Seeing 'Lawrence of Arabia' at the Shin Bungeiza!

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) at the Shin Bungeiza theater. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Wait, was there some other movie I was supposed to see today? Yeah, I'll get to that one, too.

After seeing Godzilla Minus One (2023) at another venue, I made my way to the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro for a screening of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) in 4K. It was my first time to see it in theaters, and it looked absolutely magnificent. 

Prior to this screening, I'd last watched it during the winter break of 2019-20. At that time, I hadn't seen it since 1997, so it was like watching a new movie in many ways. This time, however, I remembered quite a bit from my last viewing a bit less than four years ago.

Not much to say here, other than it's a great film. Gandhi (1982) is another epic I admire that would be hard to see getting made today (for a variety of reasons). Anyhow, I'm very glad I got the chance to see this classic in 4K on the big screen!

Seeing 'Jason and the Argonauts' on the Big Screen!

Jason and the Argonauts at Shin Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Tuesday, October 3), I saw Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts (1963) for the very first time -- and what a way to see it for the first time! It was on Ikebukuro's Shin Bungeiza theater's big (and I mean big!) screen. I couldn't find the format for the screening listed anywhere, but a staff member told me it was a 2K DCP (digital projection). 

Looks like Harryhausen's friends came out to support this screening. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As a kid, I was a big fan of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) with its rousing score, memorable monsters, and exciting action. But Jason and the Argonauts always looked to me like a "less than" version of 7th Voyage, so I guess I was never interested in checking it out. I saw bits and pieces of it here and there growing up, but never the whole thing. Admittedly, after finally watching it tonight, I don't think I missed very much.

Most of the action sequences aren't that exciting, and the mystical creatures aren't that compelling, either. Talos isn't bad, but he really poses no threat so long as you can outrun him (which every character in the film can easily do). Near as I could tell, Talos only manages to kill one character, who pretty much only has his own stupidity to blame for it. 

The Hydra had some potential, but it does nothing and is dispatched easily. The Hydra sequence was a fairly stark reminder of how unconvincing Harryhausen's animation was at capturing the movements of humans. For all the tut-tutting Godzilla movies get from stop-motion purists about their "fake" effects, it makes me wonder if any of these dynamation superfans have actually seen a stop-motion movie.

I suppose some of them might try to argue that Harryhausen put more thought and effort into carefully animating his action scenes, as opposed to, in their thinking, throwing a guy in a monster suit and letting him stomp around a miniature set. But that's not the point. Something either looks fake, or it doesn't, regardless of how much effort was put into creating something that looks objectively fake. 

Besides, none of these purists ever apply such a standard to Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Alien (1979), or any other movie they are quick to praise as a classic that also makes liberal use of monster suits. 

(No offense intended to most stop-motion fans, of course! I've just dealt with my share of hardcores who never missed an opportunity to trash tokusatsu and praise dynamation as superior in every way when, quite frankly, nobody asked their opinions on the subject.)

I will say, though, that the final battle with the skeleton warriors is quite impressive. In fact, in some shots they simply look like living skeletons and nothing like the stop-motion creations that they actually are. So I will give Harryhausen a lot of credit there. The only drawback is that the battle more or less comes to an abrupt and unsatisfying end by having the skeletons voluntarily fling themselves into the ocean. I guess the filmmakers couldn't conceive of a more dramatic conclusion to their climax. 

Overall, I thought Jason and the Argonauts was just OK. It certainly isn't a bad film by any means, but I think it essentially matched my fairly low expectations, which I was hoping it wouldn't. I would recommend The 7th Voyage of Sinbad over this one in a heartbeat. 7th Voyage is a truly an excellent fantasy film and gets my vote as Harryhausen's best movie.

Catching 'The Guns of Navarone' in Ikebukuro!

The Guns of Navarone at the Shin Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Wednesday, August 16, I caught a screening of the Columbia Pictures classic The Guns of Navarone (1961) at the Shin Bungeiza theater in Ikebukuro. I'd never seen it before, so I figured seeing it on the Shin Bungeiza's massive screen would be the best way to watch it for the first time. I was a bit taken aback to find that the screening would be sourced from a Blu-ray, as opposed to a 4K remaster or DCP. (What is this -- the Pickwick Theatre?!)

Look who's guarding the soda machine. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Thankfully, the movie was still quite watchable, even if it was grainier than what I was used to. I enjoyed the movie, too, especially since I couldn't always predict where the story would go. On the other hand, I felt the climax went on too long and lost some of its tension along the way, but I was pleased with the overall film. It was also fun to see Irene Papas in an early role, as I mostly know her from her appearance as a baddie in John Landis' Into the Night (1985). 

Not sure what movie I will see next there. I saw that the theater will screen a great Showa-era horror movie at the end of the month, but we'll see if I'm available to catch a screening.

THE STAY PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN STOMPS YOKOHAMA! Bill Bryan Talks Shop in Godzilla's Homeland!

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man suit builder and actor Bill Bryan recalls his work on the 1984 comedy classic Ghostbusters. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Living in Japan, I'm afforded many opportunities to meet actors and directors associated with the Japanese film industries. (Makes sense, doesn't it?) Rarely do I get the chance to meet an icon from the American film industry. But, on Sunday, August 14, such an opportunity suddenly arose.

In the wake of the recent remake of Ghostbusters, Japanese fan and promoter Dr. Abbey brought Stay Puft Marshmallow Man suit builder/actor Bill Bryan to Japan on a tour of various events and gatherings in the Tokyo area. I attended the event at the JH Cafe in Yokohama, which is home to all kinds of impressive movie memorabilia.

Thanks to Dr. Abbey, I was fortunate enough to sit and discuss a variety of topics with Bill. He shared many interesting bits of trivia from the film. For instance, he built the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man suit from a variety of concept sketches that had already been prepared. As an in-joke, when the Marshmallow Man is first seen walking behind various buildings and billboards, you can see the creature actually wearing a Michelin Man T-shirt. (In all the times I've seen the film, I've never spotted this.) Bill played the Marshmallow Man in all the shots, except for when the suit was on fire.

Bill told numerous other stories, such as the experience he had finally meeting Bill Murray backstage at The Jimmy Kimmel Show. We also gabbed about numerous other movies and actors. Despite his iconic status, he hasn't done that many personal appearances at conventions. He certainly has the personality for it, and I think many fans would be excited to meet him. We'll see what happens in the future.

I had a blast meeting Bill, and so did his Japanese fans. It's not his first time to Japan, as he has done SFX work here in the previous years. He certainly knew a lot more Japanese than most Americans do when they step off the plane.

It was a memorable evening, and it was one I never expected to happen. At least something quite cool came from the misguided remake. As a lifelong Ghostbusters fan, I'll always remember hanging out with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Yokohama.

Many thanks to Dr. Abbey for making this happen. A big thanks to Bill Bryan for being such an awesome guest. Hope to meet you again someday!