Seeing 'Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster' in 35mm!

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964) at Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On Friday, September 29, I attended a special screening of Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964) in 35mm at Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas. It was, as you'd expect, part of the promotional push for the upcoming Godzilla Minus One, which comes out in just over a month from now on November 3. 

In fact, Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki was on hand for the festivities. Director Yamazaki was joined by kaiju suitmaker Keizo Murase, who was assisted by Daisuke Sato. Murase-san shared his memories of working with Eiji Tsuburaya, as well as working on the suit for King Ghidorah.

Photographs of the guests weren't allowed, so you'll just have to take my word for it that they were there. After their Q&A, Ghidrah was screened to a packed house. To be honest, I was surprised at how many people showed up for the screening.

The print was in overall pretty good shape, although a few flaws were evident. The biggest one I noticed was a jump at the end of the opening credits. Otherwise, however, I was more than satisfied with it. And how cool was it to watch the movie on such an enormous screen.

One fun detail I noticed is that Shigeo Kato can be spotted as an extra in the Ueno Park scene when Akiko Wakabayashi is getting heckled for claiming to be a Venusian. Kato-san, of course, has a couple of lines a bit later in the film when he plays a tourist on Mount Aso just before Rodan appears. (In the English version, he's the one who quips, "Well, that's goodbye hat!"

One other slightly interesting note is that the "monster talk" scene elicited a few guffaws from the audience, who were otherwise silent during the screening. Obviously, that part of the movie is quite silly, so a reaction like that is to be expected, but I thought I'd point it out here. (Interestingly, when I saw Ghidrah screened at a theater in the L.A. in the summer of 1998, I don't recall any laughter during that scene. That L.A. audience was actually rather well behaved, which was a pleasant surprise to me at the time.)

Overall, a fun evening at the movies. Well, I've seen many Godzilla movies in theaters during my years in Japan, it's not all that common to see them projected on a screen of this size, so I welcome any opportunity I can get. Let's do it again!

AN EVENING WITH COLONEL ASO! Reflecting on That Time I Met Akira Nakao in 2018!

The movie screen at the Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas just before the kickoff of the November 2018 Godzilla all-nighter. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On November 2, 2018, an all-night Godzilla film festival was held at the Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas, the special guest of which was actor Akira Nakao, best known among Godzilla fans for portraying Colonel (later Commander) Aso in some of the '90s Godzilla films, as well as Prime Minister Igarashi in a couple of the Masaaki Tezuka-directed Millennium-era movies. This was a rare public appearance for Mr. Nakao, so I was rather excited for it. 

The poster for Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002), one of the films screened that evening. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I really shouldn't have been, as his appearance was mostly a disappointment for me. Don't get me wrong -- Mr. Nakao was full of energy at the event and clearly enjoyed himself. But the bromide card set given out during the event didn't even have his actual autograph on any of the cards (aside from a couple with his signature obviously printed on them), not to mention that (as expected) attendees' face time with him was minimal, to put it mildly.

The poster for Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), which was also screened that evening. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I remember telling him in the moment I had to speak with him that I enjoyed his work in The Vampire Doll (1970), in which he starred as Hiroshi Takagi. As I recall, he just laughed and was generally surprised that I even knew about that film. So, while I enjoyed meeting Mr. Nakao (as fleeting as it was), there wasn't much else I enjoyed about it. 

The poster for Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), another movie screened that evening. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It was an all-night event, which I'm usually never enthused about in the first place, but I believe I had to work the next day, so I couldn't stay through the whole thing even if I wanted to. I'm pretty sure I stayed for Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002), and then left after the film and meeting Mr. Nakao. 

I apparently was so underwhelmed by my experience at this event that I never even bothered to post about it here! In retrospect, I can see why I felt that way, but, given that some irresponsible fake news was recently shared about the actor by some self-professed tokusatsu "expert" (let's just say that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated), now is as good an opportunity as any to record my recollections of that evening, as few as they are.

KUMI MIZUNO TALKS GARGANTUAS! Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas Hosts the Special Event!

A signed bromide card of Kumi Mizuno from Monster Zero (1965). Photo by Brett Homenick.

November 2 saw a special screening of War of the Gargantuas (1966) at the Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas as part of an all-night film festival celebrating Godzilla's 61st anniversary.

I'm not a big fan of all-night film festivals, so I elected only to watch War of the Gargantuas and to attend the subsequent Q&A session with actress Kumi Mizuno. Director Shusuke Kaneko (GMK, the Heisei Gamera series) was a surprise guest during the Q&A.

Seeing War of the Gargantuas in 35mm (and on a massive theater screen) was a delight. I don't think it's ever looked better!

Mizuno-san looked great, and she shared many laughs about her career in tokusatsu. After the interview, Mizuno-san handed each attendee a signed bromide card, and a staff member gave each attendee the rest of the bromide set. Suffice it to say, it was a joy to shake hands and speak with Mizuno-san again.