Godzilla vs. Megalon

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) was the 13th film in the Japanese Godzilla franchise that debuted in 1954 and became a surprise worldwide hit, establishing the dinosaur-like Godzilla as an iconic "monster." As with the original film, this sequel has nuclear testing as the catalyst for the story. It was loosely based on the 1971 "Cannikin" United States test of a five-megaton underground nuclear test that outraged many and resulted in the formation of Greenpeace. Under the original title of Gojira tai Megaro, Godzilla vs. Megalon, was written by Jun Fukuda (who also directed) and Shin'ichi Sekizawa, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano and was produced for Toho Studios in Japan. The newest character, a robot called Jet Jaguar, was the result of a 1972 children's contest by Toho Studios, with an elementary school student winning with his drawing of a robot named "Red Alone," which Toho renamed Jet Jaguar. Although the studio liked the character, they did not feel that it was strong enough to be the star of the film, and pre-production was shut down. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka wanted to revitalize the project and hired Godzilla veteran screenwriter Shin'ichi Sekizawa to do a rewrite of the original story to create yet another Godzilla film, with the eventual shooting script by director Fukuda. The cast and crew had to work fast to keep the film on time and stay within the budget of approximately $760,000, so filming only lasted three weeks. Godzilla vs. Megalon begins with a Cannikin-like underground nuclear test near the Aleutian Islands that is so powerful that the shockwaves reach Monster Island, where several monsters, including Godzilla, live. It also disturbs an unknown and undersea civilization called Seatopia, who have also been adversely affected by testing done by the nuclear powers. The latest test is one too many for the Seatopians when it damages Monster Island, where Godzilla watches his friends Rodan and Anguirus fall into a fissure in the Earth caused by the test. The Seatopiains wish to send their monsters, Megalon and Gigan, up to destroy everyone living on the surface in order to stop the nuclear testing. Three men, Goro Ibuki (Katsuhiko Sasaki), his brother Rokuro Ibuki (Hiroyuki Kawase) and Hiroshi Jinkawa (Yutaka Hayashi) are attacked by Seatopians at a dry lakebed while they are conducting tests on their new robot named Jet Jaguar, but manage to escape temporarily. Later, they are once again attacked by Seatopians, who want to steal Jet Jaguar so it can lead Megalon to the Earth's surface and convey orders from Seatopia so he can destroy the land nations. Megalon attacks Tokyo and the three scientists manage to recover Jet Jaguar and send him to find Godzilla on Monster Island and get him to help destroy Megalon. Also in the cast were Robert Dunham as the emperor of Seatopia, Shinji Takagi as Godzilla, Hideto Odachi as Megalon and Tsugutoshi Komada as Jet Jaguar. The film was released in Japan in March 1973, but did not appear in the United States until April 1976. In order to entice the American market (and to piggyback on the success of the King Kong (1976) remake, Toho commissioned the American poster to feature Godzilla and Megalon fighting on top of New York's World Trade Center Twin Towers, even though the film never gets anywhere near New York City. Concessions had to be made to allow the film to have a G rating for the American market, including cuts of violent scenes and redubbing lines to remove light profanity. When Godzilla vs. Megalon was released in the United States, it proved to be somewhat of a failure as it was the first Godzilla film to sell less than a million tickets. The cheap production and obvious comedy turned off die-hard Godzilla fans, who missed the edge of the other films. The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby, who had dismissed the earlier Godzilla films, called Godzilla vs. Megalon "[T]he canonization of Godzilla, the creature who came [...] to destroy Tokyo and has returned in sequels again and again to protect the land he once loathed. It's been a remarkable transformation of character--the dragon has become St. George. [...] [I]t's still one of the least offensive comic‐book movies I've seen recently. It's wildly preposterous, imaginative and funny (often intentionally). It demonstrates the rewards of friendship, between humans as well as monsters, and it is gentle." SOURCES: Another 'Godzilla? Movie. (1976, July 22). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/22/archives//another-godzilla-movie-monster-is-now-a-good-guy.html Defending Godzilla in the 70s: Part 2 (2019, April 28). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070122/?ref_=tt_urv Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973). (1973, March 17) ). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070122/?ref_=tt_urv By Lorraine LoBianco