were among the strongest of the Millennium era. That is perhaps also why Mechagodzilla returned a year later for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., the 27th Toho film and second to last of the Millennium era. It was also (unusual for this run of films ) a direct sequel to its predecessor, picking up with Kiryu being refitted following the damage it sustained in the previous movie.

It’s theorized that Godzilla keeps coming back to fight Kiryu because of the bones that are part of the robot’s design, so plans are made to shut down the robot and instead let Mothra defend the human race from Godzilla. But when Mothra herself is defeated by the giant fire-breathing dinosaur, the Self-Defense Force has no choice but to let Kiryu get back to work. The film ends with monster and robot plunging to the bottom of the ocean, with a sequel strongly hinted at.

Toho

A modern Mechagodzilla in the Reiwa era

There was one more live-action Godzilla film from Toho in this sequence, Godzilla: Final Wars, but Mechagodzilla sat that one out. Yet a new edition of the cyborg would show up in the so-called Reiwa era, making brief appearances in two of the films from the anime Godzilla trilogy.

In the first, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017), it was built by humans and aliens to counteract Godzilla, but is never activated after the latter destroys the construction facility. In the follow-up, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018), nanometal remnants of Mechagodzilla are used to rebuild the facility as well as three battlesuits, but the complex itself, dubbed “Mechagodzilla City,” begins absorbing everything around it under the direction of the aliens, until Godzilla destroys it.

And that was it for Mechagodzilla until it was revealed only recently that a new version of the robot was created for Godzilla vs. Kong. While the previous versions of the robot had solid metal bodies–albeit changing over time from a very mechanical to a more organic look–the new Mechagodzilla is harsh, skeletal and chain-like, powered by the surviving neural network of a severed Ghidorah head and piloted through the combination of a remote control panel and a telepathic human–until a new power source makes it self-aware and able to control itself.

Just as its appearance has changed over the years, so has Mechagodzilla’s arsenal of weapons, which started with missiles and energy rays and graduated to more powerful and plentiful versions of those, while adding plasma grenades, laser cannons and shock anchors in later movies. The “Absolute Zero” flash freezing cannon also came later, while the new Hollywood edition uses a red proton beam, plasma fists, and shoulder-mounted missile launchers, along with a nasty-looking drill on the end of its tail.

“The idea of Mechagodzilla in a big MonsterVerse version, in a Hollywood kind of grounded reality, just sounded so cool,” enthuses Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard about including the robot in the new movie. “To be a director that gets a chance to put their own spin on the design of that, it was just like I had to do this movie from there. They would have had to convince me not to at that point.”

Mechagodzilla has regularly made lists of Godzilla’s most fearsome enemies, so it’s easy to see why it was selected to become the one antagonist that could possibly take on both Godzilla and Kong. Some 47 years after the robot first came clanking to life, it’s getting to, pardon the pun, prove its mettle once again.

Godzilla vs. Kong is currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

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The post Godzilla vs. Kong: A Brief History of Mechagodzilla appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[wittypenguin]

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

AKA: Godzilla vs. Bionic / Cosmic Monster, choose one, as both names were used in addition to “Mechagodzilla,” and in Spain they called the bad guy “Cibergodzilla.” Italy just called him a “robot.”

It’s important to note from the start that this is set on Okinawa, which is a quite remote island of Japan and is separate from Tokyo and other cities of Nippon. I’m not sure how to view this from a North American perspective, but maybe substitute Puerto Rico or Hawai’i vs America; or Newfoundland vs Canada; or the Isles of Scilly vs the UK; or Tasmania vs Australia. Technically it’s part of Japan, but it’s very remote and the feeling one gets is that “Things Are Very Different There…”

New cover illustration by Takashi Okazaki — — — —

We start the film with a title song in the style of big band jazz that sounds like “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)” by the Benny Goodman Orchestra. It’s a great, bounding tune, and it re-emerges in the battle / fight sequence later to great effect.

The story’s danger is Foreign and Technological in nature. The enemy is cold, calculating, and will stop at nothing to get what they want, yet they are defeated by old-fashioned determination wielded in traditional means. There’s an allegorical reason for this:

The film was widely criticized for its supposed lack of substance. However, some critics pointed out the actual historical context behind the plot. There had long been tension between Japan and the island Okinawa, [plus] Okinawa was the home of American military bases at the time that brought the threat of the Cold War to the island. With the aliens controlling Mechagodzilla representing the outside invading force [potentially either the Americans and/or the Soviets, to be honest], Godzilla representing Japan, and the mythical King Caesar standing in for Okinawa, the film proposes cooperation between the two nations, standing together against a common adversary.

