The Man Who Shot Godzilla: Honda Ishiro Centennial
Carrying on from YIDFF 2009, we will screen films by Honda Ishiro, the Tsuruoka City native who continually appealed to the world for peace and against nuclear folly through his special-effects films. This year we will feature the first monster film made in color, as well as Honda’s second theatrical release, The Skin of the South—one of three early films that reflect the director’s strong documentary spirit. The films come from two different genres, but both exhibit Honda’s consistent stance that people need to feel awe in the face of nature. In addition, we’ll screen an invaluable interview with the director, produced by the Directors Guild of Japan.
Rodan
(Sora no daikaiju Radon)- 1956 / Japanese / Color / 35mm / 82 min
Director: Honda Ishiro
Script: Kimura Takeshi, Murata Takeo
Special Effects Director: Tsuburaya Eiji
Music: Ifukube Akira
Cast: Sahara Kenji, Shirakawa Yumi, Hirata Akihiko
Production Company, Source: Toho
Honda created three famous monsters: Godzilla, Mothra, and this one, Rodan. This was the first of Toho’s special-effects monster films to be released in color, and the fine detail in the miniatures that the special-effects team created is astonishing. Global warming leads to the reawakening of Rodan, an ancient creature, who then attacks humans. The suit actor who played Rodan was Nakajima Haruo, a native of Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture, who also played Godzilla. The heroine, Shirakawa Yumi, is a relative of the late writer Inoue Hisashi, who was born in Higashiokitama-gun, Yamagata Prefecture.
The Skin of the South
(Nangoku no hada)- 1952 / Japanese / B&W / 35mm / 95 min
Director, Script: Honda Ishiro
Original Story: Fukuda Kiyoto
Photography: Kawamura Kiyoe
Prodction Design: Nishikawa Yoshio
Music: Akutagawa Yasushi
Cast: Izu Hajime, Fujita Yasuko, Shimura Takashi
Production Company, Source: Toho
The focus is on natural wonders, as the film extols human coexistence with nature. This is the second of Honda’s three early works that exhibit a strong documentary spirit. As the director stressed in interviews, he was strongly influenced by Robert Flaherty’s Man of Aran (1934). The scene in which the Shirasu Plateau collapses could almost be from one of his later special-effects films.
My Life in Cinema: Honda Ishiro
(Waga eiga jinsei Honda Ishiro kantoku)- 1990 / Japanese / Color / Video / 58 min
Interviewer: Banno Yoshimitsu
Production Company, Source: The Directors Guild of Japan
In the 1990s, the Directors Guild of Japan produced a series of interviews with film directors to commemorate the guild’s 60th anniversary. Director Banno Yoshimitsu conducted this interview with Honda on January 23, 1990. The director discusses in detail his entry into the film world and his early films. It is interesting to note that he identifies The Skin of the South as his most memorable film from that time.