Godzilla vs. Megalon
Short description
After a series of earthquakes, an undersea civilization called Seatopia decides to strike at the surface world, which it blames for the nuclear testing that has damaged its realm. The Seatopians seize a humanoid robot built by inventor Goro Ibuki and send the giant insect monster Megalon to devastate the surface, intending to use the robot as a guide. Ibuki and his companions manage to regain control of the machine, which acts on its own, and it goes to summon Godzilla. The Seatopians bring in the space monster Gigan as reinforcements, leaving Godzilla and the robot to face two creatures at once.
Jun Fukuda directed and wrote the screenplay, with Tomoyuki Tanaka producing. The film was released in 1973 and runs 78 minutes. It followed Fukuda's Godzilla vs. Gigan from the previous year; he went on to direct Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla in 1974, and Godzilla vs. Megalon stands in the middle of the five Godzilla films he made. Katsuhiko Sasaki plays Ibuki, alongside Yutaka Hayashi, Hiroyuki Kawase, Kanta Mori and Kotaro Tomita among a credited cast of 21.
The film took about 20 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 4.9 out of 10 from 7,800 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.2 out of 10 from 250 votes. A critics' rating of 4.7 out of 10 from eight reviews sits slightly below the IMDb audience figure and well under the more favourable TMDB score.
What's left behind the scenes
- The actor portraying Godzilla has changed for the first time since 1954. Now, the role is played by Shinji Takagi. Kenpachiro Satsuma, as in the previous film, again played Gigan.
- The first and only film featuring Megalon and Jet Jaguar.
- In 1976, the film was shown in the USA. Interestingly, the poster for Godzilla vs. Megalon depicts the monsters standing on the buildings of the World Trade Center. This is because the widely known film “King Kong” (1976) directed by John Guillermin was released in the same year, in which King Kong climbs those very skyscrapers.
- The film was a huge success in American release, grossing $383,744 in Texas and Louisiana in its first three days.
- Here, Godzilla is portrayed quite differently than in previous films. He is no longer a ferocious monster, but a protector of people, ready to come to the rescue at any moment.
- Despite success at the international box office, only 980,000 tickets were sold in Japan. This is almost the only Godzilla film to have garnered so few views in Japan.
- The film's budget was $760,000.
- The film was released on DVD in 2006.
- This is one of the last Godzilla films where some characters have different names in the American version. For example, the Jet Jaguar robot was renamed "Robotman".
- Anguirus appears in a short episode at the beginning of the film. Upon close inspection, it can be seen that when the monster moves among the trees, it has no teeth. This minor detail was used in the next film, “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” (1974), where Anguirus’s jaws are broken.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
