YOG THE SPACE AMOEBA

1970/Director: Ishirô Honda/Writer: Ei Ogawa

Cast: Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Kenji Sahara, Yukiko Kobayashi, Kenji Sahara, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yû Fujiki, Noritake Saito

I sometimes notice how I neglect topics I am very interested in here. For one example I have yet to review a single Vincent Price film here though I have dozens here waiting to be praised. Another area of ‘film criticism’ I am remiss in maintaining is the Japanese kaiju (strange monster) films, and in particular the excellent films of Ishiro Honda. I had to search my own site to find that I have in fact a couple Honda film here already and that was King Kong Escapes and Frankenstein Conquers the World and I have Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People) available for viewing at the Uranium Café Matinee, unless Google Video has yanked it since the last time I checked. While I have seen plenty if kaiju eiga (monster films) I am a bit lost in the genre outside the films of Ishiro Honda and his TOHO works. There are other memorable kaiju eiga director such as Jun Fukuda but overall I just never get tired of Honda’s vision. Honda worked with special effects master Eiji Tsuburaya create some of the most memorable ‘men in rubber suit’ monster ever to stomp an urban area to rubble. And while I am on that, lest I forget, I actually read a couple reviews online of Yog: The Space Amoeba that said things like “you can tell it is just a guy in a monster costume” and then the review would go on to criticize the acting and other special effects. Even sarcastically mocking the miniatures of cities and villages. Now while I myself may poke a little fun and there I want it to be clear that I love these films and any jabs I give are directed at the film with zero malice on my part. Anyone who brutalizes an Ishiro Honda film because it has guys running around in rubber suits is missing the entire point. I may not know that that point is myself come to think of it but I just like these films and I need to do more posts on them here.

MORE YOG THE SPACE AMOEBA RIGHT HERE >>

TODAY’S THRILLING TOHO FREATURE:

MATANGO-ATATCK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE

SEE THE ISHIRO HONDA CLASSIC MATANGO HERE >>

KING KONG ESCAPES

1967/Director: Ishirô Honda/ Writer: Takeshi Kimura

Cast: Rhodes Reason, Mie Hama, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Eisei Amamoto

I was lucky that before all my BT download problems began a month or so back I downloaded a batch of classic Toho kaiju films. Kaiju is the term for Japanese monster films, and in particular those wonderful ones with guys in rubber suits judo flipping one another all over Tokyo. I was pleasantly surprised with King Kong Escapes, the 2nd King Kong film from Toho after King vs Godzilla. It has all the trademarks of a great Toho kaiju film, such as finely detailed miniatures,  and was directed by Ishiro Honda, who turned out some of the best monster films for Toho. One thing that makes this Toho monster film a little more enjoyable than some is the drama between the human being is better than usual.

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FRANKENTSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD

1966/Director: Ishirô Honda/ Writers: Reuben Bercovitch (story),Takeshi Kimura

Cast: Tadao Takashima, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Koji Furuhata

I have been acquiring quite a few movies lately and have been watching a couple a day sometimes and have gotten behind on posting, so I am going to try and catch up with this new category, The Uranium Cafe Double (and sometimes Triple) Feature. I will try to connect two films thematically in some way, and the first entry into the category is simple: the theme is Frankenstein. But these two films are a couple of the oddest in the Frankenstein archives and really are both pretty enjoyable B-movies. The first one is out of Toho Studios and is directed by the great Ishiro Honda. It also starts American actor Nick Adams (the Johnny Yuma TV show) in one of his three films with Toho. He plays scientist James Bowen who is hot on the trail of the Frankenstein Monster (though it is referred to throughout the film as Frankentstein) with the help of his lovely assistant Sueko Togami  (Toho queen Kumi Mizuno) and fellow scientist Dr. Kenichiro Kawaji (who is determined to obtain one of Frankenstein’s members or organs for future research) and is played by fellow Toho regular Tadao Takashima (the link is to a story of Tadao’s battle with severe depression). Check back soon for a review and photos of pretty Kumi Mizuno’s in Ishiro Honda’s Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People). (more…)

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I recievied an invitation from both Chick Young at Trash Aesthetics and Gilligan over at Retrospace to participate in something called a “meme”, but I am so out of touch I have no clue what that is (but that has never stopped me from getting involved before). Seems it originated from Piper and Brian over at Lazy Eye Theatre blog (a couple of the more active LAMBers) and there have been good fantasy film festivals so far by Chick, Gilligan and Barbarella apologist Becca at No Smoking in the Skull Cave. I do not know if Tal at Taliesen Meets the Vampires has contributed as of this moment, but I will plug his excellent site anyway, free of charge. The rules (as laid down by the crew at the Lazy Eye site) are:

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