For It Is Man's Number: ishirô honda

Showing posts with label ishirô honda. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 September 2024

Space Amoeba (1970)

It seems that I just can't see one of these kaiju movies that I don't really enjoy recently. I'm either in the midst of a golden period for these things or I'm just completely accustomed to what they deliver, and how they meet the expectations created by the film-makers over the years.

While the title of this film is Space Amoeba, and while it does contain something that could indeed be called a space amoeba, this is a great adventure that presents a variety of giant creatures, all made powerful and aggressive by the titular entity. The main human who ends up endangered by these creatures is a photographer named Kudo (Akira Kubo).

While it seems like the obvious choice to once again praise director Ishirô Honda for his work here, and he always deserves praise, Space Amoeba has a very fun premise fleshed out by prolific writer Ei Ogawa. Starting with the sci-fi element that almost feels like a curveball once the alien lands on Earth, Ogawa knows exactly what people want to see, but he delivers everything in a way that feels more playful and interesting than some of the movies that just recycle a lot of footage from earlier monster battles.

Kubo is a perfectly decent lead, and I'll also give nods to Atsuko Takahashi, Yukiko Kobayashi, Kenji Sahara, and Yoshio Tsuchiya. They're all good at looking on in disbelief, and/or panic, as giant creatures get busy causing havoc.

The featured beasties here include a giant cuttlefish, a giant stone crab, and a giant mata mata (which I really wanted to use in some groan-inducing pun, but I will behave), and it's a pleasant surprise to find that they are all equally enjoyable to watch.

I didn't think I would have too much to say about a film titled Space Amoeba, and I was correct. It's not as slight and silly as the title may suggest, but it's also not re-inventing the wheel. The effects are nicely done, it feels like it attempts to fulfil the potential of the premise, and the heroes struggle to come up with a plan that will turn any sea/shore-dwelling monsters into sushi. Basically, it does everything that you hope it will.

8/10

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Thursday, 29 August 2024

Latitude Zero (1969)

Stop me if you have heard this one already. Two scientists and a journalist are stuck in a submarine, trapped underwater until they are rescued by another submarine. Okay, it's not actually the start of a joke. It's the beginning of Latitude Zero, another film directed by Ishirô Honda, with a screenplay written by Shin'ichi Sekizawa (based on source material by Ted Sherdeman).

Dr. Ken Tashiro (Akira Takarada), Dr. Jules Masson (Masumi Okada), and Perry Lawton (Richard Jaeckel) are the three men rescued by Captain McKenzie (Joseph Cotten). They end up on a super-sub, Alpha, which is apparently much older than it looks, as are the captain and crew. While that seems difficult to believe, Captain McKenzie soon proves what superior technology can do for the health and lifespans of those on board the Alpha. There's a rival trying to destroy them though (Dr. Malic, who has a super-sub named Black Shark), and Tashiro, Masson, and Lawton find themselves in the middle of an ongoing undersea battle.

While certainly not on a par with other films from Toho in this era, Latitude Zero is a fun adventure film, helped by a decent cast and a selection of crazy creatures that liven up the second half of the film. You get giant bat-humans, giant rats, and a winged lion with a human brain placed inside it. There are also the scenes that just show off the subs moving around underwater, a real treat for those who enjoy practical effects and model work (even if it's far from the best examples of either).

While the cast has a good mix of both Japanese and American players, it's the latter getting to have more fun here. Cotten is as stolid and decent as you'd expect in the role of Captain McKenzie, and his crew is brightened up considerably by Linda Haynes in the role of Dr. Barton. Takarada, Okada, and Jaeckel are largely used as witnesses, they have the information conveyed to them that is therefore also conveyed to the audience, but they're fine. The Black Shark is more fun though, with Cesar Romero playing Dr. Malic in a very fun performance, accompanied by his lover (Patricia Medina) and the captain of the sub (Hikaru Koroki). The film moves back and forth between the two subs in a way that helps the pacing of the whole thing while it punctuates the dry science chat with scenes of Romero growing impatient and irate as he aims to close in on his prey, not entirely dissimilar to the way he would perform his most iconic villain role on a show that also featured at least one Batman.

Honda remains as capable behind the camera here as he was on so many other projects, and the screenplay maintains a consistent "boys adventure" tone throughout that will allow most viewers to know whether or not they are going to be able to relax and have fun with this in the first 5-10 minutes. I thought this was great, even if the very last scene seemed a little bit abrupt and lazy, and it's got me hankering for a deep dive (no pun intended) into many other submarine movies I have neglected to watch/rewatch over the past decade. So don't be surprised if you start seeing more reviews from me that are sent up from the watery depths of various ocean trenches.

8/10

Friday, 16 August 2024

All Monsters Attack (1969)

I knew that this wasn't going to be as good as Destroy All Monsters, I definitely knew that, but there was still a part of me hoping that it would be. Every kaiju movie viewing is a chance to discover a new favourite, whether darker or lighter in tone (and this is very much in the latter camp). I'm not going to "bury the lead" here though, this is certainly not as good as the movie I just watched last week, but I still had a lot of fun with it.

The story concerns a young boy named Ichiro (Tomonori Yazaki), who visits Monster Island in his dreams, witnessing some Godzilla battles and becoming friends with Minilla AKA Son Of Godzilla. Ichiro doesn't often have his parents at home, both are very busy workers, and he has a problem with bullies tormenting him. He might also have a problem when he explores an empty factory that is being used by a couple of bank robbers.

