A podcast seeking entertainment and enlightenment through tokusatsu. Origin Story: After vacationing on the Monsterland Resort, professional writer/raging nerd Nathan Marchand got a job as the curator of the Vault containing the films about Monster Island’s many kaiju residents. Now he and his intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA (who miraculously survived the infamous War in Space), record a bi-weekly podcast critically and academically examining each of the films in the prestigious Vault with one to four guest hosts chosen from Monster Island’s many tourists. Philosophy: Kaiju and/or tokusatsu fans will tell you these genres are undeniably fun. What’s often missed, though, are the deeper meanings below the sensational surface. Meanings entrenched in the story’s original historical and cultural context. That’s why this podcast believes in film appreciation. What’s that? It’s studying a movie’s script, direction, cinematography, and other aspects of filmmaking. It’s learning how and why it was created since movies aren’t made in a vacuum. This is especially true with foreign films. Non-native audiences are separated by both time and culture with them...
https://monsterislandfilmvault.podbean.com
Episode 25: ‘Dogora, the Space Monster’ (feat. Michael ‘The Kaiju Groupie’ Hamilton)
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Making his third trip to Monster Island—but his first appearance on MIFV—is none other than the Kaiju Groupie himself, Michael Hamilton. He paid Nathan and Jimmy a visit to discuss Dogora, the Space Monster, which was one of three kaiju films released in 1964 by Toho. The titular space squid is a nightmare straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft story—minus the sorta lame weakness. (To quote Batman, “Bees. My god.”) Nathan and Michael also discuss Japan’s infamous mafia, the Yakuza, since there are elements of it in this film. Enjoy!
Check out Michael’s titular podcast and social media here.
Episode image created by, well, Michael Hamilton.
Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!
You, too, can support us on Patreon!
This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.
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Bibliography/Further Reading:
- The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982 by John LeMay
- “Inside The Yakuza, The 400-Year-Old Japanese Criminal Syndicate” by Mark Oliver (All That is Interesting)
- Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzisewski
- Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992 by Stuart Galbraith IV
- “How the Yakuza Works” by Ed Grabianowski (How Stuff Works)
- Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 31: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) (Energy in Japan, Prime Minister Mori’s Gaffe)
- Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 48: Dogora, the Space Monster (1964) (The Liancourt Rocks Dispute)
- Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers
- “Yakuza” (Wikipedia)
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