Return of Daimajin (Daimajin gyakushu, 1966)
Mori Issei
Japan
90 mins, color, Japanese (English subtitles)
Depending on how one counts, this is the third (or second) of the three DAIMAJIN films. It is also the weakest of the three, mainly because of the sagging plot and the protracted mayhem near the ending. Where the other two (which were really takes on essentially the same story) films excelled, this one does not. Something is left of the score, but the cinematographic magic is gone, probably the director's fault. Casting four kids as the leads is never a good idea, regardless of how popular it may have made Steven Spielberg.
This time, the evil lord kidnaps some woodcutters to build him an impregnable castle in a desolate area which is suffused with sulfur springs (??). Four kids from their village decide to rescue their fathers/brothers and start off on a supposedly grueling trek across the perilous mountain of the easily pissed god Majin. (Incidentally, the film opens with said Majin wreaking synoptic havoc on a bunch of apparently innocent villagers who must have done something to offend the irascible kami.) Now this climb is so arduous that even six-year olds find it somewhat difficult to endure, but they do so regardless. There's also a merry threesome of inept samurai, who really need to be fired for incompetence: they are duped by the kids (several times) and are eventually ignominiously defeated by a mockup of a falcon. Then one of the kids leaps in a pile of snow and Majin wakes up to crush everyone in sight.
The problem with most kid actors is that they can't act. This is a problem insofar as the film requires them to act, and this one unfortunately demands more than the kids can deliver. They are charming, there's no doubt and one of them is actually pretty darn good. The other three, however, sucked (by the way, why didn't Majin save Kinta from drowning?) and it ruined the film for me. Mori is also not of the same caliber as Misumi or even Yasuda, and it shows big time. For starters, there's no female lead --- what, the heck was he thinking --- and the knight errant Majin has no damsel in distress to rescue. Ok, maybe he can work with kids, I'd rather not. The camerawork is shaky and the special effects were not up to the usual standards. The only positive note is that Majin finally unsheathes his sword (yieee!), throws it, retrieves it with the Force, and then stabs the wretched evil lord. Inventive as ever, the deity disappears in a whirlwind of snow for a change.
Not too bad for a monster flick, but not too good as a folk story either. I'd see the other two Daimajins first, either DAIMAJIN or WRATH OF DAIMAJIN. If you are hooked on the trampling statue, then see RETURN OF DAIMAJIN too.
May 31, 2001. BLS