Although once again going down the route of recycling some footage from other movies in order to keep costs down, this is another feature from director Ishirô Honda and writer Shin'ichi Sekizawa. Although you cannot say that every film from this duo is a guaranteed winner, they did more for Big G and co. in this era than anyone else, whether presenting Godzilla as a dark and terrifying force of nature or, as became more common, a temperamental ally to humans whenever they were being threatened by other strange creatures.

Honda and Sekizawa know what people want, even if they have to fit the better stuff around a plot that gives younger viewers someone to more easily identify with. There are decent action moments here, mainly in the first act, but the film is also helped by the ongoing hardships affecting Ichiro, which often play out a lot better than the scenes that have him talking with Minilla in moments that feel like odd PSAs aimed at schoolchildren.

Yazaki is fine in the main role, and Sachio Sakai and Kazuo Suzuki do well enough as the bank robbers, but it's unsurprising to find that, yet again, this is all about the monsters. The human characters work better than some of the past assembled casts, benefiting from the fact that we don't need a large selection of scientists, military personnel, doctors, and so on, but nobody can ever be the main attraction when in a movie with Godzilla.

Despite it being a bit childish and silly, I still enjoyed this a lot. It's a playful fantasy for younger viewers, but delivers just enough kaiju action to placate those who may not enjoy the grounded content not set on Monster Island.

7/10

Thursday, 8 August 2024

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

This is cinema. This is joy. This is a contender for the most deliriously fun kaiju movie of all time, although I am saying this with a number of other great films still to check out. Destroy All Monsters feels like a joyous celebration of a cornucopia of wonderful movie creations. Some may be critical of the fact that it doesn't really feel like a proper movie, but those people are simply not fans of joy.

All of the monsters on Earth have been housed peacefully in a location known as Monster Island. There are various safeguards in place, and the situation is being closely monitored. Everything changes when the monsters manage to overcome the safeguards though, heading off for a stomp and a stamp through some major cities. This is all down to a race of aliens who want to give Earth a major headache, and things will culminate with one other famous monster being brought along to join in with the fighting.

I have known people who are happiest when they are viewing films without having to think about reviewing them, mainly because they can just sit back and enjoy the film without thinking about how they will critique it after. I have never had that problem, but that's mainly due to the fact that sometimes I just put my critical faculties to one side. Some films need a lot of exploration, some need to be discussed in an ongoing conversation that brings up the positive and negative aspects, and some are just an absolute blast that should be viewed as an absolute blast. Destroy All Monsters falls into the latter category.

There are some human actors, of course, but they're even less consequential than usual. They do what they have to do, and move the plot forward, but this is all about Godzilla and co. Whether they are being shown just chilling out on Monster Island, smashing up some cityscapes, or fighting against a common enemy, they are as full of personality and life as they have been in any of their previous movie appearances. Nothing really matters, aside from the chance to spend time in the middle of all of these wonderful creations.

Ishirô Honda is the man at the helm once again, and he also helped to write the screenplay with Takeshi Kimura. You couldn't really ask for safer hands on the wheel, and they know exactly how to make use of all of the monsters without moving them too far away from how they have come to be viewed as the movies have progressed to more lighter and family-friendly fare. If you want fierce beasts then you'll need to look at other eras of these films. This is all about the cuteness, as far as I'm concerned.

I could easily watch this on a loop, and it sits up there with the very best kaiju movies. I am pretty sure that many will agree with me, but for those who don't like their creature features to be quite so wonderful and silly . . . there are dozens more to opt for instead.

9/10

Friday, 26 July 2024

King Kong Escapes (1967)

This film is ridiculous, but if you think that's a bad thing then you're someone who hasn't ever watched anything like King Kong Escapes. The winning combination of writer Takeshi Kimura and director Ishirô Honda should be enough to get people excited about this, but there's also the fact that the plot involves both King Kong and a robot duplicate (Mechani-Kong). What more could you want?

This is where I'd usually put a plot summary, but King Kong and Mechani-Kong is really all you need to know. There's a villain named Doctor Who (Hideyo Amamoto), a secondary villain named Madame Piranha (Mie Hama), and something about valuable radioactive material being excavated. Basically . . . the clock just keeps ticking until we get to a finale that promises some worthwhile Kong vs. Kong action.

Although many of these movies look a bit silly and tame nowadays, King Kong Escapes was designed that way to appeal to younger viewers. It's a children's film co-produced by Toho and Rankin/Bass Productions, and you could easily imagine this working even better in traditional animation. The crudity feels even more endearing than it does in other kaiju movies I have watched recently, giving the whole film a feeling of playtime where the imagination is just as important as the actual visuals. Someone watched this at a very young age and thought it was the most magnificent thing they would ever see, which is the best thing about movies (in my view anyway).

Kimura's script is weak, but it at least tries to pace things well enough to keep younger viewers interested. Honda does well enough with the creatures, but there's nothing truly devastating or threatening here, considering the overall tone of the thing. People and places are put in jeopardy, as expected, but not in the full-on way we've seen elsewhere.

Amamoto and Hama are both great fun, and they're enjoyably obvious in their villainy in a way that keeps children able to know who they should be rooting for and against. The main goodies are played by Rhodes Reason and Linda Miller, but the real hero is King Kong, of course, and he is showcased like the star he is.

This pales in comparison to films like King Kong and Mighty Joe Young, it also pales in comparison to most of the other kaiju movies from this period, but it's a cute and entertaining bit of monkey melee madness for younger audiences (and those who can watch films while recapturing that feeling of being young at heart).

