Free Sunday Japanese Cinema! Destroy All Monsters! The Cinema of Ishiro Honda...

Ishiro Honda was the guy, depending on who you talk to, that destroyed Japanese cinema or made Japanese cinema world famous...

I think he helped make Japanese cinema crappy, but then again, when I was a kid, I liked Mothra and Godzilla movies (the early ones that Ishiro Honda directed). I remember watching the classic, "Destroy all Monsters" and being terrified at the scary woman who wanted to take over the earth! 


I also recognize that without Ishiro Honda, Japanese pop culture most probably wouldn't be what it is today. 

No matter what you think - good or bad - I do believe that there is an evolutionary line between Honda's work and, say, today's more fantastic Japanese anime or even Hatsune Miku. Honda was definitely influential on Japanese pop culture.

A book about Honda came out a while back celebrating his life and works. The book is called "Mushrooms Clouds and Mushroom Men - The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda."

The press release reads: 

For the first time in America, a book has been published on Japan's foremost director of Fantasy Films: MUSHROOM CLOUDS AND MUSHROOM MEN – The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda.

Known primarily for directing such classic Japanese monster movies as Rodan, Mothra, Attack of the Mushroom People and the original Godzilla, Honda has been a much-overlooked figure in mainstream international cinema.

MUSHROOM CLOUDS AND MUSHROOM MEN is the first book to cover in English print Honda’s life as well comprehensively evaluates all 25 of his fantasy films.  It is also gives objective and critical analysis of Honda's filmmaking methods, themes and relationships with actors and technicians.

The book looks like an interesting read if you want to know who to blame, or thank, for today's Japanese "camp" or Anime.


And for your viewing pleasure, here's the trailer from the 1968 "Destroy All Monsters"

DOUBLE CLICK FOR FULL SCREEN!

DOUBLE CLICK FOR FULL SCREEN!

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KEYWORDS: Ishiro Honda, Mike Rogers, Godzilla, Hatsune Miku, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Japanese cinema, Japanese anime, Mothra, Destroy all Monsters, Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men, Peter H. Brothers, Marketing Japan, Japan, Tokyo

Hilarious New Japanese Independent Film! Robo Ji!

This cracks me up. You don't even need to understand Japanese to get the basic drift of this trailer for this movie called, "Robo Ji!"

It basically starts out (at 10 seconds) about three guys who are under assignment to create a new type of robot for their corporation in time for the big Tokyo International Robot Fair. But everything they do fails.


Finally, they come up with a plan to fool their boss and the mass media and public by putting an old man inside of a robot outer case and having the old man become their "robot."


In Japanese, "Ji-san" means "grandfather" hence the funny name "Robo Ji."


The three stooges, er, I mean scientists interview a 73-year-old guy for the part of the robot and ask him during an audition,


"Can you show us your robot moves?" 


Later the (sort of senile) old guy, who is the stereotypical "dirty old Japanese man" (and picks his nose) is chosen for the part. I gather that he might have been chosen because he seems to be suffering from slight dementia and hard-of-hearing and that he doesn't move so much... This makes the scientists figure that he'll be easy to handle.


We are soon to find out how wrong they were in that assumption with hilarious consequences!


Later, at the robot exposition, people ask Robo Ji what he can do and some kid shouts from the audience and points away,


"That's nothing! The robot over there is better!" as the crowd looks, the other robot is dancing.


This is a challenge to the old guy, er, I mean Robo Ji and, not to be outdone, he starts dancing and really over-doing it to the chagrin of the engineers. When Robo Ji becomes a hit and a popular media sensation the engineers realize that they've created a sort of "Frankenstein" who is often out of their control.


I won't tell you more but after that there are some really funna parts and, like I said, you don't need to speak Japanese to understand the jokes.


This is great for a laugh. Enjoy!

Free Sunday Matinee: 1935 Japanese Classic Cartoon, "Why Sea Water is Salty"

Welcome back once again, to the free Sunday Matinee featuring Japanese movies! Today I'd like to show you an Animation of an adaptation of an old Japanese folk story called, 海の水はなぜ塩からい "Umi no mizu wa naze shio karai" (Why is Sea Water Salty?).

This cartoon was originally made in 1935 and is the story of two brothers and greed. Enjoy!

Dead Sushi - Soon to Be "Classic" Japanese Cinema

Oh, modern Japanese cinema has outdone itself this time.... For the first time this week! 