- IMDb [link]

This approach to problem solving of co-operation and using methods so basic that high-tech doesn’t even think about them anymore is something we’ll see again in the Battle of Endor in The Return of the Jedi, among other films.

King Shîsâ (Kinichi Kusumi) in “Gojira tai Mekagojira“ (1974) — — — —

The guardian monster King Shîsâ is based on the actual “shîsâ” lion-dog guardian statues in Okinawa. Originally from China, they are statues that ward off evil spirits. Another Japanese name for them is “komainu” (lion-dog).

However as seen in the film, King Shîsâ (or ‘King Caesar’ as the English sub-titles simplify it and it really sounds like that anyway) looks like a dragon fucked the dog-like beast from The Neverending Story. I apologize for that comparison, but take a look at that thing and see if you can come up with something better!

The details of the story beyond the above ones are multiple, as is typical in these things.

The plot’s protagonist is very much the young anthropologist: who is A WOMAN!! After the last film, let’s celebrate the fact she’s here. Additionally, there’s a daughter of Professor Hideto Miyajima (played by Akihiko Hirata), but she ends up basically being there to be rescued and whose potential death is used as a bargaining chip to gain the Professor’s co-operation. Alas.

We also have earthquakes in the second film in a row. This leads to a big rocks flying out of a volcano, it then explodes on impact, and OUT COMES GODZILLA!! This, plus a black cloud, and a few other things, match a prophesy received by a member of the Royal House of Azumi regarding vengeance upon the mainlanders’ desecration of the local shrines.

INTERPOL makes its first appearance here, and it will continue to exert its power in the next film (completely ignoring the fact that it’s an information sharing agreement and its network doesn’t include investigating agents in any way). We also meet a self-described ‘muckraker’ reporter who may not be what he seems!

Nami Kunigami, the Azumi Royal Family Princess (Bellbella Lin) [kneeling, right] solicits the help of King Shîsâ (Kinichi Kusumi) [rear, in cave, above and to the left of the bad matte work] in “Gojira tai Mekagojira“ (1974) — — —

Because it’s been awhile since we had a musical number, Azumi Princess Nami Kunigami (Bellbella Lin) wakes King Shîsâ by taking to the beach before his cave and singing a pretty song, in which she begs him to help save the people he has protected for so many years.

A shot of Godzilla peeking over the top of a hill harkens back to his debut in 1954, two decades previous. This film was made to mark the 20th anniversary of Godzilla’s debut, which also accounts for the number of repeat actors, and probably the increased budget for sets and costumes. For instance, Akihiko Hirata is back (not wearing an eye-patch this time), here he’s an analyst of Space Titanium. Also, the SFX include a rainbow zapping fight between King Shîsâ and Mechagodzilla. We get great pictures and art direction throughout; especially the sets and costumes!

Improvements also include (but are not limited to) the fact that Godzilla now has lightning power and is magnetic! I’m not sure how practical any of that is in the long run, but; hey! variety! [:: confetti cannon ::]

Cinematography and lighting are much better; although there are occasional shots which make me wonder if there was some drinking honing on. Mostly the problem seems to be problem with a specific lens: it has a massive area of aberration that covers ¾ of the field, and it may be impossible to focus on anything except a set distance from the camera. Somebody definitely needed to repair that thing.

That said, there’s some great use of low angles, snap zooms, whip pans, and a bunch of other techniques to make things look grand, as well as some excellent use of lighting to both evoke moods and show things off to their best potential.

Mechagodzlla (Ise Mori) [left] is attacked by Godzilla (Isao Zushi) [right] at an oil refinery in “Gojira tai Mekagojira“ (1974) — — — —

At the beginning of the story, Anguirus (Kinichi Kusumi) moves wrong: it’s obviously a guy in a suit on all fours and when attacking he wants to stand upright whenever possible, but that’s simply out of character. The fault here may be that the previous times we saw Anguirus, he was a different proportion to who he was attacking. Also his tail is too long; seen when he is retreating, it may be twice as long as he is!

People drive like four-year-olds, making the car go faster by wiggling the steering wheel back and forth. That’s a shame.

All in all, a return to the bonkers approach to story telling where history and imagination are woven together in a successfully entertaining manner.

★★★★☆

[vbartilucci]

Godzilla vs the...Bionic Monster?

Yep, this was the title of the US release of Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla for...about two weeks, before Universal, who owned the trademark for “Bionic” based on their very popular Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman series, subtly cleared its throat legally, and the title was hastily changed to “Cosmic Monster”