6/10

Thursday, 11 July 2024

The War Of The Gargantuas (1966)

It's giant destructive manbaby versus giant destructive manbaby in this latest kaiju movie to pass in front of my eyes, and I have to start this review by saying that this was a tough one to gain access to. Sadly, I had to settle for the dubbed version, although I like to think that either version is just as entertaining for anyone used to spending their time sourcing these movies before we didn't have the relatively easy access provided by the internet.

Two giant creatures start to cause panic throughout Tokyo when they attack monsters, boats, and one another as the cityscape looks ready to be devastated by them. One creature is brown in colour, one is green, and some people eventually figure out that the brown monster (which could be called a gargantua or a Frankenstein, depending on which version of the film you see). Our leads are one Dr. Paul Stewart (Russ Tamblyn) and Akemi Togawa (Kumi Mizuno), but this is yet again a film in which some giant creatures literally and metaphorically overshadow the main human characters.

Directed by Ishirô Honda, who also worked on the story with Takeshi Kimura, this serves as an enjoyable sequel to Frankenstein Conquers The World, but you don't necessarily have to have seen that film to understand this one. The past onscreen events are mentioned, and everything boils down to the fact that two giants (easily identified by colour) might cause parts of Japan to once again suffer at the hands of battling monsters.

Although Tamblyn seemed to be far from a helpful cast member, he does well enough in his role as the standard doctor/scientist so often at the heart of these movies. I've praised Mizuno almst every time I have mentioned her in reviews of other kaiju movies, and she's a welcome addition once again. While they may not be recognisable, buried under a fair amount of false hair and make-up, Haruo Nakajima and Yû Sekita also deserves a bit of praise for their performances as the titular monsters. While I often forget to mention the "man in the suit" when it comes to these movies, Nakajima is the name I should at least credit as often as Honda for the success of these films (having been responsible for bringing so many great creatures to life with his incognito performances).

Better than the movie that preceded it, although not up there with the absolute classics, this is a fun bit of silliness that moves from start to finish with decent pacing and enough of a twist on the familiar material to stop it from feeling like a carbon copy of many other films structured the same way.

7/10

Friday, 21 June 2024

Frankenstein Conquers The World (1965)

I'm not sure that I really needed to watch this film at this time, although I saw it lumped in with a load of other Godzilla and kaiju movies (which I have been trying to make a priority for this year), but I'm still glad that I got around to it anyway. Not that I am saying it's a good film, but it's such an oddity that I'm glad I can now tell others that I actually experienced it. Feeling like more of a bizarre fever dream than a standard movie, Frankenstein Conquers The World (also known as Frankenstein Vs. Baragon) is something almost impossible to believe until you see it for yourself.

Opening with a sequence that mixes wartime intrigue with the discovery of the still-beating heart of Frankenstein’s creature, this is the tale of a young boy (played by Kôji Furuhata) who baffles the scientific community. Growing at an accelerated rate, as well as being resistant to radiation, the boy is named Frankenstein and observed by scientists who hope to stop him from becoming dangerous. He isn’t the only anomaly to arise though, and may actually be able to save people from a greater danger.

Directed by the great Ishirô Honda, and written by Takeshi Kimora (billed as Kaoru Mabuchi), this plays fast and loose with elements of the classic tale being referenced, which was in turn reworked by both John Meredyth Lucas and Shin’ichi Sekizawa, a before settling into a third act that delivers some very familiar fighting between giant figures.

While not anywhere close to the best of this kind of film, particularly when one of the mighty creations is just an overgrown boy wandering through the Japanese countryside, this is so consistently and wonderfully odd that most fans of kaiju movies should still find enough to enjoy. You do get a big beastie, you do get some destruction on a large scale, just not as large a scale as it is in other movies, and you get the usual arguments between military and medical personnel.

Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno are two of the main figures who try to keep the situation under control, both doing fine in typically thankless roles as they fill time in between moments of spectacle, and Tadao Takashima and Yoshio Tsuchiya are perfectly acceptable as they also struggle to keep Japan safe from a new menace. Furuhata is the star, but he’s unable to make a major impact while his character is kept disappointingly grounded by a lack of any outstanding special moves or abilities (aside from his growth and regeneration).

At once kind of terrible and kind of brilliant at the same time, this is an admirable attempt to do something a bit different with a very familiar template. I will be unlikely to ever want to revisit it, but I am happy that my cinematic quest this year has allowed me to watch something so entertainingly bonkers.

6/10

Thursday, 18 April 2024

Invasion Of Astro-Monster (1965)

Right, someone should have really kicked my butt years ago to get me making my way through all of the Godzilla films. Each new favourite seems to be equaled by another new favourite lately, and I am just loving it.

The plot this time around concerns some spacemen who find alien life on Planet X. These aliens are humanoid, and have to shelter whenever the surface of their planet is being attacked by King Ghidorah. Knowing how he was defeated before, the aliens would like to “borrow” Godzilla and Rodan, only requiring them until Ghidorah is no longer a threat to them. That’s the starting point anyway, but there may be another reason for wanting access to the kaiju residing on our planet.

We’re back in the safe and capable hands of director Ishirô Honda here, working once again with writer Shin’ichi Sekizawa, and the end result is as much fun as you could hope for. Okay, some may prefer these movies to feel a bit more tense, the large scale of the threat somehow makes it all seem less likely to end badly for the main characters, but this is well-paced and full of unexpected delights, whether it is seeing Godzilla and Rodan airlifted through space or watching Godzilla shuffle around in front of Ghidorah like a fleet-footed boxer.

