Matango (1963)
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Duration: 89 minuten
Alternative titles: Matango: Fungus of Terror / Attack of the Mushroom People / Curse of the Mushroom People / マタンゴ
Country:
Japan
Directed by: Ishirô Honda
Stars: Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno and Hiroshi Koizumi
IMDb score:
6,4 (3.991)
Releasedate: 11 August 1963
Matango plot
A group of young people runs aground with their ship on an uninhabited island. At first they think they are all alone, but then they hear strange music. One of the boys investigates and is attacked by a creature that appears to be made entirely of moss.
Actors and actresses
Naoyuki Sakuta - Skipper
Mami Sekiguchi - Singer
Senzô Koyama - Sailor
Masafumi Kasai - Owner
Kenji Murai - Professor
Etsurô Yoshida - Writer
Akiko Sôma - Student
Doctor (as Jirô Kumagai) (uncredited)
Doctor (uncredited)
Doctor (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
ToNe
-
- 2865 messages
- 2336 votes
I was surprised by this movie.
At first glance it looks like a 'cheesy' Toho film and this is especially evident in the acting of some of the actors and the props used [giant mushrooms!].
The film ends with a 'shocking' and theatrical [but beautifully executed] denouement that allows you to view the entire film in a different context.
Besides the 'drug references' I noticed a lot of social criticism in the story and the most intense is the 'reward' the narrator [and sole survivor] receives after he
"obvious" choice when it comes to 'happiness'.
Back in the 'civilized' world, his minor mutation lands him in a madhouse, while he could have lived in the wild as a 'matango' with the woman he loved.
A nice, dark and pessimistic film from the director of Godzilla with some familiar faces from the Toho stable.
Rickichi, the farmer from Seven Samurai, for example, plays a businessman with a trendy scarf [hehe]
A number of creepy, almost claustrophobic scenes keep the tension high. Of course, it's not because of the monsters.
Please check the original Japanese version.
The American dub blows the story and context out of proportion...
Translated from Dutch · View original
Onderhond
-
- 87698 messages
- 13080 votes
Nice.
There's little camp in this Honda film. That's quite surprising, because if you're going to watch a Honda with mushroom monsters, your expectations are somewhat different. It's also both a curse and a blessing, because the film is occasionally overly serious, while the premise itself (with its classic rubber effects) is hard to take seriously.
The upside is that the craziness doesn't really come for long, allowing Honda to build up slowly without the cheesiness. It works quite well, though it was a bit too slow at times. It also makes the film a bit ordinary, where I might have hoped for a bit more weirdness.
But ultimately, I had a pretty good time with this, and Honda does show a different side of itself here. That of a skilled filmmaker who can also keep things a bit more serious. Not entirely, because it goes a bit off track towards the end, but that doesn't spoil the fun. A great video and one of the better Hondas.
3.0*
Translated from Dutch · View originalLatest News
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