Dead Sushi. Attack of the Killer Sushi. Here's the trailer for Noboru Iguchi's newest! Another low-grade splatter horror film from Japan! 

Rina Takeda will kick your a*s... 

Actually she probably could as she really can do karate!

It's sushi erotica starring Rina Takeda Japan's real karate girl actress!

Japan has been coming out with a lot of this gore type of b-grade horror flick.

Yukie Kawamura is HOT! HOT! HOT!

Who could forget the hit "Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl" starring hot and sexy Japanese star Yuki Kawamura?

Thanks to film critic, Ken Nishikawa

Free Japanese Masterpiece Classic Cinema "Kwaidan" 1964 Horror Film English Subtitles

Once again, it's time for another free Sunday Matinee. Today's film is the classic horror film, "Kwaidan."

Wikipedia says: 


Kwaidan (怪談 Kaidan) is a 1964 Japanese portmanteau film directed by Masaki Kobayashi; the title means 'ghost story'. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is the archaic transliteration of Kaidan, meaning "ghost story". It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination. 


Kwaidan 1

CLICK ON SCREEN FOR LARGER IMAGE

Kwaidan 2

Kwaidan 3

Kwaidan 4

CLICK ON SCREEN FOR LARGER IMAGE

Kwaidan 5

Kwaidan 6

Kwaidan 7

Kwaidan 8

Kwaidan 9

Free Sunday Matinee! Samurai Film: Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman

Recently, due to the earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent nuclear accident at Fukushima, this blog (and everyone else) has been completely preoccupied with those events. Several regular readers have asked that I start the free Sunday Japanese cinema again.

You asked for it, you got it. Here is a well known story in Japan. It is called Satoichi - the Blind Swordsman. Wikipedia says:

Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa (子母澤 寛 Shimozawa Kan). This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios (now Kadokawa Pictures) and actor Shintaro Katsu, who created the screen version. A total of 26 films were made from 1962 to 1989. From 1972 to 1974, a television series of the same name was made. One hundred and twelve episodes were aired before the "Zatoichi" television series was cancelled.

Film number 17 of the original series was remade in America in 1990 (by TriStar Pictures) as Blind Fury, an action movie starring Rutger Hauer.

Today, we will watch, in full the 2003 remake starring Takeshi Kitano directed by Takashi Miike. Satoichi is a much loved character in Japanese modern day folklore and this samurai film is quite possibly one of the best of the modern samurai movies. It has a quite bizarre ending too! Enjoy!

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 1/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 2/13



Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 3/13



Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 4/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 5/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 6/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 7/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 8/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 9/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 10/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 11/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 12/13

Zatoichi - the Blind Swordsman 13/13

Very Cool and Bizarre Japanese Movie: "Big Man Japan"

So many people seemed to like that Vampire Girl Versus Frankenstein Girl trailer (Yes, the music was extremely cool I must admit!) That I decided to show you this, er, "classic," Big Man Japan. 

No special comment from me needed at all this time... Excepting, "Could this be the greatest Japanese film of all time?"

From Bam Ka Pow:

 “Big Man Japan” has let slip a clip of it’s crazy insane Japanese stylings.  The clip features some of the same archival style black & white footage that was in the trailer, as well as some interviews with a very morose young man.  I have to say that as excited as I am about this movie, this clip doesn’t seem to work out of context.  But I have every bit of faith that the film will indeed to hilarious and awkward in that way that only the best of the Japanese films can do.  You don’t believe me?  Check out the trailer as well:

“But while his predecessors were national heroes, he is a pariah among the citizens he protects, who bitterly complain about the noise and destruction of property he causes. And Daisato has his own problems - an agent insistent on branding him with sponsor advertisements, an Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather who transforms into a giant in dirty underwear, and a family who is embarrassed by his often cowardly exploits.”

Look, you have crazy monsters, mockumentary style interviews, all surrounding a down on his luck screw up for a hero.  I honestly don’t know what else I could ask for.  I wider release?  Something tells me this isn’t going to be shown on too many screens.  But do yourself a favor and watch the clips.  Then make your way to one of those theaters come June 2nd.

“A wickedly deadpan spin on the giant Japanese superhero, BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrait of a pathetic but truly unique hero.”

Uh, yeah... So you can see that this is definitely a "classic"....