Akira Takarada and Nick Adams play the two astronauts who encounter alien life on a far planet (located on the other side of Jupiter), and the two men do a decent job of looking bemused while remaining determined to do whatever is in the best interest of humanity. Yoshio Tsuchiya is the apparent leader of Planet X, a role he plays well enough as he is viewed with suspicion, eventually accepted, and then in charge of the grand plan that relies on controlling the kaiju. Jun Tazaki is the requisite scientist, and Kumi Mizuno does a great job as the lovely, but perhaps untrustworthy, Namikawa.

The effects displaying the moments of destruction are perfectly fine, neither the best nor the worst seen in these movies, but this works as well as it does because of the personality of the creatures. Following on from the depictions we saw in the last movie, a slight softening of Godzilla and Rodan to make them more acceptable reluctant “heroes”, this underlines why so many of us film fans will always maintain a soft spot for the performers in the rubber suits who brought these creatures to life.

Perhaps it will slide down my rankings as I continue to make my way through the main Godzilla movie series, but I am happy, for now anyway, to rate Invasion Of Astro-Monster as another fantastic monster mash.

8/10

Thursday, 11 April 2024

Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)

There’s no reason for me to be cagey about this film. It was the most fun I had this week with my clothes on. It’s a new favourite kaiju movie, but I am starting to worry that I will be saying that for every film I am belatedly discovering for the first time. I cannot imagine fans of these movies disliking this though. It is quite simply, to use the proper cinematic term, absolutely awesome.

Bear with me as I rush through the main plot points, which are quite ridiculous. A meteor hits the Earth. A princess, being guarded by a detective, seemingly dies in a plane crash, but then returns while seemingly possessed by the spirit of a Venusian prophet. The mighty Ghidorah is due to rise up and cause some stress for humans, to put it mildly, but there is a chance that Godzilla and Rodan could work together and overpower this mutual enemy . . . if they can be persuaded that Ghidorah IS an enemy. That persuasion comes from a young Mothra, with translations offered to the audience by the fairy twins (once again played by Emi and Yumi Itô).

If that all sounds pretty bonkers then, trust me, it is. It is also hilarious and entertaining, particularly during one key scene in the third act that is the kaiju equivalent of kids being talked into moodily doing some housework. As is so often the case, none of the human characters make much of an impression, although the oddness of the tale helps them a bit, but this is all about the monster madness, which is delivered with gusto in the finale.

Director Ishirô Honda is working again with writer Shin’ichi Sekizawa, and both seem to make the most of the silly premise, adding plenty of humour throughout to let viewers know that it’s fine to grin and chuckle your way through this one. And grin and chuckle you surely will.

The effects seem a bit cheaper and more crude than some of the previous stuff we have seen, but that just adds to the feeling that this has been made with an emphasis on the daffy fun.

I will mention Yôsuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, and Akiko Wakabayashi here. They all do fine in their roles, the latter particularly enjoyable as the aforementioned princess (who, let’s not forget, appears to become possessed by a prophetic Venusian), but they are, as expected, secondary to the monsters. And when the monsters are onscreen, well, the humans are quickly forgotten.

If these films keep being as good as this then I will just kick myself harder for not watching many of them years before now. Part of me hopes they are wildly inconsistent, but part of me is absolutely gleeful at the prospect of more features that are as much fun as this one.

9/10

Thursday, 28 March 2024

Dogora (1964)

Another week, another Japanese sci-fi creature feature directed by the very capable Ishirô Honda. Dogora is a film about a giant space jellyfish creature, basically, but it’s a canny mix of monster movie and crime flick, managing to deliver a more interesting cast of characters than many of the other films it falls in line with.

You do get the space jellyfish creature, and it causes some confusion throughout the film, so at least this isn’t like some of the other Toho Studios films that simply add a monster into the final act. While some people are trying to figure out just what is going on, other people are more interested in diamond robberies. There’s an Inspector (Yôsuke Natsuki) after the criminals, a mysterious figure named Mark Jackson (Robert Dunham, billed as Dan Yuma) also taking a keen interest, and, of course, the robbers themselves. Surprisingly, the titular creature is also interested in diamonds, due to the carbon content it needs to devour.

Based on a story by Jôjirô Okami, with Shin'ichi Sekizawa back on screenplay duties, this is a very enjoyable genre blend that manages to let things unfold without doing a disservice to either of the main story strands. It may not have any major crash bang wallop moments, but the monstrous threat still looms large above our worried humans, and there’s enough damage caused to show what could happen if things get out of control. At the risk of repeating myself, Honda could direct these films in his sleep by now, and I don’t think I need to spend too much time here heaping more praise upon him.

Natsuki and Dunham are both very enjoyable in their roles, and they are featured enough to actually stay clear in my memory after the film has ended, but you also get Nobuo Nakamura as the standard scientist, Hiroshi Koizumi as a bonus secondary scientist, and Yôko Fujiyama as an assistant who obviously keeps herself in the middle of the conversations that deliver the required exposition. The gangsters are also good value, although I won’t name any of those performers here (they feel like one criminal unit, despite one or two having a specialist skillset).

Perhaps not as memorable as so many others, Dogora is a really fun film that I ended up enjoying a lot. I am not sure if that puts me in the minority, but I am sure that I could happily sit and rewatch this again already.

