Episode 199: Ishiro Honda: The Artist Who Directed Godzilla

== Show Notes ==
: We discuss the films of Director Ishiro Honda, with a focus on GODZILLA (1954), FAREWELL RABAUL (1954) and his work with Akira Kurosawa.
== Films Discussed ==
* Directed by Ishirō Honda
** The Blue Pearl (1951)
** The Eagle of the Pacific (1953)
** Godzilla (1954)
** Farewell Rabaul (1954)
** Rodan (1956)
** The Mysterians (1957)
** Mothra (1961)
** King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
** Gorath (1962)
** Matango (1963)
** Atrigon (1963)
** Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
** Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
** War of the Gargantuas (1966)
** Latitude Zero (1969)
** Terror of Mecha-Godzilla (1975)
* Directed by Akira Kurosawa
** Stray Dog (1949)
** Throne of Blood (1957)
** Dodesukaden (1970)
** Dersu Uzala (1975)
** Kagemusha (1980) 
** Ran (1985)
** Dreams (1990)
** Rhapsody in August (1991)
** Madadayo (1993)
* King Kong Appears in Edo (1938) Dir. Sōya Kumagai
* Only Angels Have Wings (1939) Dir. Howard Hawks
* The Red Shoes (1948) Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
* Twelve O'Clock High (1949) Dir. Henry King
* Godzilla Raids Again (1955) Dir. Motoyoshi Oda
== Discussion Notes ==
* Our hosts discuss Godzilla's many dads
** Ishirō Honda (director)
** Tomoyuki Tanaka (producer)
** Eiji Tsuburaya (special effects)
** Akira Ifukube (music)
* Ishirō Honda: one of the most famous and most seen Japanese directors - with a nearly-entirely forgotten filmography
** A great director not given the opportunities he needed to make great films in his time
*** Ishirō Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski
* Themes in his filmography
** Disillusionment with war, based on his WWII experience
** Optimistic humanism, dreaming of a world coming together to solve problems peacefully
* Farewell Rabaul
** Platoon of WWII fighter pilots realizing they aren't going to win the war
*** Compare to Only Angels Have Wings and Twelve O'Clock High
** Portrays the anger at the lack of value the Japanese leadership had in their troops lives
* Godzilla 
** A grim tale of the push and pull of bodies of people wondering if their loved ones are alive
** Will - "this is what a society that has been bombed with nuclear weapons dreams after nine years"
** The '54 Godzilla - no personality, just an force of destruction moving forward
** The film asks - where do we go from here? What happens after we kill Godzilla?
* What would have happened if Honda had gotten away from Godzilla?
* Honda's late career team-up with Akira Kurosawa
** An odd couple - Honda's even-keel attitude balanced Kurosawa's fiery temper
*** Honda was brought on as assistant director/co-director under Kurosawa
** Honda's son suggested these Kurosawa partnerships were the happiest parts of his fathers career
* Dreams
** Honda worked as creative consultant
** Based on the supposed dreams of Kurosawa
*** Scorsese plays Vincent van Gogh in a scene!
** One sequence involving a dead soldiers is clearly based on the experiences of Honda
*** Returns to the concept of unwinnable wars introduced in Farewell Rabaul
* Justin on Honda's other sci-fi movies like The Mysterians - "It doesn't need to have Godzilla in all of them"
** Moments later - "I wish Godzilla would show up"
== Listener Letters ==
* No letters this week!
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
*Our hosts discuss the film doldrums of January
*Bad Bays 3 - more watchable than Bad Boys 2!
*Dolittle
**Will on the visual style - it's 'an assault of experiences'
**Robert Downey Jr. - doesn't he have enough money now? Will he ever?
* Richard Fleischer's Doctor Doolittle went up against Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night for Best Picture in 1967
**Pictures of the Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris - book
**Do people actually like the original? Or The Eddie Murphy ones?
*Our hosts discuss blockbusters destroyed in post-production
**John Carter
**Suicide Squad
**Justice League
**Rise of Skywalker
*Justin on the need for big-budget success and the accompanying doubts - "Oh my god my child is gonna run this marathon and I don't want anything to go wrong so let's chop his legs off!"
Category:Episodes
Category:Ishiro Honda
Category:Godzilla