# Ishirō Honda **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740 "2011-03-15T02:54:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/1 "2011-03-15T02:54:36Z")
Nuclear disaster in Japan. Not a subject to joke about, but damned if it doesn’t put me in the mood to watch some Ishirō Honda films. I’ve got _Matango_ (aka _Attack Of The Mushroom People_) and _Godzilla: King Of The Monsters_ off the video shelf, and I’ve got [_The Godzilla Collection_](http://www.amazon.com/Godzilla-Collection-Yuriko-Hoshi/dp/B000VXWK86), which includes the original _Gojira_, on order. And _Destroy All Planets_ (directed by Noriaki Yuasa) too boot. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/2 "2011-03-15T03:51:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Nuclear disaster in Japan. Not a subject to joke about, but damned if it doesn’t put me in the mood to watch some Ishirō Honda films. I’ve got _Matango_ (aka _Attack Of The Mushroom People_) and _Godzilla: King Of The Monsters_ off the video shelf, and I’ve got [_The Godzilla Collection_](http://www.amazon.com/Godzilla-Collection-Yuriko-Hoshi/dp/B000VXWK86), which includes the original _Gojira_, on order. And _Destroy All Planets_ (directed by Noriaki Yuasa) too boot. It’s not joking about it if there’s a very real chance of a lizard or dolphin being irradiated and growing to the size of an average skyscraper. I say we should watch films like those to prepare. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/3 "2011-03-17T21:32:46Z")
_Destroy All Planets_ (directed by Noriaki Yuasa, not Honda) came in the mail today. IIRC, this is the one where Gamera flies off at the end and the kids are all shouting, ‘Goodbye, Gamera! Goodbye, Gamera!’ Roomie works Saturday night, so I expect her to be asleep all day. First up will be Honda’s _Attack Of The Mushroom People_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/4 "2011-03-19T20:49:33Z")
I’ve just watched _Matango_. It’s not especially fast-moving; but that’s be cause, unlike\* Kaiju\* movies like _Godzilla_, it’s more about the interactions of the characters. I bought the DVD in 2007, and IIRC it was ‘remastered’. From my childhood, watching it periodically on KTLA, I remember it as being rather dark and murky. The image quality is much better than that of _Destroy All Monsters_, which I watched earlier today and whose images were quite faded, but it was still ‘dark’. See, the island on which the party of yachters landed was shrouded in fog. But I have to say it’s a good restoration. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/5 "2011-03-19T22:16:18Z")
Sadly, I can’t find THE MYSTERIANS anywhere. We went on a Honda binge a few months ago, and the absence of the THE MYSTERIANS was disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/6 "2011-03-19T22:21:07Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Sadly, I can’t find THE MYSTERIANS anywhere. [Here](http://www.amazon.com/Mysterians-Kenji-Sahara/dp/B00068NWJW)? ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/7 "2011-03-19T22:25:38Z")
> [@digs](#): > > It’s not joking about it if there’s a very real chance of a lizard or dolphin being irradiated and growing to the size of an average skyscraper. I say we should watch films like those to prepare. Ironically, having Godzilla around right now might actually _help_…he absorbs nuclear energy to fuel himself. (Of course, then that means you have a stronger Godzilla hanging around. I didn’t say the plan didn’t have some—[admittedly regrettable, but nonetheless manageable](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgyjlqhiTV8#t=1m48s)—drawbacks!) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/8 "2011-03-26T18:24:15Z")
Just watched _The Mysterians_. On now: _Godzilla: King Of The Monsters_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ishiro-honda/574740/9 "2011-03-26T18:58:03Z")
Incidentally, Momoko Kōchi, who appeared in both of the above films, was a cutie.