Revizuirea caracteristicilor cvadruple Ishiro Honda: Dogora, Matango, Atragon și The Mysterians

42 thoughts on “Revizuirea caracteristicilor cvadruple Ishiro Honda: Dogora, Matango, Atragon și The Mysterians”

1. Don't miss "The H Man"

2. Loved your facial expressions during the introduction "Why did I do that???!!%€¥£!???" I thought I was a Japanese monster movie geek. I surrender, and throw my nuclear powered, alien crewed submarine from Base X (or whatever) into the ring, for you to take home at your leisure. Such Fangirl enthusiasm and on-the-spot comments. Keep it up as long as your day job permits.

3. And lastly, how did you REALLY feel about the American dubbed version of The Mysterians?😃

4. Out of these 4, I've only seen The Mysterians and Kaitei Gunkan. Both are great for different reasons, but the Gotengo is one of my favorite fictional vessels of all time.

5. Maybe it’s just me but I think Moguera from The Mysterians looks a bit like a giant Kaiju robot version of Gonzo the muppet :D, I’m going to choose to believe it’s a mech suit with Gonzo in control and stomping on buildings to the sound of Flight of the Bumblebee. I haven’t seen any of these films but have been interested in The Mysterians since watching your previous review but I haven’t come across it yet, I considered buying a copy then but wasn’t sure if I’d rewatch it so decided to wait and see if it would pop up somewhere like YouTube but it hasn’t unfortunately, I’m sure I’ll see it at some point even if I do have to purchase a copy. Those space suits are crazy, they’re like very fancy Power Rangers costumes, if a Power Ranger had to dress for a formal event like a night at the Opera lol, Red Ranger : it’s formal outing so we need our extra wide top hat helmet and we can’t go wrong with a puffy cape. Green Ranger : Should we bring a cane? Red Ranger : Don’t be ridiculous lol

   Your discussion on Atragon and the films parallels with the events that led to the end of the Empire and Emperor was so interesting, I’m not sure there’s many other reviewers out there that would’ve picked up on that. The fan of weird ships and subs in me is curious about the film, I wonder would the mole drill thingy on the subs bow act like another rudder in water🤔 The film looks like it has some very slight similarities to Latitude Zero, perhaps Cesar Romero’s character was a Mu lol. Matango also looks good, I’ve never seen Gilligans Island but have seen images and the group of offbeat characters look similar lol, some of the images of Matango that you’ve shared also reminded me of certain Trek episodes or X-files and I would like to see it. The effect with the squid creature from Dogora looked surprisingly good :0
   Great reviews as always, and fun!
   ~ Thank you Ms Weiselberry ~

6. Matango is arguably the greatest mushroom movie ever made.

7. Matango is terrific. Eerie and surreal. Probably Honda's greatest imo.

   Atragon is good, especially the great performance by Jun Tazaki.

   It was a great year for Tazaki, as he was in Kurosawa's masterpiece High and Low as well.

   Dogora…is…an outlier.

   The Mysterians is fun.

   I own these as well, when they were released by Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock.

8. Dogora is OK. It's not boring, but it is as you said – disappointing. Most of the Honda movies suffer from "could-have, should-have beens".

   As I said in your previous Matango review, I like this movie a lot. It's one of my favorite Honda directed movies. The cast is top-notch. Also as I said before, the make-up person was struggling with what to do with Mizuno when she ate a mushroom because they didn't want to make her ugly. However, Honda said to make her more beautiful. They did and it was great. Couple of things you didn't mention is that there is Gilligan's Island parallel to this movie – 7 castaways in both. The other thing was the disappointment with the first time the mushroom man is seen on the boat. The scene just ends with no explanations. Honda, unfortunately, was reluctant to make a really scary movie, so he didn't want to show something like that. Oh, by the way, pretty sure the letter "a" is always pronounced "ah" in Japanese. That was what a language lesson in G-Fan magazine said anyway.

   I like Atragon more than you. I think it's a pretty good film. True, that the monster isn't great, but it's fine and, as you said, it does show up in Destroy All Monsters simply because they had an intact costume. Barugon didn't show up in that movie because he was lent out to do Ultraman and the costume wasn't available. The actress playing the empress does a good job and she didn't really do much acting other than this. The final scene is good and touching. Your still from that reminded me that Honda like to end most of his movies on a group shot like this. Can't remember if you have brought this up before.

   The Mysterians is also a pretty good one. Not great, but it's entertaining. Tsuchiya was offered a different role by Honda, but wanted to play the Mysterian leader. He was a popular actor at the time because of being in a few Kurosawa movies. I agree that the "monster" here is underwhelming, but it's serviceable. Crazy plot of needing Earth's women.

