#wakayama setsuko

[theashenphoenix]

三船敏郎 • 若山セツ子 // MIFUNE TOSHIRO • WAKAYAMA SETSUKO 銀嶺の果て // Snow Trail (1947)

[grusinskayas]

Yōko Sugi, Setsuko Hara and Setsuko Wakayama for The Blue Mountains (1949) dir. Tadashi Imai

[eclecticpjf]

Movie 2 of Kaiju Summer is Godzilla Raids Again.

[thekimonogallery]

Japanese actresses,1951.  From the left, Setsuko Wakayama, Miko Kuga, Chikage Awashima, Rieko Kakunari, Setsuko Hara, and Yoko Sugi.

[ozu-teapot]

Godzilla Raids Again | Motoyoshi Oda / Ishirô Honda | 1955

Setsuko Wakayama

[tcmparty]

@tcmparty live tweet schedule for the week beginning Monday, September 30, 2019. Look for us on Twitter…watch and tweet along…remember to add #TCMParty to your tweets so everyone can find them :) All times are Eastern.

Friday, October 04 – Monster of the Month! Hosted by @DraconicVerses

8:00 p.m. – GOJIRA (1954) American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.

9:30 p.m. – GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! (1956) Nuclear tests awaken a prehistoric monster.

11:00 p.m. – GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955) Nuclear tests awaken two prehistoric monsters whose battles threaten to level Japan.

12:30 a.m. – MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (1964) An unscrupulous land developer drives both Mothra and Godzilla to attack Tokyo.

[everyfilmisaw]

ゴジラの逆襲 (Godzilla Raids Again) by Motoyoshi Oda, 1955

[quasar1967]

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla Raids Again (Japanese: ゴジラの逆襲, Hepburn: Gojira no Gyakushū, lit. 'Godzilla's Counterattack') is a 1955 Japanese kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it is the second film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla and Katsumi Tezuka as Anguirus. In the film, Japan struggles to survive Godzilla's return, as well as its destructive battle against its ancient foe Anguirus.

Executive producer Iwao Mori instructed producer Tomoyuki Tanaka to immediately commence production on a second Godzilla film, fearing to lose the momentum of the first film's success. Oda was chosen to direct the film as Ishirō Honda was busy directing Lovetide.

Godzilla Raids Again was released theatrically in Japan on April 24, 1955. A re-edited, English dubbed version was released theatrically in the United States on June 2, 1959, by Warner Bros. Pictures, under the title Gigantis, the Fire Monster.

The film was followed by King Kong vs. Godzilla, released on August 11, 1962.

[almasexya]

Monster Monday: Godzilla Returns... as fast as he can!

 If there’s one thing that always colors discussions of 1955′s Godzilla Raids Again, it’s speed. Released a blistering 6 months after the original Godzilla, the sequel was a clear hope to capture that lightning in a bottle a second time. While very much overshadowed by its superior predecessor and the unabashed wackiness of the subsequent King Kong vs. Godzilla, Raids Again is hardly a failure either. For a special effects feature produced as quickly as it was, it’s a wonder the film turned out the way it did, and while it’s hardly a classic, Raids Again is very much worth seeing, if only as an example of where the tried and true Godzilla formula began.

This is my second go-round with this film, once again courtesy of the Criterion box set, and while I haven’t gotten a chance to compare it to my old Classic Media DVD, at the very least the increased resolution helps add detail and clarity to a 60-year-old movie.

Godzilla Raids Again represents a paradigm shift for the series, though it’s hard to say if the filmmakers knew that at the time. The original team, aside from effect director Eiji Tsuburaya, is nowhere to be found, and the film absolutely suffers for it. Director Motoyoshi Oda does a serviceable job here, a couple of horrendous aerial shots of a lifeless Godzilla prop aside. His most signature moments ape scenes from the original (shots of Osaka burning evoke the images of Tokyo’s destruction, but lack the gravity and emotion of the previous film). The same can’t be said for Masaru Sato’s music, which is largely underwhelming when it shows up at all, lending the film one of the most barren soundscapes of the series. However, what truly stands out is the cementing of the Godzilla formula - a basic plot throwing together stock human characters who, for one reason or another stumble into a monster smackdown and then, through a series of contrived coincidences, get dragged into the thick of it. While the explanation might sound condescending, we’re not into that territory yet; the story here is entirely fine, if not a bit underwhelming only because the tight, dreadful plotting of the original looms so high above it.

The human story, such as it is, involves a pair of pilots working for a fishing company, Tsukioka (Hiroshi Koizumi) and Kobayashi (Minoru Chiaki), who spend their days spotting schools of tuna and transmitting their locations back to HQ, where the boss’ daughter Hidemi (Setsuko Wakayama) informs the ship captains and trades flirtatious remarks with Tsukioka. Wispy as it is, not even 10 minutes in Kobayashi has crash-landed on an island, prompting the duo to stumble into Godzilla, who is currently in the middle of what appears to be a grudge match with an airhorn, if the sound design is anything to go by.

