Week 3 of THEME MONTH is JAPANESE MONSTER FILMS - Daily Reviews and Film Postings

 
 
Although I tend to refrain from making any reviews or features at all personal, for a change, I would like to say that the Japanese monster film genre is one close to my heart.  It is a genre that would change the image of a nation and capture the imaginations of millions of children around the world, including myself.
 

  The first and most well known of the Japanese giant monster films would be 1953's Godzilla.  This film spawned a myriad of sequels that are still being made in the present day.  The character would become an icon of Japan whose likeness would be turned into everything from stuffed animals to candy!  After the success of Godzilla, many more Kaiju (translated literally as strange beast) films were made.  Another highly successful monster would be Gamera, a giant turtle who could retract his appendages and fly while spinning in a circle.  Originally created by a rival film company to compete with Godzilla, Gamera became a popular series spawning an entire line of related films.  Some other examples of popular monsters from kaiju films would be Rodan and Mothra.  With the success Kaiju films, the genre expanded into Yokai films (which were focused on spirit or demon like creatures) and Kaijin films

(which were focused on super villain type characters).  Due to the success of the Japanese monster films, other countries, such as South Korea, would attempt to copy the genre and cash in by marketing them as Kaiju films.

    Though over time Japan's film industry would shift more towards animated films (anime), which now accounts for 60 percent of Japanese films, Japanese giant monster films are still being produced as both Godzilla and Gamera have seen releases after the millennium.  Take some time and enjoy some of these delightful films that capture the imaginations of children and adults from all over the world.

written by RJA for openfilmden.com and openflimden.blogspot.com