   You've now reviewed most of the Honday Sci-fi films. Maybe just two left, and those you probably won't do because they are hard to find. Half-Human and The Human Vapor. Both of these are good movies and worth seeking out. Half-Human has not been officially released because it was banned. However, a watchable version with subtitles can be found if one looks hard enough. The Human Vapor has not been banned, but has also not been given a proper US release. That one is must-see in my humble opinion.

9. Hi new subscriber.. I used to watch creature double feature on TV 38 in Boston during the late 70s and early 80s… Which showcased movies very similar to what you are reviewing. My question is what's your story? What makes you tick? Sincerely an old degenerate alcoholic scumbag 😎☘️

10. Regarding subtitles taking some liberties… There have been two sets of English subtitles made for Matango. The Japanese released Blu-ray has "newly written" English subtitles that are more authentic than the previous ones (made for an older DVD release). I've only watched the dubbed version and the Japanese Blu-ray, not the English subbed DVD. If the streamed movie you watched was a remastered HD copy then I'm assuming it had the newer subtitles, otherwise it may have used the older DVD English subtitles, which apparently were more westernized.

11. Has anyone figured out how the characters of Matango and of Gilligan's Island are exactly the same? Coincidence or thievery?

12. "Dogora" and "Matango" are, with "The H Man" probably the most unusual films Honda made. I like all three. "Matango" is just creepy. "The H Man" is one of my favorites, at least in its original Japanese form with surprisingly good effects. "Dogora" has some striking effects as well except for the dodgy animation. I've not seen "Atragon" yet.

13. Matango:When I watched the series "The Last of Us" last year,my thought was,this is "The Walking Dead",with
    mushroom people.Steven Soderbergh has at one point expressed interest in remaking Matango.
    Maybe he could incorporate it into a plot for "Ocean's 14."Although I don't know how Clooney,Damon,Pitt and
    crew could con their way out of a fungus attack.Thank you.Good show.

14. Did you hear Minus One won Academy Award for Best Effects!

15. I'm so glad you got to see these great movies, Jerome! I know you had waited a while to see THE MYSTERIANS and it's a favorite of mine. I love the alien leader having two voices. For whatever reason, Robert Dunham was redubbed for the Japanese version of MEGALON by voice actor Goro Naya, who dubbed Nick Adams for his two Japanese monster films. Possibly boring trivia: the detective who sees Etsuko and Hiroko being a abducted was played by Shoichi Hirose, who later wore the King Kong costume for the battle with Godzilla.

16. Thanks Jerome. My movie treat of the week. Only you could see a giant flying jellyfish and say, “Yes! A must-see!” Weird, but delightful as always.

17. Very enjoyable video. You not only got a Hiroshi Koizumi trifecta but also a Kenji Sahara one. (He's not in Dogora.) I read somewhere that Sahara was in more Honda movies than anyone else. I think that's probably true.
    Have a happy week ahead.

18. I love your passion for Japanese cinema. The Mysterions was an awesome movie. Saw it as a kid many years ago.

19. I appreciate you making the effort to review these often overlooked non-Godzilla Toho/Honda movies. Your reviews are always thoughtful and entertaining. Dogura has a good little monster short mixed in with a dreadful heist movie. Matango is a well-done horror movie. Atragon has the feel of a compacted TV serial. The Mysterians is peak Honda-Tsuburaya- Ifukube

20. I saw "The Mysterians" as a boy with my family at a drive-in on a double-bill with George Pal's "Tom Thumb." I remember almost nothing about "Tom Thumb" except that it starred Russ Tamblyn before he appeared in Al Adamson movies. But, "The Mysterians" stuck in my brain. Seeing Mogura emerge from the side of the mountain on a giant screen made me fall off the back seat of my parents' car. (Very different effect than watching it on television.) I remember the colors leaping off the screen in every scene, especially during the final battle when the dome turns different colors as it is destroyed. I agree with you ranking the movie at the top (along with the downbeat "Motango") of the four Honda movies.

21. I gotta ask. How did you learn to pronounce Japanese names so well??

22. I absolutely love Matango. It’s a little slow but so very atmospheric. I can’t think of any other film quite like it. Thanks for the video. Huge I Honda fan!

23. Amazing, thanks for reviewing them!

24. Nice Godzilla you got behind you :))

25. Matango is a classic – scared the pants off me as a youth and always fun to watch as a grown up. Thanks for digging deeper into it. Also….fecundity. Bam!

26. Hey Jerome! In Stuart Galbraith's book Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo, Robert Dunham said DOGORA was intended as a comedy from the start. The American distributors tried to make it a straight-forward monster movie which really didn't work. The 'diamond G-Men' were supposed to be totally inept dorks. Bob Dunham also said he was disappointed that he wasn't asked to dub his own voice into English.

