Seeing Toho's Half Human on the Big Screen!

 Signage advertising the Toho all-nighter at Shin-Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I really don't like all-nighters. I value sleep too much to sit through them. Besides, I find it's usually hard to enjoy a movie when it's 4:00 a.m., and you realize you're still miles and miles away from home (more specifically, your bed). But this all-nighter at Shin-Bungeiza (in Ikebukuro) was too good to pass up. It featured a rare 35mm screening of Toho's "lost" Abominable Snowman picture Half Human (1955).

The film print for Half Human wasn't in the best shape. There were a quite a few scratches, jumps, and other imperfections. But it was still a revelation to see the film in 35mm (and especially without the timecode at the bottom of the screen!). For the first time, I noticed Shigeo Kato's role as one of the primitive mountain men. Nothing beats seeing a film like this in the best-possible quality.

After Half Human, I stayed for a screening of The Human Vapor (1960), which I'd never seen before 35mm. Unlike Half Human, this print was virtually flawless. It'd also probably been years since I'd seen the film at all, and I'm much more familiar with the American version (with its focus on Yoshio Tsuchiya's Human Vapor character) than the Japanese (which centers on Tatsuya Mihashi's police detective). 

I decided against seeing the other two, especially since I've seen Matango several times on the big screen and didn't really feel much need to see it again. Besides, I got to see the two flicks I really wanted. Suffice it to say, it was a great time at the movies!

Japanese Actress Kaoru Yachigusa Passes Away at 88

Actress Kaoru Yachigusa died of pancreatic cancer on October 24 at 7:45 a.m. She was 88. Ms. Yachigusa began her acting career in 1947 and remained in demand as a performer the rest of her life. She married Toho director Senkichi (The Killing Bottle) Taniguchi in 1957, and the couple remained married until his death in 2007.

Ms. Yachigusa is best known among genre fans for her leading role in The Human Vapor (1960), as the object of Yoshio Tsuchiya’s affection, the ethereal dancer Fujichiyo. She would return to the science fiction genre in the late 1970s under the direction of Kihachi Okamoto in Toho’s Blue Christmas (1978) as the wife of Eiji Okada’s scientist character. This, of course, only scratches the surface of her celebrated acting career.

Rest in peace, Ms. Yachigusa.

Yoshio Tsuchiya: 1927-2017

Actor Yoshio Tsuchiya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

According to a reliable source in Japan, veteran Toho actor Yoshio Tsuchiya (Seven Samurai, The Human Vapor, Monster Zero) passed away at age 89. No other details are available at this time.

RIP, Tsuchiya-san.

UPDATE (9/7): Yoshio Tsuchiya passed away on February 8 of lung cancer, a few months shy of his 90th birthday. 

James Hong, King of the Monsters!

James Hong signs an autograph for yours truly.

After visiting Ib Melchior, I ate lunch with legendary actor James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China, Chinatown, Blade Runner). This was my second lunch with the famed actor, however, it was even more enjoyable than the first.

Hangin' out with James Hong at Dupar's Restaurant in Los Angeles.

What made this lunch even more memorable was that James and I recorded a couple of videos, which are posted below. His sense of humor really shines through in them. Enjoy!