Mecha: The name derives from a shortening of the English words “mechanism” or “mechanical” into the Japanese “mecha”
Last time I chose 4 shots from some chosen anime I went the isekai route. This time around I have chosen four shots from some of the more popular and well-received anime of the mecha variety.
This genre of anime has been around as far back as the 1940’s with earliest known mecha-related work being the 1940 manga “Electric Octopus” (Denki Dako). Yet, the subgenre of mecha as we we know of it today as the “super robot” was with the landmark anime from 1972 with Go Nagai’s “Mazinger Z.” This series would establish the many tropes and baseline rules of what mecha has become and will continue to be.
So, here are four shots from four very good to great mecha anime that fans new and old has watched at least once.
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (dir. by Seiji Mizushima)
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (dir. by Hiroyuki Imaishi)
There’s no particular connection between these films Just a smattering of shots I found interesting in some films I’ve watched recently.
The Concorde… Airport ’79 (1979, dir. David Lowell Rich)
The same year that Ruggero Deodato brought us Concorde Affaire ’79 (1979), the final Airport film came out. It involved pilot George Kennedy having to deal with a reprogrammed drone missile, missiles launched by duped French Air Force officers, and a device designed to decompress the plane by opening the cargo bay door.
This particular shot is from a scene where they fly the plane upside down while George Kennedy fires a flare out of the cockpit as a countermeasure to throw off an incoming missile. Just take that all in.
Shin Godzilla (2016, dir. Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi)
One of the last shots from the film where Godzilla has now become part of the city skyline. If you haven’t seen this Godzilla movie, then I highly recommend you check it out.
The First 9 1/2 Weeks (1998, dir. Alex Wright)
Malcolm McDowell remembering the time he played Caligula (1979) in a knockoff of The Game (1997) which bills itself as prequel to 9 1/2 Weeks (1986). The only connection it has to the first two films is that it tries something like the fridge scene from the original and the shampoo scene from Another 9 1/2 Weeks (1997). However, that’s like Witchcraft 8: Salem’s Ghost (1996) claiming it has a connection to 9 1/2 Weeks because it too features a fridge scene (a disgusting one).
Etoile (1989, dir. Peter Del Monte)
Okay, I’m cheating on this one. I actually watched this film last year when I was finally able to get my hands on two of Jennifer Connelly’s early films–the other being Seven Minutes In Heaven (1985). This was during what I call her mystical period. Another example is Some Girls (1988).
In Etoile (aka Ballet), Jennifer Connelly and some other guy get drawn into a bad movie where Connelly performs in a weird version of Swan Lake. So of course the movie needs to include somebody getting attacked by a giant black swan during a scene a little reminiscent of the time Jessica Harper referenced Dario Argento’s first film while fighting a witch. Yes, I’m well aware that Connelly was also in an Argento film.
As a bonus, here’s what the director thought of the giant black swan.
Through the Shattered Lens 