Wrath of Daimajin (Daimajin ikaru, 1966)

Misumi Kenji

Japan

79 min, color, Japanese (English subtitles)

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The kami censured by UNESCO for destroying priceless historical buildings returns for the Viking funeral of an evil atheist (redundant?) Lord in medieval Japan. Essentially the same plot as the original DAIMAJIN, except this time the local deity is blown to smithereens but does not demand the sacrifice of a beautiful worshipper for every action (i.e. its services are less expensive). There's more off-screen action for Majin too, as he neatly wrecks boats and impales henchmen on rocks before coming to life as the giant statue to destroy a castle. With some Christian motifs, such as parting of a lake (well, he's no Yahweh, so he doesn't do bigger bodies of water, like seas), and the crucifixion (attempted) of his favorite woman. There's also some borrowing from other famous stories, most spectacularly, the Trojan Rice trick.

Pretty cool as far as giant monster films are concerned, WRATH OF DAIMAJIN is actually a decent period film as well. I am very fond of costume dramas, and this one has all the ingredients of a good one: sacrifice, loyalty, faith, revenge, and plenty of unwarranted good luck for the protagonists. The score is also suitably grandiose, and the letterboxed format does justice to the good cinematography. Although the colors are somewhat subdued (1966, after all), the stylish looks come through. Some decent special effects as well, so this film is nothing to sneeze at. Surely beats the Godzilla, and even Gamera, series. By the way, the alternative title for this film is THE RETURN OF THE GIANT MAJIN, which is somewhat confusing because there is another RETURN OF DAIMAJIN (which itself is also known as REVENGE OF DAIMAJIN). Go figure.

May 20, 2001. BLS