27. I would put Atragon at number one. It's my favorite of the lot. Who wouldn't want to have a flying corkscrew submarine. I used to have a model of it, but the cat destroyed it, achieving what Manda never could.

28. GODZILLA MINUS ONE–John Carpenter commented on the movie winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, the first Oscar for the 70 year-old Toho monster movie franchise, "Incredible! GODZILLA MINUS ONE wins an Academy Awards for special effects. In my lifetime. Fantastic!"
    Guillermo del Toro posted, "Oscar Winner Godzilla, I feel so moved."
    GODZILLA MINUS ONE also won eight Japanese Academy Awards including Best Picture.

29. Fun Fact: Did know that Matango's laugh is later used in the Ultra Series, most famously, Alien Baltan.

30. honda would be so proud of this minus one team. first academy award in Godzilla's 70 year franchise.. beat hollywood movies with only 6% of their budgets..

31. In the scenes you showed from DogoraI saw an actress from You Only Live Twice, Akiko Wakabayashi!

32. Ms. Weiselberry,

    This was a great review! It must have been quite the task of covering four so very different movies at once. I agree with you that "Matango" and "The Mysterians" are in the top tier of Toho science fiction films. "Matango" is so very creepy. I had to laugh when you said that Yoshio Tsuchiya played the alien commander: he was the go-to guy for weird aliens, and so good at it!. Have you ever seen "The Human Vapor"? It was also directed by Ishiro Honda and starred Yoshio Tsuchiya; I remember that being pretty weird as well.

33. Thanks for the video. I'm glad you're enjoying the Criterion Channel. They have quite a few Toho pictures on there, beyond the monster/sci-fi stuff.
    Keep up the good work.

34. You got me at "bonkers."
    Peace on earth.

35. THANK YOU so much for reviewing these quadruple Ishiro Honda / Toho movies. DOGORA is actually my # 1 favorite. (😊) Mainly due to two of my favorite actors being in it: Yosuke Natsuki as the detective Komai and Akiko Wakabayashi as the diamond thieves female member. One could get lost watching this because, I do feel, Dogora is unseen throughout the story until the last twenty minutes of the film. The robberies of the diamonds and coal baffles both the police and diamond robbers. Of course, this causes both the heroes and villains of the film to ponder on who done it.

    I do own all four of these movies on physical media in its original Japanese dialogue. In continuing with the rankings, I would say my second favorite is The Mysterians (I love the feel and look of the late 1950's Toho movies), third is Atragon and fourth is Matango. yes, Matango is the creepiest Toho movie that I have ever seen from that time period.

    I did meet Robert Dunham from Dogora a little over 20 years ago at a convention. Actually, he approached me to ask me a question! That was a big WHOA! moment for me. I can't get into too much detail about our conversation due to me already writing too much here. I would like to comment more about the movies you reviewed as well. However, thank you, as always, for your work and dedication to reviewing these wonderful classic movies.

36. Great post as always! I'm happy to see you are using The Criterion Channel. I know you get hundreds of recommendations but be sure to check out at least one Seijun Suzuki film while you have it. Mr. S makes some of the best B grade crime noirs with a very creative style and some pretty bonkers stuff. I bet you'll become a long term Criterion subscriber. Their search feature isn't that good. Subscribing to their free monthly newsletter is quite helpful.🎭

37. I always enjoy your astute analyses of Japanese genre films. Glad you were finally able to view a good copy of The Mysterians. It makes all the difference when it comes to savoring that lush Tohoscope spectacle. A lot of folks tend to find Atragon rather dry although the underlining message is suitably profound and engaging i.mo. Toho forced Ishiro Honda to include the sea serpent Manda although, again i.m.o., the movie needed it. I always secretly hoped Toho might have got around to making a Godzilla vs. Dogura. If nothing else it would've been visually striking with possibly a more engaging story.

    Oh, and yes if I saw Mogera walking down the street towards me I would indeed be terrified. Starstruck but terrified.

38. Hi J. Just wanted to say I really enjoyed these; nice work on organizing, writing, editing and presentation. Will keep an eye out for the Mysterians and the others related to it. Have an awesome week.

39. I just really love the presentation and aesthetic of this channel. The 480p and still shot just bring me back to a simpler happier time. I don't even know anything about these movies, this is just pleasant.

40. The Mysterians is a good movie. I'm just not into it. Matango is INCREDIBLE! I have yet to see the others. Subbed foreign movies are always best! Dubbed movies can change dialogue which can change important plot points.

41. I've seen these movies, I believe only once or twice. When I saw them I assumed they were late 60's-early '70's. Definite extra credit for them.

42. Thank you for the in depth reviews, these have been on my watch list for quite some time.

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