Return of Giant Majin

1966
6.4| 1h19m| PG| en
Details

The tyrannical Lord Danjo Mikoshiba covets the rich, fertile lands surrounding Lake Yakumo. During a memorial ceremony for the late Chigusa lord, Mikoshiba launches an attack, overthrowing the honorable Lord Juro. Just when all seems lost, Daimajin rises from Lake Yakumo to settle a score of his own.

Director

Producted By

Daiei Film

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Reviews

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Woodyanders An evil warlord takes over a peaceful small village and enslaves the residents of said community. The noble Lord Juro (nicely played by Kojiro Hongo) tries to oppose the warlord to no avail. So the feisty Lady Sayuri (a sound and affecting performance by the lovely Shiho Fujimura) prays to the giant statue Majin to come to life and rescue her people. Director Kenji Misumi and screenwriter Tetsuro Yoshida deliver a simple and engrossing tale of wrongdoing and retribution which benefits from a steady pace, a vivid and convincing evocation of 17th century feudal Japan, an equally strong and credible depiction of a bleak, harsh and brutal world, uniformly fine acting from a capable cast, several exciting rough'n'ready swordfights, a full, rousing, dynamic score by Akira Ifukube, picturesque cinematography which makes neat occasional use of stately fades and dissolves, clearly drawn characters (the good guys are virtuous and engaging while the villains are extremely cruel and despicable), a grimly serious tone, nifty and impressive special effects, and, of course, a thrilling last reel ferocious mondo destructo rampage by the mighty Majin. Moreover, there's an interesting pronounced religious aspect to the narrative: Lady Sayuri gets tied to a stake and narrowly avoids being burned alive, the water of a lake parts as Majin rises forth to save the day (this particular image is truly striking), and the main heavy winds up being crucified on the sail of his boat. A really solid and satisfying Japanese fantasy feature.
wh-3 Not much different from the first film except that Majin now resides on the top of a mountain instead of the side. Great art direction, nature photography and overall excellent special effects elevated what is essentially the same story as the first film. Evil warlord enslaves and kills innocent townspeople and Majin rises up and kills all the samurai. The warlord even dies the same way as in the warlord in the first film. The middle of the film is beautifully photographed but really boring as the children travel over Majin's mountain to rescue their fathers from the warlord. Akira Ikufube's score is really good too but you can't help but notice it's almost an exact copy of his work for the Toho monster films at the same time.
Scott-42 Better in the first in that there is a fun adventure story included and the writers aren't afraid to make a few sacrifices along the way to give the story some extra weight. The Majin's vengeance is better thought out than it was in the first film, and He is much more of a hero to the villagers this time out.
freakus Basically this is the "Daimajin" plot done with a few subtle differences. There are some interesting Christian motifs here; parting of the Red Sea, crucifixion... that I wasn't expecting being that Majin is a "kami". Visually it is very satisfying. Misumi went on to direct the incredible "Kozure Okami" or "Lone Wolf with Cub" movies. Daimajin has some interesting parallels with "King Kong". It's always a woman who ultimately commands the Majin with her prayers and tears.