89% (2)  Throne of Blood  110 min,  Not Rated,  [Drama]  [Akira Kurosawa]  [22 Nov 1961]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 81%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 98%,   External Reviews
Awards:  3 wins & 1 nomination.
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Isuzu Yamada, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune
Writer:  Hideo Oguni (screenplay), Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay), Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay), Akira Kurosawa (screenplay)
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  After securing a major victory on the battlefield, Taketoti Washizu and one of his commanders, Yoshiaki Miki, find themselves lost in the maze-like Spider's Web forest. They come across a spirit-like seer who tells them of their future: both have been promoted because of their victory that day; Washizu will someday be the Great Lord of the Spider's Web castle while Miki's son will someday rule as Great Lord as well. When they arrive at the castle, they learn that the first part of the prophecy is correct. Washizu has no desire to become Great Lord but his ambitious wife urges him to reconsider. When the current Great Lord makes a surprise visit to his garrison outpost, Washizu is again promoted to commander of his vanguard but his wife reminds him of the danger that comes with the position. As pressure mounts, Wahizu takes action leading to its inevitable conclusion.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This moody and violent drama is the Japanese version of Shakespeare's "Macbeth." Even translated into the Japanese language, the timeless story of political intrigue, murder, greed and revenge remains a classic.
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68% (2)  Destroy All Monsters  88 min,  G,  [Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller]  [Ishirô Honda]  [23 May 1969]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 66%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 71%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yukiko Kobayashi
Writer:  Ishirô Honda, Takeshi Kimura
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  Aliens have released all the giant monsters from their imprisonment on Monster Land and are using them to destroy all major cities on the planet. It is up to the daring crew of the super rocket ship X-2 to infiltrate the aliens' headquarters before the Earth monsters and King Ghidrah annihilate the planet.
Rotten Tomatoes:   From a lunar base of operations, the female Kilaakas lead by their Queen (Kyoko Ai) attach electronic collars to the monsters gathered on Ogaswara Island on the planet Earth. The frenzied females wish to take over the world and unleash Godzilla on New York, Rodan on Moscow, and Mothra on Peking. The terrible trio are joined by Baragon, Anzilla, Wendra, Varan and Spigas in their romp to ruin the major cities of the world. After the monsters have wrought their terrible destruction, things are brought under control by the humans. The invaders send Ghidrah in an attempt to rule the world. The monsters congregate at Mount Fugi for an all-star spectacular bout of memorable monster mayhem in this classic science fiction spectacular.
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57% (2)  Son of Godzilla  84 min,  PG,  [Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi]  [Jun Fukuda]  [16 Dec 1967]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 52%,   Rotten Tomatoes: 63%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Akihiko Hirata, Akira Kubo, Beverly Maeda, Tadao Takashima
Writer:  Shin'ichi Sekizawa, Kazue Shiba
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  A group of scientists are on tropical Solgel Island in the Pacific to conduct weather control experiments. Just before they begin, they find giant preying mantises measuring 25 feet tall called Kamakaras. They decide to go ahead with the experiments, but a malfunction in one of the devices and as a result a radioactive storm that pushes the temperature up to two hundred degrees. The storm also causes the mantises to grow even bigger to 100 feet tall. The mantises then make their way to a huge mound where they uncover a giant egg which contains a young Godzilla, later named Minilla. Eventually, Godzilla shows up and saves his offspring. The rest of the movie features Godzilla taking care of and teaching his young son the skills that will eventually help him to become the new "King of Monsters" as well as fighting the Kamakaras and a giant spider named Kumoga.
Rotten Tomatoes:   The Japanese gargantuan reptile fathers a son who is a chip off the old eggshell. The men of the family take on oversized mantises and arachnids in this exotic sci-fi adventure. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
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66% (1)  Matango  89 min,  Unrated,  [Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller]  [Ishirô Honda]  [11 Aug 1963]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 66%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, Kumi Mizuno
Writer:  Takeshi Kimura (screenplay), Shin'ichi Hoshi (adaptation), Masami Fukushima (adaptation), William Hope Hodgson (story "The Voice in the Night")
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  A group of pleasure-seeking young people are stranded on a mysterious island when their boat crashes. One by one they succumb to the lure of the deadly mushrooms.
Rotten Tomatoes:   This twisted, surreal monster story is related in flashback by an asylum inmate, who tells of his horrific experiences as one of several castaways on a mist-shrouded tropical island. While the crew affect repairs to their yacht, the stranded passengers take refuge in a derelict ship overgrown with a strange variety of mushroom -- which seems to be the only available source of food on the island. When their own rations are depleted, they begin to develop an eerie, uncontrollable craving for the mushrooms, and for a time only the narrator and his girlfriend manage to resist the urge to chow down as well. As expected, everyone who partakes of the fungus begins to transform into a giant, lumbering mushroom-monster, and eventually even the two holdouts find themselves tucking in to the tempting toadstools. Naturally, the narrator's tale is pooh-poohed as the ravings of a madman, until he suddenly begins to develop a severe complexion problem... This is something of a wacky diversion for the Godzilla gang (director Inoshiro Honda, monster-maker Eiji Tsuburaya and others), and is available under a wide assortment of titles, including Matango, Curse of the Mushroom People, and Fungus of Terror. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
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64% (1)  Godzilla vs. Monster Zero  93 min,  G,  [Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi]  [Ishirô Honda]  [29 Jul 1970]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 64%,   External Reviews
Awards:  1 nomination.
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Akira Takarada, Jun Tazaki, Nick Adams
Writer:  Shin'ichi Sekizawa
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese, English    Country:  Japan, USA
Plot:  Aliens from the mysterious Planet X, which resides on the dark side of of Jupiter, come to Earth asking its people to help them save their world from the dreaded King Ghidrah by letting them "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan. The aliens are actually planning to use the three monsters to take over our planet.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Also known under the title Monster Zero, Godzilla and Rodan travel to Planet X to help an alien race defeat the three-headed Monster Zero (also known as Ghidrah) that threatens their home. However, the inhabitants of Planet X may not be as honest and as helpless as they let on.
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60% (1)  Gorath  83 min,  [Action, Family, Sci-Fi]  [Ishirô Honda]  [15 May 1964]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 60%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Ryô Ikebe, Yumi Shirakawa
Writer:  Takeshi Kimura (screenplay), Jôjirô Okami (story), John Meredyth Lucas (dubbed version)
External Links:  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese, English    Country:  Japan
Plot:  Japanese disaster film about a giant meteor on a collision course with the Earth. The dubbed American version of this film is missing a giant walrus which appeared briefly in the Japanese version.
Rotten Tomatoes:   Japanese disaster film about a giant meteor on a collision course with the Earth. The dubbed American version of this film is missing a giant walrus which appeared briefly in the Japanese version.
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54% (1)  Space Amoeba  84 min,  G,  [Adventure, Sci-Fi]  [Ishirô Honda]  [01 Aug 1970]
Ratings & Reviews:  IMDb Reviews: 54%,   External Reviews
Actors:  Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi, Kenji Sahara, Yukiko Kobayashi
Writer:  Ei Ogawa
External Links:  Wikipedia  Rotten Tomatoes  IMDb     Language:  Japanese    Country:  Japan
Plot:  A space probe is infiltrated by alien beings and then crashes on a remote Pacific atoll. A group planning to build a resort hotel land on the island and discover it to be inhabited by giant...
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