8/10

Friday, 22 March 2024

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Here we are again, wandering around in the land of kaiju, and if I already know what I am letting myself in for then there are millions of people in the world who can write about these movies much better than I do. But this is my review, documenting my journey through this wild and weird cinematic “zoo”, and I will continue to do the best I can.

This time around we have another giant egg, something turned into a money-making attraction by another opportunistic businessman, but people are once again warned off by two small fairies (the Shonijin, played here again by Emi Itô and Yumi Itô). As the title would suggest, Mothra appears, but it becomes a potential ally to the human race when an angry Godzilla re-awakens.

With Ishirô Honda back in the director’s chair, and writer Shin’ichi Sekizawa once again on the screenplay duties, this is familiar and hugely entertaining fare from people who could surely do this in their sleep. The plot and characters are perfectly fine, with everything put together well, and every viewer knows that it’s all building up to the titular confrontation. Mothra remains a wonderful creation, Godzilla is (for most people) the most lovable giant lizard to ever stomp on buildings, vehicles, and fleeing people, and the action is fun and inventive when it becomes the focus of the third act.

The human cast members all do fine, but I will always remember the two Itô sisters ahead of anyone else. You do get perfectly fine turns from Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, and others though, especially as our leads butt heads with the businessmen who want to value their own wealth over the interests of the people around them.

It’s also worth noting here that Mothra vs. Godzilla takes some time to specifically comment on the consequences of nuclear testing. The danger of nuclear power is obviously inherent in every Godzilla movie, considering the legacy of Big G, but the issues raised here somehow feel a bit more fresh and relevant, a reminder that it is not a problem consigned to a now-closed chapter of history.

I have omitted a few details here, hoping to keep a pleasant surprise or two in store for anyone else who may decide to finally watch this for the first time, but I highly recommend this as a superficially silly creature feature that, like so many other films of this ilk, manages to deliver fun action moments, as well as some thought-provoking musings on wielding power and working together for the greater good of the human race.

8/10

Friday, 15 March 2024

Atragon (1963)

Having now already managed to watch a good ten or twelve Toho movies this year that were all from the '50s and '60s, I am very comfortable with the ways in which they aim to entertain. Some of them have had a fantastic monster at the heart of the action. Others have had a sci-fi plot that features a cameo from whatever creature they place in the third act. Atragon falls into the latter camp, but it's still very entertaining stuff.

The surface of Earth is visited by an inhabitant of the underwater Mu empire (kind of like Atlantis, but without calling it Atlantis). The Mu empire wants everyone on the surface to meet their demands, which includes stopping any and all work on the Atragon submarine, Gotengo. The Gotengo is a threat to the empire of Mu, but it may also be the only way to protect everyone from potential invasion. There's tension between Captain Hachiro Jinguji (Jun Tazaki) and the others around him (including his daughter, Makoto), there's some nice underwater action, and you eventually get to see a wonderful underwater beastie named Manda.

It's Ishirô Honda once again in the director's chair, a man who deserves to be mentioned alongside many other greats of cinema due to his fine work on a number of the most enduring Toho classics, and he does just as well as you'd expect. The screenplay, by Shin'ichi Sekizawa, blends together a couple of different source novels to create something entertaining and surprisingly intriguing (especially throughout the opening act, in which the Mu agent keeps popping up as a mysterious stranger). Although it feels light and fantastical throughout, there's also an edge of very real threat to our main characters, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the interactions between the humans here, to the point that I had managed to forget a big beastie was still due to appear onscreen some time before the end credits.

Tazaki is very good as the stubborn and determined Captain Jinguji, Fujiyama has a believably strained relationship with him after years of distance between them, and Tadao Takashima is very likable as Susumu, the photographer who ends up in at the heart of the intrigue and peril. Tetsuko Kobayashi and Hideyo Amamoto are very enjoyable playing, respectively, the Empress and High Priest of Mu.

If you like the Toho movies from this time then you'll enjoy this. I'd also recommend it, for obvious reasons, to fans of Stingray. It's lively, it's paced well throughout, and the eventual appearance of Manda is a real bonus, thanks to the design and the special effects showing it threatening the Jinguji-helmed submarine.

8/10

Thursday, 7 March 2024

Gorath (1962)

Having been on this cinematic journey for some time now already, I can safely say that I seem to be prepared for everything that these films throw at me. There is either a stat creature/personality or some interesting creation allowed to cameo, there is always the potential for a large-scale catastrophe, and many of the actors are kept busy playing people I don’t really care about in between the tense set-pieces.

That causes me a problem, of course, as I struggle to write something in-depth about each of these films, and also struggle to write something that doesn’t feel just copied and pasted from previous reviews.

Gorath was a film that I had a lot of fun with, and I suspected I would enjoy it when I saw the main creature (one named Maguma, and it basically looks like a huge walrus). It also helped that I discovered quite early that Gorath is the name of a runaway star that is on a collision course with Earth. Gorath is smaller than our planet, but it has 6000 times the gravity. Viewers will remember this because it is stated at least half a dozen times in the first quarter of the movie, or so it seemed. After one spaceship is destroyed, another heads off on a brave quest to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, Earth scientists hatch a plan to move Earth just enough to avoid the star. What this will mean for the future of the planet is unknown, but it becomes more problematic when they wake up Maguma, who wanders around angrily for a few scenes.

