Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon (1965)

User Rating:

3.0/10   

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Reuben Bercovitch (story)
Takeshi Kimura (writer)(American version)

Release Date:

8 July 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

He rolled the Seven Wonders of the World into one!

Plot:

During WWII, a human heart taken from a certain lab in Europe (Dr. Frankenstein's) is kept in a Japanese lab...

Plot Keywords:

Interracial Relationship | Monster | Biology | Regeneration | Disembodied Hand

Cast

Tadao Takashima	...	Dr. Yuzo Kawaji
Nick Adams	...	Dr. James Bowen
Kumi Mizuno	...	Dr. Sueko Togami
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Mr. Kawai
Koji Furuhata	...	Furankenshutain (The Frankenstein Monster)
Jun Tazaki	...	Military Advisor
Susumu Fujita	...	Osaka Police Chief
Takashi Shimura	...	Axis Scientist
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Skeptical Museum Chief
Kenji Sahara	...	Soldier
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Submarine Commander
Kôzô Nomura	...	Overzealous Reporter (as Terunobu Nomura)
Haruya Kato	...	TV Director
Ikio Sawamura	...	Man Walking Dog
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Mountain Soldier

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Conquers the World (USA)
Frankenstein Meets the Giant Devil Fish
Frankenstein and the Giant Lizard
Frankenstein vs. Baragon (International: English title)
Frankenstein vs. Godjirra (Japan) (working title)
Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devil Fish
Frankenstein vs. the Subterranean Monster
Furankensuten to Baragon

Runtime:

90 min | Japan:93 min (original version) | USA:87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Henry G. Saperstein Enterprises Inc.

Trivia:

In it's original release, it was billed as the first film collaboration between Japan and the U.S.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the sequence with "Frankenstein" trying to capture the wild boar, in the last shot of the boar running off, the tracks that the model is running on are visible.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

Guilty Pleasure.

Here's a movie about a radioactive child growing into a large, homeless 100 foot tall looking brute who grunts, and then fights a nappy looking dinosaur. Okay, it's not Ingmar Bergman, but damn, is it silly, fun and entertaining. It's chock full of cliches, but the pace is amazingly fast. One of the best elements of this happy cinematic misfire is actor Tadao Takashima. His normally bland white-lab coated scientist has some fascinating charcater elements (He's an alky, and has an interesting dark streak) The VHS copy I have has tacked on the ending where Frankenstein vs. A-Big-Octopus-That-Comes-Out-Of-Nowhere. Silly, and fun. Cool party movie.