Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

...And I have to say that Daimajin is an excellent piece of cinema. It's beautiful; I love the scenery, especially that shot of the huge waterfall with Majin resting at the top. This is a 100% serious and dignified kaiju epic, much like Gamera 3. The special effects, barring some rubbery appearances to the Majin and a few bad matte shots, are excellent. It really looks like Majin is stomping through that village. Very, very impressive even by modern day standards.

Considering this is such a mature film I would of liked the samurai battles to be more realistic. People get slashed with swords with no marks left on them. It takes several sword slashes for one character to die. C'mon! I wanted to see the wall get painted red like in Kurosawa's Ran! The battles between the samurai were not very fulfilling in terms of action, but they were very dramatic. I'm not really a fan of samurai flicks, but the story was well-told and interesting. They did a really good job of building up to Majin's knockout appearance.

I am semi-interested in the other two films. Direct sequels would of been nice but apparently all three films are independent of each other. I read a few so-so reviews of the sequels as well. Are they worth buying?

I'd be totally pumped to see a new Daimajin movie, and I hope the rumors about a new one are true. However, I think it would be a big mistake to make it entirely a period piece. If it's just a rehash of the original, what's the point? The SFX are so good that a direct re-telling of the story would be silly (yes, they are that good). If I were to do a new Majin movie, the beginning would be in feudal times, but the majority movie would take place in present day. The story would be like the old films: a ruthless leader pays for his sins under the hand of Daimajin. The story would center around gangsters in modern-day Japan. The story would be serious and mature. Majin would reside in the mountains like in the old movie, and when discovered and awakened, he chases his prey through the woods. When they try to escape to the city, he follows them there and stomps through the streets and alleys of Tokyo. How cool would that be?

EDIT: I couldn't help but notice that the preistess character mentions to the ruthless warlord that if Majin is destroyed an evil god called "Arakatsuma" will be unleashed. This confused me as I never heard about this in reviews. Is the statue that raids the village at the end harboring the spirit of Majin or Arakatsuma?

Japanese Chambara/Jidaigeki movies, like American Westerns, didn't get bloody until the end of the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, the blood, gore and vivisection was out of control -- see the LONE WOLF & CUB series... So, I cannot fault the lack of blood in the sword fights, since this was the common practice of the Japanese studios of the time (with the exception of Mifune bursting Nakadai's heart in one blow for Kurosawa's 1962 classic, SANJURO).

The second film (which ADV got right this time) WRATH OF DAIMAJIN is my personal favorite of the three... I thought that I would be dissapointed by the third film, DAIMAJIN STRIKES AGAIN, because of its main cast of children (no a quest to free their fathers from slavery)... but, it was surprisingly dark and grim... I recommend all of them. DAIMAJIN is superior entertainment, and even looking at the effects, within the context of the time it was made, are excellent. Highly recommended!

The two Majin sequels are kinda so-so. I got them to be completist. They do have some very impressive fx sequences though. But mostly they are kinda rehashes like the "Death Wish" sequels. That is revenge pictures where everyone gets their comuppance in the end. But between the fx and Ikakube score, I'd still get them.

_________________
The Master
AKA Chris Balda
(Hear that Auggie?)

Heh. I saw the first one today too. I picked up a copy at Best Buy for 10 bucks, and I must say this is truly a masterpiece. I mean, look at it! the story itself was extremely original, having a giant stone statue that punishes evil-doers is just plain smart! And would you look at those SPFX! I love the way they used smoke in the destruction scenes as wind. And don't even get me started on the miniatures...

Just saw this the other day. It's an absolutely awesome film, and I can't wait for the other two to be released.

to be fair, the Gamera movies were a lot more effects intensive than the Majin movies- i mean, Gamera and monster friends had much more screen time than Majin ever did- i'd say Gamera appears more in any ONE movie than Majin did in all three of his films. so that must have made a big difference.

David