But an airhorn it is not - quick shots of Godzilla scrabbling around at something reveal the other precedent set by the film: Godzilla no longer is no longer the only daikaiju in the neighborhood. Godzilla Raids Again marks the introduction of Anguirus, the title holder for Kaiju with Most Romanizations, but as far as I’m aware Anguirus is the official one, so we’re sticking with that. After the two monsters fall into the sea, the two pilots are off to Osaka to let the government know that Godzilla is back, and he’s brought a friend.

In a rare show of series continuity, Dr. Yamane (Takashi Shimura) from the original film is brought back as a consultant in the inevitable scene where the military discusses how to deal with Godzilla and learn what they can about his new opponent. Yamane, along with a zoologist, win some scientific credibility by stating that Godzilla and Anguirus are likely anywhere from from 70-150 million years old, (the original clocks the Big G at a spritely 2 million) then immediately throw it away by explaining that Anguirus’ brain extends into his back and torso, which explains why he’s so nimble and quick. Go figure.

Eventually the two Kaiju end up in Osaka, after attempts to drive Godzilla away with flares fail (Yamane’s role, aside from expert witness, is to explain the plot of the original to anyone in the audience who hadn’t seen it yet). The Godzilla suit is far more form-fitting this time around, and suit actor Harou Nakajima gives it all he’s got, tumbling and clawing at his opponent with remarkable ferocity. Anguirus looks good for the time as well, and the effects team wisely created a visually distinct monster, a spiked, vicious quadraped that’s a stark contrast to the imposing Godzilla. The hand puppets used for close up shots are still rather dreadful, looking nothing like the suits they’re meant to represent, but luckily they don’t stick around far into the series.

The sped up scenes of monster combat (apparently due to a film speed error that Tsuburaya ended up approving of) are unique to the film, a far cry from the personified monster battles that are yet to come. Godzilla and Anguirus brutally claw at each other like wild animals, and scenes of Godzilla biting Anguirus in the neck, drawing blood in the process, might as well be from a different series all together. However, they very much work in the context of the movie, as at this point Godzilla lacked any real personality - he was still very much in his metaphorical stage, and metaphors don’t mug for the camera and pull off wrestling moves. Why the monsters are fighting, or how Anguirus is also so enormous, matter not a bit to the plot, which makes the correct assumption that there’s no other reason for big rubber monsters to exist than to beat the snot out of each other.

If the film has any real marks against it, it’s that it drags in the second half. After the destruction of their Osaka facilities, our protagonists move north to Hokkaido, where they invariably get roped into the hunt for Godzilla, who went out to sea after besting Anguirus in a battle that feels more like the climax of the movie than anything that comes after. What follows is a slog through Kobayashi’s love life, which signals his impending death by atomic breath in the finale to anyone watching. Tsukioka, through connections with the military, does manage to avenge his friend by burying Godzilla under an avalanche of ice in a fairly unique battle sequence that almost overstays its welcome, especially when the team aborts in the middle of the battle to talk strategy in a move that throws the tension right out the window.

All that said, Raids Again does manage to capture some of the original’s dread - deprived of the Oxygen Destroyer that killed the original Godzilla, the humans lack a clear method to deter the beast, and are all the more terrified for it. The destruction of Tokyo looms large over this film, and its scenes of citizens hurriedly evacuating are some of its very best. For a film made in a short amount of time, Godzilla Raids Again does exactly what it needs to, and while it may not be the most terribly memorable of Godzilla’s early outings, it was an important one for the series as a whole.

[clemsfilmdiary]

The Best of December 2020

Best Discovery: Margaret

           Close Second: Women Are Born Twice

           Runners Up: All That Heaven Allows, The Debussy Film, Imitation of Life, Late Autumn, Nijinsky, The Rainbow, Sound of the Mountain, The Trap

Best Rewatch (tied): The Birds, North by Northwest

           Runners Up: Black Swan, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Perfect Blue, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, An Unmarried Woman

Most Enjoyable Fluff: Christmas Getaway

           Runners Up: Chateau Christmas, The Christmas Edition, Dear Christmas, Feliz NaviDAD, A Hazard of Hearts, Instant Death, The Mistletoe Secret, The Money Pit, A Nashville Christmas Carol, Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater, The Road Home for Christmas, Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen, Winter in Vail

Oddity of the Month: Blue Blood

          Runner Up: Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound

Best Male Performance: Oliver Reed in The Trap

           Runners Up: Cary Grant in North by Northwest, Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in I Live in Fear, Rod Taylor The Birds, Tomisaburo Wakayama in My Son! My Son!, Sō Yamamura in Sound of the Mountain

Best Female Performance: Anna Paquin in Margaret

           Runners Up: Jill Clayburgh in An Unmarried Woman, Sammi Davis in The Rainbow, Setsuko Hara in Sound of the Mountain, Tippi Hedren in The Birds, Natalie Portman in Black Swan, Hideko Takamine in Untamed Woman, Ayako Wakao in Women Are Born Twice, Jane Wyman in All That Heaven Allows

