The Sci-Fi Films of Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda's first science fiction film, which is widely considered his masterpiece. Honda's goal was not to create cinema's most famous monster and give rise to the kaiju sub-genre; his goal was to make a dark, somber film about the horror of nuclear warfare. From the very beginning, the monster Godzilla was intended as an allegory for the atomic bomb, and disturbing imagery of irradiated and dying civilians left in the wake of Godzilla's rampage through Tokyo deliberately calls to mind the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred less than a decade before the release of the film. Together with producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya and composer Akira Ifukube, Honda created one of the most iconic films of all time and in doing so established himself as Toho's top director of sci-fi features.

"Godzilla" was heavily re-edited and released in the US as "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" in 1956.

Literal Title: "Monster Snowman"

With interest in monster movies rising in Japan following the release of "Godzilla", Ishiro Honda was chosen to direct a second monster film the following year, while Motoyoshi Oda was given the Godzilla sequel "Godzilla Raids Again." By contrast to "Godzilla", Honda's second sci-fi feature was a lower budget affair which involves a group of college students stumbling upon a family of yeti-like creatures in the Japanese Alps. The film's depiction of the mountainous villagers was deemed bigoted, which has prevented it from ever seeing a proper release in Japan or the US. As a result, this is among Honda's more obscure films.

"Monster Snowman" was heavily re-edited and released in the US as "Half-Human" in 1957.

Shortly after "Godzilla" was released in the US, Ishiro Honda began work on his first colored sci-fi film. Like "Monster Snowman" the film begins in a remote setting, a mining village where a series of murders is discovered to have been perpetrated by giant prehistoric insects. However, these insects are mere fodder for a greater threat: the titular Rodan, a giant pterosaur who causes worldwide panic with a series of attacks on aircraft. "Rodan" is generally regarded as one of Honda's greatest films, and the director himself chose it as his favorite "kaiju" film. Rodan's popularity led to the flying monster appearing in several Godzilla films.

"Rodan" was released in the US as "Rodan the Flying Monster" in 1957.

Original Japanese Title: "Earth Defense Force"

After three films focusing on monsters, Ishiro Honda gravitated toward aliens, another film topic that had recently become popular internationally. In the film, Japan's countryside is besieged by the giant robot Moguera, who is revealed to be the creation of the titular aliens, who have invaded Earth in order to breed with its women. While the film's first act plays like a kaiju film, the majority of the film deals with the tensions between humanity and the Mysterians, which eventually boils over into an epic battle. "The Mysterians" is the first, and widely considered the best, of Honda's so-called "space trilogy" and its special effects work by Tsuburaya was excellent for the time.

"The Mysterians" was released in the US in 1959.

Original Japanese Title: "Beauty and the Liquid People"

After "The Mysterians", Ishiro Honda produced a smaller-scale monster movie that was as much a horror film as it was science fiction. The premise of the film involves the crew of a ship who is mutated by a nuclear test, transforming them into amorphous monsters who terrorize the streets of Tokyo by night. Like the opening sequence of "Godzilla", the origins of the liquid people is a clear reference to the Lucky Dragon incident, in which a Japanese fishing crew were irradiated by the Castle Bravo atomic bomb test.

"H-Man" was released in the US in 1959.

Original Japanese Title: "Great Monster Varan"

Initially intended as a TV production to be aired in the US, "Varan" was eventually re-worked as a feature-length film for Japanese audiences. Notably, this was Ishiro Honda's last black and white sci-fi film, as a result of the film's made-for-TV roots. The plot involves the discovery of Varan, a giant prehistoric reptile, in a remote region of Japan. Japan's Self Defense Force attempts to destroy Varan, which backfires when the kaiju responds by attacking Haneda Airport. "Varan" is often regarded as one of Honda's lesser films, though most flaws can be blamed upon its unusual production.

"Varan the Unbelievable" was heavily re-edited and released in the US in 1962.