With director Ishirô Honda once again at the helm here, and a script written by Takeshi Kimura (another familiar name to fans of this kind of fare), this is comfortable and enjoyable entertainment. The focus throughout remains on the impending disaster, with a small diversion when Maguma is woken up, and watching the plan be conceived and put into practice is surprisingly entertaining.

While the cast includes Ryô Ikebe, Yumi Shirikawa, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, and numerous others, none of them make much of an impression juxtaposed against the vastness and potential danger of our universe. Some extra drama, revolving around an astronaut with memory loss, feels like nothing more than an irritating delay in between the big planet-in-peril moments.

I may not rush to revisit this one, and it’s a shame that there wasn’t more screentime for the wonderfully goofy Maguma, but I enjoyed it while it was on. I am sure it won’t be a firm favourite for anyone, but it does enough to make it memorable and worth your time.

7/10

Thursday, 22 February 2024

Varan AKA Varan The Unbelievable (1958)

The worst thing about choosing to FINALLY watch every Godzilla movie, and every main movie tangentially connected to that long-running series, is the fact that so many of the films are very similar to one another. You get a big creature, you get some initial sense of mystery before the destruction occurs, and you get people then struggling to figure out a way to stop whatever new beast is trying to stomp all over them. I knew this when I started this ongoing “quest”, and people will just have to bear with me when it comes to the movies that don’t really give me too much to discuss.

Varan is one of those movies, but I also enjoyed watching it, and looked forward to reviewing it, because it felt like the most successful retread of the original Godzilla template yet. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this creature before, although that relative ignorance is part of my reason for watching all of these movies now, and it certainly feels like a Big G flick in all but name.

If you really need to know the plot, and I guess I should make some effort to summarize things here, just know that a large creature is discovered, it starts to roam around and cause some large-scale destruction, and everyone scrambled to figure out exactly how to destroy it. Flares might come in handy this time around, but only if the rest of the plan can be perfectly executed.

With the legendary (yeah, I think it is safe to cal him that nowadays) Ishirô Honda back in the director’s chair, and a screenplay written by Shin’ichi Sekizawa, this is a top-tier kaiju flick that features the usual visual trickery, melodrama, and an excellent creation wandering around and causing carnage. It’s only the sense of familiarity that may put most people off, but I was easily pleased by the fact that this felt like a great return to form after the mixed bag of the (still enjoyable) previous few movies.

The cast all do fine, and I will namecheck Kôzô Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, Akihiko Hirata, and Koreya Senda here, but we all know who the real star is. Yes, it’s Varan, and the design and feel of the titular creature is a major asset. I am a fan, obviously, but it would seem that this creature wasn’t ever used again in the vast Toho filmography (not in a starring role anyway, and not including the American version of this film, which I am not rushing to check out).

A quick check on Wikizilla (a site I highly recommend to fans of these movies) shows me that I seem to be out of step with the general opinion of this. While many others appreciate the kaiju creation, very few seem to enjoy the movie as much as I did. Maybe this review will encourage one or two others to join me in my appreciation of it. Or maybe I will remain in a minority of one.

8/10

Friday, 16 February 2024

The Mysterians (1957)

Another film in which the people of Earth could face potential destruction, starting with an encounter that endangers the whole of Japan, The Mysterians is an amusing, if lesser, film in the extensive selection falling under the Toho banner. Those who enjoy the output from the company will find enough to enjoy here, but it doesn't have a main monster to serve up as a big highlight.

The plot is quite simple, and quite absurd when you type it out in plain text. A group of aliens land on Earth, negotiating for an area of land and the right to marry human women. They live in a seemingly-indestructible dome, can also send out a giant robot to cause some carnage (the closest the movie comes to serving up a monster), and hope to find a way to continue their race after being poisoned and changed by the death of their home planet. It soon becomes obvious that the Mysterians have other plans though, and the people of Earth need to find out a way to stop them.

Developed from story idea to final film form by Jôjirô Okami, Shigeru Kayama, and Takeshi Kimura, names you will recognise from other Japanese sci-fi/monster movies from this era, this is silliness of the highest order. And when I say it's silliness I actually mean that it's complete bobbins. If you don' believe me then please just re-read the last paragraph. It's still fun though, and everyone onscreen shows the right level of stress and concern, all working under the sure and steady hand of director Ishirô Honda.

The cast is also full of familiar names/faces if you've been watching any other Toho films from this period. Akihiko Hirata, Momoko Kôchi, Takashi Shimura, and Kenji Sahara are no strangers to battling for the integrity of Japan, and the safety of the people, and the the same can be said for the likes of Yumi Shirakawa, Susumu Fujita, and Hisaya Itô, all helping to fill out the central cast. Yoshio Tsuchiya also deserves a mention, playing the vital role of "Leader of the Mysterians".

It's a shame that there aren't too many positives to single out here, although I am not saying that the film is actually bad. There just aren't any real treats, nothing in line with the kind of thrills and spectacle you can find in a number of the other movies in the same vein. The stomping robot feels like a poor substitute for some fantastical creature, the destruction feels relatively tame, and the Mysterians themselves are just depicted as people in various coloured suits (pretty much Power Rangers decades before they were a thing).

It's no surprise that this isn't mentioned much by film fans, and I doubt we will ever see the day when it gets a much-heralded restoration and revival. I liked it, and I have to stress that after seeming so dismissive of it, but I can't imagine anyone loving it. It's there, it's amusing and cute, and it's something to watch once and then almost immediately forget.

