Terror Of Mechagodzilla picks up just a few days after Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) with a submarine expedition searches for the remains of the metallic monster on the ocean floor. Unfortunately, a previously unknown monster in the Godzilla kingdom emerges from the depths to play Paddy Cake with the sub and, well, I’m sure you can figure out what happens. Soon after, Interpol agents (along with Katsuhiko Sasaki as a biologist) are on the lookout for a disgraced scientist, Dr. Shinji Mafune (played by series regular Akihiko Hirata, in his last Godzilla film), who may be the only way of figuring out just what in tarnation this new creature is.

Dr. Mafune’s daughter (Tomoko Ai, who never really did much in film after this) says her father is dead. She’s lying. Dr. Mafune is alive and well and working with the dreaded aliens from the Third Planet of the Black Hole in a maniacal scheme to wipe out the human race from the planet. Mafune’s daughter also has some sort of weird-ass psychic/cyborg link with both the mysterious monster (whose name is Titanosaurus, by the way) and Mechagodzilla, too.

Long story short: the aliens rebuild Mechagodzilla, Godzilla decides to show up almost an hour into the film and all hell breaks loose.

Aside from being more violent than most of it’s predecessors, Terror Of Mechagodzilla also features some highly original moments: Titanosaurus rises to the ocean surface and he is shown from a human’s perspective with natural sunlight behind him - most unusual for these old Toho films, the aliens enter the head of Mechagodzilla via the use of some clever compositing, and, quite possibly the most shocking of all, there are boobies. Granted, they are fake boobies (not silicon-fake but fake-fake), but it is a one-time only deal.

Not only is the Japanese Version a blast, the English-language cut of the film is a laugh riot, mainly due to the fact that the voice actors sound like they were on-loan from the same outfit that provided the dubbing for many Kung Fu films over in Hong Kong (one guy in particular definitely sounds intoxicated). And I dare you to contain your giggling when you hear a Japanese actor playing an alien agent with a silly German accent! Thrill to the utterly Inspector Clouseau-like grunts the alien commander’s minions make when he whips them for their incompetence! Wow!

Presentation
Thanks to Classic Media’s outstanding efforts, Terror Of Mechagodzilla looks fantastic. The title, part of the Toho Master Collection, is presented in its original 2.35:1 widescreen format with anamorphic enhancement. The Japanese Mono 2.0 audio comes through loud and clear. Optional English Subtitles are included.

OK, a little back-story here: the U.S. Version (originally released in ‘77) has long been a source of complaints due to distributor Bob Conn’s severely edited cut of the film (which was the only version available for years - apparently due to an oversight). A few years after the U.S. Theatrical release, the film was released to American television with most of the deleted footage restored (save for the boobies and a shot of the two doomed kids being trampled, that is). The American TV version needed to pad out the running time a little, so a five-minute prologue was added. The prologue goes for the-story-so-far approach and uses footage from several other Godzilla films.

Now then, the U.S. Version is finally presented on video in its (mostly) uncut form (mostly meaning: the booby shot is shown from an alternate angle). The prologue (which was edited together in the 70s by other hands) is comprised of (what appears to be) full frame television prints and has been matted down to a 1.85:1 aspect ratio (or so) for this edition in order to not stick out like a sore thumb on widescreen TVs (good call). The rest of the U.S. version was wisely reconstructed from the Japanese print and synched to the English-dubbed soundtrack, so, aside from the prologue, the English print is just as beautiful as the Japanese one (if only Classic Media had done the same thing with other films from the Toho Master Collection, like Mothra Vs. Godzilla).

Extras
Terror Of Mechagodzilla’s Special Features include an Art Gallery (showcasing stills and poster art); Featurette The Women Of Godzilla: 1954-1975 (10:54) from Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski (Steve’s narration is getting better); and an informative Audio Commentary by Keith Aiken and Bob Johnson (they even play a :30 sec Radio Spot during the commentary). Again, like Classic Media’s release of All Monsters Attack, theDVD case claims that the Original Japanese Trailer is included on this disc, but sadly, it is nowhere to be found.

The Bottom Line
Although it was definitely a much better film than the many that had preceded it, Terror Of Mechagodzilla did not fare well at the box office in Japan and proved to be the final film from the Shōwa period. Much like the original Star Trek series, the Shōwa period is considered to be the classic series by the fans and incomparable to the Heisei or Millenium periods that would follow, so there’s one reason for you to get it. The other? Classic Media says this is the last Godzilla film they will release.