Maijin Returns!

RETURN OF DAIMAIJIN-1966-An evil warlord conquers a village but the leader Lord Juro (Kojiro Hongo; also in a couple of GAMMERA movies) escapes. The warlord's army goes to the next village to look for him. Unfortunately for the warlord and minions the village is protected by the stone giant Maijin who's already angry. It gets even angrier when the warlord sends soldiers to destroy the statue, has village leader killed and holds his son hostage. His daughter goes to pray to Maljin for help. While mourning the destruction, she and her servant bodyguard find Jiro. A boat of soldiers lead by a mean subordinate is swallowed up by the lake. After lots of intrigue, swordplay and praying Jiro and the son and daughter are condemned to death. At the 61 minute mark Maijin makes its appearance and trounces the bad guys. It's still impressive but I thought the SFX in the first one were better. This Japanese production is a sequel to MAJIN: MONSTER OF TERROR. It was followed by a third installment THE WRATH OF DAIMAIJIN. 

The Legend

RIKIDOZAN: A HERO EXTRAORDINARY-2004-If you don't know anything about Japanese professional wrestling you might still enjoy this Korean made biographical drama about The Rising Son's greatest grappler.

Kyung-gu Sol stars as Kim who comes from Korea to study Sumo wrestling in Japan soon after the end of WW2. Although he becomes Sumo he's not allowed to participate because he's Korean. After beating up a bouncer he meets actor Harold Sakata (played by real pro wrestler Kenji "The Great Muta" Muto) who beats him up and then introduces him into the world of pro wrestling. He changes his name and goes to America to make a name for himself. He makes pro wrestling a national past time in Japan after making a speech about standing up to "the big and bad white man". Later he helps Japan "regain it's lost pride" and get revenge on America by trouncing a foreign tag team but he dies from a stab wound he receives in a fight. (Some say he was killed by The Yakusa but this film seems to say he was just paranoid)

His main promoter Mr. Kanno is played by Tatsuya Fugi (from IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES). The story leaves out a lot of details especially regarding his wrestling career. It is true that he gave the post-Japanese population a much needed moral "shot in the arm" but pro-wrestling was (and still is) a choreographed sport so even though Rikidozan was standing up to "the American bullies", it was these very same bullies who had agreed to playing arrogant, cheating Westerners. Still his impact on pro-wrestling jn Japan can't be denied.

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Japanese Ghost

THE OIWA PHANTOM-(aka THE GHOST OF YATSUYA)-1969-Great overlooked Japanese ghost story from Daiei. A master-less samurai named Iyemon (Kei Sato) schemes to make his life easier through marriage. He and his dubious friend Yomoshichi commit several murders but Iyemon winds up with a Oiwa, a wife he really doesn't want. Eventually he poisons her and she dies painfully (and it's quite sad to watch) but she wastes no time coming back to terrorize him. The special effects and direction are eerie and great.

Director Kazuo Mori also made THE RETURN OF DAIMAJIN and "Zatoichi" films.

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Sleepy Hollow

THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW-1999-Another imaginative, off center effort by Tim Burton. Unlike his two previous films (ED WOOD and MARS ATTACKS, which are both great) this one was a hit. It’s a bizarre reworking of the famous Washington Irving tale set in upstate NY.

In this update, Johnny Depp stars as Icabod Crane, a police medical examiner send to Sleepy Hollow by Judge Christopher Lee (in a great cameo) to investigate a series of gory beheadings. Christina Ricci provides the romantic interest. Suspicious townsfolk include Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Jeffery Jones and Michael Gough. Christopher Walken (who kind of looks like an evil jack ‘o lantern anyway) plays the evil Hessian horseman responsible for some of the best beheadings ever seen on film. Also with Casper Van Dien (from STARSHIP TROOPERS) and Martin Landau (in a pre-credit cameo) as the first victim. 

The SFX and story are good but I had a little problem with Depp’s character who couldn’t seem to decide whether to be a hero (with nerves of steel who boldly performs autopsies) or a coward (who faints at the sight of blood!).

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Yokai

THE GREAT YOKAI WAR-2005-This is a great serio-comedic fantasy from director Takashi Miike. At small town local festival a young boy named Tadashi (Ryunosuke Kamiki who's great) is chosen to be the Kirin Rider, a protector of good. Eventually while weilding a legendary sword he leads the horde of Yokai, ancient Japanese spirits in a battle against the half human Lord Kato, his white haired servant Agi and their metal army.

This film draws a lot on the Yokai legends of Japan. (Also used in Anime) Spirits of all kinds (good and bad) that inhabit everything like umbrellas and walls. I liked the Kappa (a frog like water spirit) and Bean Washer the best! Miike really goes over the top but it's great for children as well as adults! Bunta Sugawara the star of THE YAKUZA PAPERS series is in it too!

Kool stuff!





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Sword Play

LEGEND OF THE 8 SAMURAI-(1983)-This is a entertaining fantasy based on an actual Japanese legend. It features Sonny Chiba as one of the Eight but really doesn't have any martial arts. The real star is Hiroyuki Sanada (aka Duke/Henry Sanada) who plays Shinbei. For some reason, the eight legendary samurai are referred to as ninjas. I guess they were more popular in the early '80's. The TV show THE MASTER with Lee Van Cleef debuted the next year. Shinbei captures a princess and battles a giant snake and centipede. The two major villans are great and the SFX aren't too bad. The director, Kinji Fukasaku (who died in 2003) was also responsible for THE GREEN SLIME and MESSAGE FROM SPACE.

SAMURAI SPY-(1965)-I saw this Japanese period piece on IFC recently. It's a pretty cool sword drama involving two clans who constantly betray each other. Samurai Sarutobi tracks down a spy named Nojiri while the mysterious Sakon has his own agenda. A bit talky but it doesn't take away from the overall plot.

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