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 33: ‘Submersion of Japan’ (feat. Adam Noyes)
Hello, kaiju lovers!
Nate is joined by podcaster/YouTuber/filmmaker Adam Noyes to cover something a bit different this week: the original 1973 tokusatsu disaster film Submersion of Japan (aka Japan Sinks). Think of it as a kaiju film without a kaiju. It’s based a novel by Sakyo Komatsu, who Adam describes as “the Japanese Michael Crichton.” The novel was a blockbuster, and this film was an even bigger hit. You can tell this was what Toho invested most of their money into and not Godzilla vs. Megalon that year. Adam and Nate discuss the film’s better-than-Hollywood special effects, the horribly truncated and re-edited U.S. version called Tidal Wave made by Roger Corman, and the film’s wrestling with Japanese national identity, among other things.
Also, Nate’s “pseudo-sister” magical girl superheroine clone, Jessica, meets him just before the broadcast to let him know she just moved back to Monster Island. He’s…overjoyed.
Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.
Featuring Sarah Marchand as the voice of Jessica Shaw.
Prologue script by Nathan Marchand.
Music: “A weird thing” by Chiro.
Sound FX sourced from Freesound.org.
The episode thumbnail was created by Michael Hamilton.
We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX 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); Bex from Redeemed Otaku; and Damon Noyes! Thanks for your support!
You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month!
This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.
Timestamps:
Prologue: 0:00-2:45
Main Discussion: 2:45-51:54
Outro: 51:45-end
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© 2021 Moonlighting Ninjas Media
Bibliography/Further Reading:
- Galbraith, Stuart IV. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992
- Galbraith, Stuart, IV (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography
- Hammer, Joshua. “The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923” (Smithsonian Magazine)
- Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 54 (complete version): The Submersion of Japan (1973) (The 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake)
- LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982
- Schencking, J. Charles. “The Great Kant ¯o Earthquake of 1923 and the Japanese Nation” (Education about Asia, vol. 12, no. 2, fall 2007)
- Schnellbächer, Thomas. “Has the Empire Sunk Yet?—The Pacific in Japanese Science Fiction” (Science Fiction Studies, Nov. 2002, vol. 29, no. 3)
- “Sci-fi writer got the continental drift” (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- “Submersion of Japan (1973)” (Wikizilla)
- “Submersion of Japan: Television Series” (Toho Kingdom)
The post Episode 33: ‘Submersion of Japan’ (feat. Adam Noyes) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.