6/10

Thursday, 8 February 2024

Rodan (1956)

While it may feel like I am marking numbers off a bingo card just now, my quest to cover the films of Godzilla this year, as well as connected kaiju creations, has already been satisfying for making me watch the first appearances of creatures I have either seen already in other movies, or at least heard of. Getting to Rodan this week was a pleasant surprise, particularly because I wasn’t sure if every movie would already be locked into the same template I am quite familiar with.

There’s a disturbance in a small Japanese mining village, which should be enough to put everyone on their guard against potential giant monsters. Sure enough, there are soon giant monsters on the rampage. These take the shape of overgrown insect larvae, looking like a cross between a giant wood-louse and a giant bluebottle, but they are only a precursor to the main event. The main event is Rodan, in case the title didn’t make that clear. Not just one Rodan, but two, causing panic as they fly around and start to kill people. The military might have the firepower to stop them, or they may have to rely on the force of the local volcano to help re-affirm the status quo.

Putting things once again in the capable hands of Ishirô Honda, this is a creature feature that works almost as well as any of the other big touchstones in the kaiju cinematic timeline, thanks to more great design work and a way of delivering familiar beats without it all already feeling overdone and tired. Writers Takeshi Kimura and Takeo Murata have fun with the story, especially as the first batch of beasties puzzle everyone for a while before the Rodan attacks start to confuse the situation.

The cast of human actors once again play second fiddle to the kaiju stars, but Kenji Sahara does well in the role of Shigeru, a mining engineer who ends up stuck underground when the Rodan are about to hatch. He convincingly portrays memory loss and trauma until galvanized in time for the big final battle. Yumi Shirakwa is also a good onscreen presence, playing a woman named Kiyo, and the main figures of authority are well-played by Akihiko Harata (the expected scientist figuring out what this new enemy is) and Akio Kobori (a police detective).

If you like either of the other famous films in this vein then you should like this. I cannot imagine any kaiju fan hating it, although it suffers slightly in comparison to both Godzilla, which came before it, and Mothra, which arrived about five years after. Still, it is to be appreciated for adding another name to the “rogue’s gallery” as it is appreciated for what it delivers in terms of cinema.

8/10

Thursday, 1 February 2024

Mothra (1961)

Okay, first of all, I need to apologise. In making 2024 a year of Godzilla on the blog, I soon realised that I wanted to cover every connected kaiju film. It's a task as momentous as the creatures themselves, and I have already missed out some key movies I wanted to cover on the journey. So there will be a little bit of backtracking before we move further forward. And this is my resource for planning the rest of the year (or however long it takes to cover the movies I want to review here) - https://www.tohokingdom.com/genre_movie_lists/kaiju_listing.htm - and any input, especially from those who know much more than I do, is always welcome.

Go ahead and make all the jokes you want (particularly if you are already envisioning the size of the giant bulb you would need to lure away a giant moth), but Mothra holds up very well today as another fantastic Japanese kaiju film. Based on a book by Shin'chirô Nakamura, it's the tale of greedy and exploitative individuals who bring the titular beast upon their heads when they fail to heed warnings against uprooting two tiny young women from their island home. These "twin fairies" aka Shobijin (played by Yumi Itô and Emi Itô) don't lash out at their captors, but they make everyone aware that the situation will lead to dire consequences. Those dire consequences start off in the form of a giant egg, which hatches a giant caterpillar, which eventually builds a cocoon and prepares to become, as you may have surmised already, Mothra.

Another film from the kaiju master, AKA Ishirô Honda, Mothra is everything you want from this kind of film. The screenplay, by Shin'ichi Sekizawa, mixes the usual messaging with a good smattering of atmosphere throughout the first half before delivering the fun spectacle in the second half. It somehow manages to deliver the goods without feeling like a lazy retread, thanks to the use of the Shobijin, and Mothra makes a hell of an impact in both main, destructive, incarnations.

The cast make much less of an impact, although both Yumi and Emi Itô are delightful every time they appear onscreen. Jerry Itô is the evil capitalist, Clark Nelson, Hiroshi Koizumi plays Dr Shin'ichi Chûjô, someone who might come up with whatever plan is needed to deal with/placate Mothra, and Kyôko Kagawa is a photographer named Michi Hanamura. They all get one or two decent moments, but the film always steps up a notch when showing us either the Shobijin or Mothra.

I don't have much more to say. Although I was familiar with the titular beast, I'd only ever seen the modern Mothra in the American "monsterverse" movies, which is a different, but beautiful, visual feast. Finally seeing the original creature in the original film was a real treat, and I was smiling from start to finish as the pieces of the plot were moved into place, paving the way for the expected third act of panic and large-scale catastrophe. Mothra deserves to remain such a beloved film (and I know it is, considering how many friends of mine are fans of it) so I encourage others to avoid delaying a viewing of it for as long as I did.

9/10

Tuesday, 23 January 2024

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

I watched, and reviewed, King Kong vs. Godzilla many years ago, a very basic couple of paragraphs that summed up my thoughts without me knowing quite as much as I do today about the enduring cinematic legacy of the Godzilla movies. So if you get a sense of déjà vu while reading this review, there’s a reason for that.

Let's get the simple plot out of the way: Godzilla wakes up and starts heading towards Tokyo, where everyone knows he will just start tearing the place apart, so Japan decides to "borrow" King Kong when he is discovered living on a small island just off the coast of . . . ummm . . somewhere not TOO far away from Japan (the exact location escapes me even though they show it on a map quite a few times during the movie). King Kong is set upon by the mighty lizard, and it's a smackdown to see who will be left standing.

