Daimajin Thread

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Terasawa
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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I'm really disappointed with the eyes. The eyes are what made the original Majin so frightening in the first place.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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The flaming wick attop his head is pretty nifty. I hope there's a nice awakening scene for him.

BTW - I wouldn't be averse to Miike making a over-the-top kids movie version of Gamera, too.

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Re: Daimajin Thread

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I. Cannot. Believe. This. Is. Happening! :D
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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Poster too.

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Re: Daimajin Thread

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Since many people will probably want to discuss the film separately, and the film is not EXCLUSIVELY a Daimajin film (It's also a Yokai Monsters thread) we'll discuss it here:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=31637
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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@kado_cine posted a tantalizing clip from the export version of Return of Daimajin here. Christ, it would be nice to have this dub... :/
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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I'm starting the original Daimajin right now, courtesy of the Arrow set. I had no idea Akira Ifukube did the score for this movie! The opening theme is a variant of the GvMZ theme, I think? Really cool and menacing, anyway, and instantly increases my hype level. :D
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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JAGzilla wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:34 pm I'm starting the original Daimajin right now, courtesy of the Arrow set. I had no idea Akira Ifukube did the score for this movie! The opening theme is a variant of the GvMZ theme, I think? Really cool and menacing, anyway, and instantly increases my hype level. :D
It does indeed use the first part of the Godzilla theme from MZ, as well as a modified section of Frankenstein's theme from FQTW.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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G-Matt wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:22 pm
JAGzilla wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:34 pm I'm starting the original Daimajin right now, courtesy of the Arrow set. I had no idea Akira Ifukube did the score for this movie! The opening theme is a variant of the GvMZ theme, I think? Really cool and menacing, anyway, and instantly increases my hype level. :D
It does indeed use the first part of the Godzilla theme from MZ, as well as a modified section of Frankenstein's theme from FQTW.
Yeah, I thought some of the Frankenstein theme was in there, too. Thanks!

Added in 1 hour 21 minutes :
And I'm done. Wow. Where was this when Daiei was making the Gamera movies out of toothpicks and gum? Or Warning From Space? Like, is this really the same studio? :lol: There's no comparison!

This is one of the high points of the genre. A very engaging and unconventional story with a solid cast that carry the movie perfectly until the monster finally makes his appearance. And he is worth waiting for. Save for Godzilla on his best days, maybe, I can't immediately think of another kaiju with this level of sheer menace and power. He owns every second of screentime, and doesn't leave me asking for a second more.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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JAGzilla wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:52 am This is one of the high points of the genre. A very engaging and unconventional story with a solid cast that carry the movie perfectly until the monster finally makes his appearance. And he is worth waiting for. Save for Godzilla on his best days, maybe, I can't immediately think of another kaiju with this level of sheer menace and power. He owns every second of screentime, and doesn't leave me asking for a second more.

Glad you enjoyed it. What's extra shocking is that all three films are more or less the same quality.

However, I'd like to point out that Gamera versus Barugon came out in the same year as all three films. While still there's a substantial gap in quality, Gamera vs. Barugon is easily the most well made film in the Showa Gamera series and actually does briefly have moments of grimness, such as Barugon's rampage. I don't know enough about Daiei, but I assume they had some money in the early 60's and then everything went to shit due to TV.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

Post by Angilasman »

Something hammered home by the supplements is that Daimajin and Yokai movies were made by Daiei's Kyoto studio (which made Zatoichi and other period films) while Gamera was done by the Tokyo studio, which made contemporary films. Despite being the same company, the stylistic difference between the series is partially due to the differences in those two divisions of Daiei.

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Re: Daimajin Thread

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Angilasman wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 9:22 am Something hammered home by the supplements is that Daimajin and Yokai movies were made by Daiei's Kyoto studio (which made Zatoichi and other period films) while Gamera was done by the Tokyo studio, which made contemporary films. Despite being the same company, the stylistic difference between the series is partially due to the differences in those two divisions of Daiei.
Ah. Well, that makes sense, then.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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LSD Jellyfish wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:06 am However, I'd like to point out that Gamera versus Barugon came out in the same year as all three films. While still there's a substantial gap in quality, Gamera vs. Barugon is easily the most well made film in the Showa Gamera series and actually does briefly have moments of grimness, such as Barugon's rampage. I don't know enough about Daiei, but I assume they had some money in the early 60's and then everything went to shit due to TV.
Daiei's president Masaichi Nagata was really bad about spending money, which, combined with the industry's collapse around 1971, is what directly led to the bankruptcy that closed Daiei's doors. It wasn't just frivolous spending, he was really interested in filmmaking as an art and often bankrolled lavish prestige projects which over time came to hurt the company's finances.