Best Supporting Performance or Cameo: Frankie Sakai in Women Are Born Twice

          Runners Up: Alan Bates in An Unmarried Woman, Jeannie Berlin, Jean Reno and J. Smith-Cameron in Margaret, Barbara Hershey in Black Swan, Mariko Okada in Late Autumn, Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest, Maggie Smith in Quartet

Most Enjoyable Ham: Lou Ferrigno in Instant Death

           Runners Up: Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell in Green Card, Tom Hanks in The Money Pit, Carly Hughes in The Christmas Edition, Mario Lopez and AnnaLynne McCord in Feliz NaviDAD, Rob Mayes in The Road Home for Christmas, Niall Matter and Ashley Williams in Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater, Oliver Reed in Blue Blood, Diana Rigg in A Hazard of Hearts

Best Mise-en-scène: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

           Runners Up: All That Heaven Allows, The Birds, Black Swan, The Debussy Film, Gaslight, Imitation of Life, North by Northwest, Perfect Blue, Robinson Crusoe on Mars

Best Locations: The Birds

           Runners Up: The Name of the Rose, Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound, The Shuttered Room, The Trap, Young Adam

Best Score: North by Northwest (Bernard Herrmann)

           Runners Up: All That Heaven Allows (Frank Skinner), Perfect Blue (Masahiro Ikumi), Robinson Crusoe on Mars (Van Cleave), Women Are Born Twice (Sei Ikeno)

Best Hunk: Rob Mayes in The Christmas Edition and The Road Home for Christmas

          Runners Up: Lou Ferrigno in Instant Death, Tyler Hynes in The Mistletoe Secret and Winter in Vail, Luke Macfarlane in Chateau Christmas, A Shoe Addict's Christmas and Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen, Niall Matter in Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater, Peter Mullan in Young Adam, Oliver Reed in The Debussy Film, Revolver and The Trap, Rod Taylor in The Birds, Travis Van Winkle in Christmas Getaway, Jack Willis in Love Hurts

Assorted Pleasures:

- Judy Garland's touching rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in Meet Me in St. Louis

- Modernist set designs by Léon Bakst, Alexandre Benoit and Pablo Picasso in Ballets Russes

- Rocky Martian landscapes in Robinson Crusoe on Mars

- Brontë's cozy urban greenhouse in Green Card

- Crystalline textures of fungi, petrified trees and Ohmu shell in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

[byneddiedingo]

Snow Trail was Toshiro Mifune's first film, and he goes headlong into his handsome, brooding mode, playing Eijima, a tough, ruthless bank robber on the run in the Japanese Alps. Akira Kurosawa wrote the screenplay and had a strong hand in working with director Senkichi Taniguchi. Though Mifune gets top billing and has probably the showiest role, the best performance in the film comes, as it often did, from Takashi Shimura as Nojiro. They have joined with a third robber, Takasugi (Yoshio Kusugi), in their flight into the mountains, which hasn't gone unnoticed by the police. After a brief stay at a popular spa, the trio head deeper into the snowy wilderness, where their plight becomes more desperate after Takasugi is killed by an avalanche. But they come across a small lodge run by an elderly man (Kokuten Kodo) and his granddaughter, Haruko (Setsuko Wakayama) for the benefit of mountain climbers. Only one climber, Honda (Akitake Kono), is currently staying there. It's the perfect hideout: The only contact with the outside world is by carrier pigeon (which Eijima swiftly kills). But when the barking of dogs alerts the robbers that their pursuers are drawing nearer, they decide to move on with the aid of Honda, the experienced climber, whom Eijima forces to be their guide by threatening to kill Haruko. Nojiro is beginning to have regrets, but he goes along with the plan until calamity puts the climbers in peril. It's a solid action drama, with some fine cinematography in the mountain wilderness. It gets a little sentimental in the scenes with Haruko and her grandfather -- there's a heavy-handed use of a record of, no kidding, "My Old Kentucky Home" -- but good performances keep it going. 

三船敏郎 // MIFUNE TOSHIRO 銀嶺の果て // Snow Trail (1947)

[oncesambennett]

Original Godzilla:

Godzilla Raids Again is a 1955 Japanese kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the second film in the Godzilla franchise.

The film stars Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla and Katsumi Tezuka as Anguirus. In the film, Japan struggles to survive Godzilla's return, as well as its destructive battle against its ancient foe Anguirus.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_Raids_Again

[taishou-kun]

Katsuragi Youko 桂木洋子 (1930-2007) & Wakayama Setsuko 若山セツ子 (1929-1985) - 1951

Kinema no bijo ― nijusseiki nosutarujia ”キネマの美女―二十世紀ノスタルジア” (Movie's beauties - twentieth century nostalgia) cover book - 1999

[ozu-teapot]

Godzilla Raids Again | Motoyoshi Oda / Ishirô Honda | 1955

Minoru Chiaki, Setsuko Wakayama

[thekimonogallery]

"Blue Mountains" Setsuko Wakayama

[taishou-kun]

Wakayama Setsuko 若山セツ子 (1929-1985) & Katsuragi Youko 桂木洋子 (1930-2007) in Heibon 平凡 magazine - November 1951