Director Ishirô Honda returns to helm this new instalment, although you wouldn’t think this was the same person who gave us the darker and brilliant first film. This isn’t as concerned with the potential lives lost, nor does it take much time to explore the ramifications of the destruction wrought while two giant monsters fight one another, but it tries to give decent moments to each of the fighting beasties. And if you need to see King Kong picking up a tree and ramming it into Godzilla’s mouth then this if the film for you.

The cast all do what they need to do, there’s a young woman in danger while a couple of men fret and plan to keep her safe (that’s all they need to do), and the plotting makes use of them to position the titular characters ready to fight one another.

If you're a fan of this type of stuff (and I never even realised that I was until I found myself enjoying this so much) then this is just more happy viewing for you. The charmingly unrealistic miniatures, the rubber-suit monsters, the mix of poor trick photography and re-re-recycled footage. Many moments in the film provide laughs (some intentional and some unintentional) and there's never a dull moment, but it's like the cinematic equivalent of a Marmite sandwich; cheap and not very filling, but you either love or hate it.

7/10

Thursday, 11 January 2024

Godzilla, King Of The Monsters! (1956)

Although not the second film in the series, chronologically, I decided to continue my journey through the filmography of Godzilla with this instalment because it is the film that rejigged the original film and repackaged it for mainstream Western audiences. It's probably the first Godzilla movie I ever saw, and I would say that applies to many other Brits and Americans of my generation.

The plot is the same as it was in Godzilla, with the main difference between the two films being a new character (an American reporter named Steve Martin, played by Raymond Burr) who narrates everything in a way that removes the need for subtitles. Most of this is accomplished by simply editing footage from the original film around the exposition delivered by Burr's character, but some of it is accomplished by a variety of stand-ins allowing moments to be reframed with our American at the heart of the the Godzilla carnage.

Put into the hands of Terry Morse for this interpretation, Godzilla, King Of The Monsters! isn't a terrible film. It works exactly as it is intended to work, and I would still mention it as an ideal introductory film if you have younger viewers who are interested in giant monster movies and the history of cinema. It suffers greatly in comparison to the original (because it's constantly patronising, and let's kindly and euphemistically refer to it as mired in some of the attitudes of the time), and those who have already moved through the majority of the classic Japanese films will probably view this as something to sneer it, but it's okay for a gateway film.

Burr is Burr, happy to have his hair mussed up as he tries to stay alive while a city is being ruined around him. It's hard not to take on that central role and not realise what it is, and he willingly takes on that task, being the narrator providing what is basically a summary of a much better movie. Everyone else is, well, I already commented on their performances in the original movie. Are they just as good here? Sadly not, but that's not their fault. It's the fault of the editing and the clumsy way some of the footage is altered to include Burr.

The good thing about Godzilla, King Of The Monsters! is that I can barely remember it after the end credits have rolled. It's a very small critter that stays resting peacefully in the shadow of a roaring titan. It's the Godzooky of the film series, if you will. There's space for Godzooky, in the grand scheme of things, but it will never be a rival to Big G.

6/10

Tuesday, 2 January 2024

Godzilla (1954)

This year, 2024, marks the 70th anniversary of Godzilla, and I have taken that as a cue to finally work my way through as many "Big G" outings as possible, as well as numerous other kaiju movies. This review first appeared, in a slightly different form, over on Flickfeast, so please don't panic if you get a feeling of déjà vu.

It would be easy for me to write a lengthy essay about the circumstances that affected Japan so seriously it ended up creating Gojira (to give him his proper name). Okay, it would take some more time and research, but I would still end up covering ground that has already been well covered, and by better writers than myself. It would also be relatively easy to look upon this film and laugh, albeit with affection, at some of the melodramatic plotting and hokey special effects. But I’m not going to do either of those things.

Instead, as it has been many years since I last saw this movie, I am going to take a moment to remind everyone of an oft-forgotten aspect. The fact remains, despite the age and limitations of this film, that the build up to, and initial appearance of, “Big G” is an impressive and unnerving sequence. Admittedly, it becomes easier to see the crudity of the design work later on, but that very first main encounter so unexpectedly brings the monster into rather plain view that most people watching need some extra seconds to process exactly what they’re seeing.

Yet, at the other end of the spectrum, we also have a very human heart beating at the centre of it all. Takashi Shimura is Professor Yamane, the man doing his best to both help his fellow man and also avoid killing a remarkable beast. His daughter is played by Momoko Kôchi, and she’s believably attractive to both scientist Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) and Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada), providing a love triangle that allows for all involved to back up their feelings with actions, be they courageous or cowardly.

The script, co-written by Takeo Murata and director Ishirô Honda (blending and translating works from Shigeru Kayama and Tomoyuki Tanaka), perfectly balances tension, spectacle, and moments that directly address the unique and specific fear felt by the people of Japan in relation to hugely powerful objects that can save or destroy mankind.

The special effects are uneven, but effective, remaining impressive today thanks to a mix of inventiveness and charm, and the scale of the destruction is established right from the off, although it would grow and grow throughout this enduring movie series, making this yet another classic that has remained a classic for good reason. It has an intelligence to it, an interesting mix of characters desperate to weigh up a situation before immediately looking to solve things with more detruction, and a giant monster laying waste to cityscapes. What’s not to love?

9/10