Meanwhile, the original Gamera was a kind of test to see if Daiei could field a crew that could compete with Toho's sci-fi output (Toho having had a near monopoly on that genre since the '50s). It was shot essentially as a B-film to be safe, but it made enough that they quickly greenlit not only a sequel but Majin, too. This kinda turned out to be another prestige project, as Daiei was apparently really proud of putting two brand new monster films out on the same program, which was a feat not even Tsuburaya/Toho accomplished in their heyday. As Angilasman said, they were able to accomplish this by utilizing both of their studios.

Also, both of these were A-movies: Yuasa said Barugon cost about ¥80 million, and while I can't find a reliable figure for Majin, Wikipedia implies it probably cost more than ¥100 million. (And it looks like only the last Majin film cost under ¥100 mil.) To put that in perspective, Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron cost ¥24 million each. That's because, while Barugon, Majin, and especially Gamera vs. Gyaos were successful, they weren't runaway successes. So Daiei's executives ordered more of the same at a fraction of the cost, and it worked.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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Terasawa wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:14 am
LSD Jellyfish wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:06 am However, I'd like to point out that Gamera versus Barugon came out in the same year as all three films. While still there's a substantial gap in quality, Gamera vs. Barugon is easily the most well made film in the Showa Gamera series and actually does briefly have moments of grimness, such as Barugon's rampage. I don't know enough about Daiei, but I assume they had some money in the early 60's and then everything went to poop due to TV.
Daiei's president Masaichi Nagata was really bad about spending money, which, combined with the industry's collapse around 1971, is what directly led to the bankruptcy that closed Daiei's doors. It wasn't just frivolous spending, he was really interested in filmmaking as an art and often bankrolled lavish prestige projects which over time came to hurt the company's finances.

Meanwhile, the original Gamera was a kind of test to see if Daiei could field a crew that could compete with Toho's sci-fi output (Toho having had a near monopoly on that genre since the '50s). It was shot essentially as a B-film to be safe, but it made enough that they quickly greenlit not only a sequel but Majin, too. This kinda turned out to be another prestige project, as Daiei was apparently really proud of putting two brand new monster films out on the same program, which was a feat not even Tsuburaya/Toho accomplished in their heyday. As Angilasman said, they were able to accomplish this by utilizing both of their studios.

Also, both of these were A-movies: Yuasa said Barugon cost about ¥80 million, and while I can't find a reliable figure for Majin, Wikipedia implies it probably cost more than ¥100 million. (And it looks like only the last Majin film cost under ¥100 mil.) To put that in perspective, Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron cost ¥24 million each. That's because, while Barugon, Majin, and especially Gamera vs. Gyaos were successful, they weren't runaway successes. So Daiei's executives ordered more of the same at a fraction of the cost, and it worked.
Thank you for all this information and yes that explains a lot.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

Post by Angilasman »

To tie-in to what LSD said about extravagant and probably unwise spending: Daiei bought a huge, expensive blue screen setup to do Hollywood-quality composite shots, then only used them for Daimajin and the Yokai movies. Not exactly a return on investment!

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Re: Daimajin Thread

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Controversial hot take, complete with snootiness (read at your own risk)!!!!!

I scoff at, roll my eyes at, and give looks of disdain to anyone who complains about The Majin Strikes Again having children as the main characters. They were extremely courageous and bold (especially the youngest one) and were not annoying at all.

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Re: Daimajin Thread

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H-Man wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:38 am Controversial hot take, complete with snootiness (read at your own risk)!!!!!

I scoff at, roll my eyes at, and give looks of disdain to anyone who complains about The Majin Strikes Again having children as the main characters. They were extremely courageous and bold (especially the youngest one) and were not annoying at all.
Agreed. That's probably the Majin movie I enjoy the most, largely because I find the kids more compelling than the adult leads in the other two movies.
Last edited by eabaker on Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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eabaker wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:45 am
H-Man wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:38 am Controversial hot take, complete with snootiness (read at your own risk)!!!!!

I scoff at, roll my eyes at, and give looks of disdain to anyone who complains about The Majin Strikes Again having children as the main characters. They were extremely courageous and bold (especially the youngest one) and were not annoying at all.
Agreed. That's probably the Majin movie I enjoy the most, largely because I find the kids more compelling than the adult leads in the other two movies.
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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H-Man wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:38 am Controversial hot take, complete with snootiness (read at your own risk)!!!!!

I scoff at, roll my eyes at, and give looks of disdain to anyone who complains about The Majin Strikes Again having children as the main characters. They were extremely courageous and bold (especially the youngest one) and were not annoying at all.
I agree, it avoided the typical annoying kids trope that other kaiju movies of the time fell in. The kids here were normal, likable, and didn't impact the story or quality negatively at all. It's kind of like the anti-Gamera that way.

Also, didn't they kill off one of the kids?
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Re: Daimajin Thread

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^Yeah, one of them drowned in the river, I believe.
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