Starring Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kyoko Ai
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Alien beings release Godzilla and other famous monsters from captivity on Monster Island, and use mind control to get them to attack major cities across the Earth.
Toho delivers a plotline to utilize nearly all of their kaiju, from Godzilla, to Rodan, Mothra, Baragon, Anguirus, and a number of others, first used to attack Earth's cities, and then later brought together to battle a mystery monster from outer space. There's special effects a plenty from Eiji Tsubaraya and his team, not just for the monster fights but also rocket ships and flying saucers, although some of the model work doesn't impress as much as their past efforts. A knock down drag out fight between the most popular monsters impresses, and it's good to see so many Toho veteran actors in the cast, but it's a slow paced film, and when the monsters aren't on screen, their absence is felt. However, Akira Ifukube's score is a winner, delivering variations on his most popular themes, and the film surely was a hit with the younger set when it hit theaters, due to the presence of so many of the kaiju of Toho's filmography.
Showing posts with label Jun Tazaki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jun Tazaki. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Monday, February 5, 2018
The War Of The Gargantuas (1966)
Starring Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno, Kenji Sahara, Nobuo Nakamura, Jun Tazaki
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a giant monster from the sea emerges and attacks, it's thought to be the benevolent creature created by scientists from a young ape, but the ape monster returns to battle the new creature.
As my friend Dan Day Jr. confirmed, this kaiju film from the Toho studio has somewhat of a tenuous connection with the prior feature Frankenstein Conquers The World for while the dubbed version of the film I watched referred to it as "Frankenstein," there's quite a few differences in the creature from that film and the ones we see here. The two creatures on display in this outing are giant hairy apes, colored brown and green respectively, one of which can apparently breathe and survive underwater. Once I got past that initial confusion, I found this to be an enjoyable monster romp, with the creature scenes well-staged so the monster-suited actors were believable as giants, augmented by giant hand props and good special effects. Although there were a few sequences where I could tell model work was being used, the gargantuas' climactic battle in which they crush quite a few buildings looked as authentic as the time and budget would allow. I've heard a number of people opine that American actor Russ Tamblyn was a disappointment and perhaps didn't take the role seriously as the film's central scientist. I agree he was a bit stiff but didn't find that he detracted from my enjoyment of the film all that much. I wouldn't place it among my favorite kaiju productions, as I thought the combat and destruction scenes overwhelmed the story at times, but Akira Ifukube's score was a plus, and Honda's sure-handed direction and the quality of the special effects were also of merit.
Directed by Ishiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a giant monster from the sea emerges and attacks, it's thought to be the benevolent creature created by scientists from a young ape, but the ape monster returns to battle the new creature.
As my friend Dan Day Jr. confirmed, this kaiju film from the Toho studio has somewhat of a tenuous connection with the prior feature Frankenstein Conquers The World for while the dubbed version of the film I watched referred to it as "Frankenstein," there's quite a few differences in the creature from that film and the ones we see here. The two creatures on display in this outing are giant hairy apes, colored brown and green respectively, one of which can apparently breathe and survive underwater. Once I got past that initial confusion, I found this to be an enjoyable monster romp, with the creature scenes well-staged so the monster-suited actors were believable as giants, augmented by giant hand props and good special effects. Although there were a few sequences where I could tell model work was being used, the gargantuas' climactic battle in which they crush quite a few buildings looked as authentic as the time and budget would allow. I've heard a number of people opine that American actor Russ Tamblyn was a disappointment and perhaps didn't take the role seriously as the film's central scientist. I agree he was a bit stiff but didn't find that he detracted from my enjoyment of the film all that much. I wouldn't place it among my favorite kaiju productions, as I thought the combat and destruction scenes overwhelmed the story at times, but Akira Ifukube's score was a plus, and Honda's sure-handed direction and the quality of the special effects were also of merit.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (1965)
Starring Nick Adams, Akira Takarada, Jun Tazaki, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno
Directed by Inoshiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Aliens from the mysterious Planet X ask the Earth for the help of their giant monsters, Godzilla and Rodan, to save their world from "Monster Zero," but they may have other motives as well.
Although the film features quite a bit of giant monster action, the creatures are almost a sidelight, with the main conflict being between the sinister aliens from Planet X and the space pilots (Adams & Takarada) who are wise to their covert shenanigans. Although Adams is one of the film's protagonists, he adds quite a bit of humor to the film as well, with an at times outlandish Brooklyn accent. The special effects by Eiji Tsubaraya are again first rate, with not only Godzilla, Rodan, and "Monster Zero" showcased, but also some impressive flying saucers, although some wires are visible. When the monsters do fight, it's entertaining and the devastation they cause is balanced with lighter moments like Godzilla jumping for joy after driving off an enemy.
Directed by Inoshiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Aliens from the mysterious Planet X ask the Earth for the help of their giant monsters, Godzilla and Rodan, to save their world from "Monster Zero," but they may have other motives as well.
Although the film features quite a bit of giant monster action, the creatures are almost a sidelight, with the main conflict being between the sinister aliens from Planet X and the space pilots (Adams & Takarada) who are wise to their covert shenanigans. Although Adams is one of the film's protagonists, he adds quite a bit of humor to the film as well, with an at times outlandish Brooklyn accent. The special effects by Eiji Tsubaraya are again first rate, with not only Godzilla, Rodan, and "Monster Zero" showcased, but also some impressive flying saucers, although some wires are visible. When the monsters do fight, it's entertaining and the devastation they cause is balanced with lighter moments like Godzilla jumping for joy after driving off an enemy.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962)
Starring Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yu Fujiki, Ichiro Arishima, Jun Tazaki
Directed by Inoshiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
While Godzilla is escaping imprisonment in an iceberg, a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong on a jungle island, leading to an eventual clash between the two titanic monsters.
If you were expecting detailed animated monsters rendered with cutting edge special effects, this isn't the movie for you. However, if you're a fan of Godzilla movies, and enjoy seeing men in monster suits crushing miniature buildings and vehicles, you should be highly entertained. Although by this time in the Godzilla series any emphasis on realism had declined a bit, a number of other special effects are put to good use to energize the monster battles, including rear projection, giant mockups of Kong's hands, and what appeared to be some stop motion animation to bring a giant octopus' tentacles to menacing life. The grim devastation in the monsters' wake is lightened by some comical human characters, and although the actual battles between the primary monsters take up a surprisingly short portion of the film, I was entertained well enough, and liked the picture better than the Kong-confined sequel, King Kong Escapes.
Directed by Inoshiro Honda
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
While Godzilla is escaping imprisonment in an iceberg, a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong on a jungle island, leading to an eventual clash between the two titanic monsters.
If you were expecting detailed animated monsters rendered with cutting edge special effects, this isn't the movie for you. However, if you're a fan of Godzilla movies, and enjoy seeing men in monster suits crushing miniature buildings and vehicles, you should be highly entertained. Although by this time in the Godzilla series any emphasis on realism had declined a bit, a number of other special effects are put to good use to energize the monster battles, including rear projection, giant mockups of Kong's hands, and what appeared to be some stop motion animation to bring a giant octopus' tentacles to menacing life. The grim devastation in the monsters' wake is lightened by some comical human characters, and although the actual battles between the primary monsters take up a surprisingly short portion of the film, I was entertained well enough, and liked the picture better than the Kong-confined sequel, King Kong Escapes.
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