Daimajin (1966)

Director:

Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writer:

Tetsuro Yoshida (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy

Tagline:

Unbelievable. Unstoppable.

Plot:

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord. |

Plot Keywords:

Katana Sword | God | Crucifixion | Sword Fight | Prayer

Cast

Miwa Takada	...	Kozasa Hanabusa
Yoshihiko Aoyama	...	Tadafumi Hanabusa
Jun Fujimaki	...	Kogenta
Yutaro Gomi	...	Samanosuke
Tatsuo Endo	...	Gunjuro
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Riki Hashimoto	...	Majin
Hideki Ninomiya	...	Tadafumi as a boy

Directed by
Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tetsuro Yoshida		writer

Produced by
Masaichi Nagata	....	producer

Original Music by
Akira Ifukube

Cinematography by
Fujio Morita

Film Editing by
Hiroshi Yamada

Special Effects by
Yoshiyuki Kuroda	....	special effects director

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Daiei Studios (1968) (Japan) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Bernard Lewis (1968) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (1968) (USA) (TV) (dubbed) (syndication)
• Phoenix Film (1969) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• AD Vision Films, Monster Island Studios (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Loonic Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (199?) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Majin (USA)
Majin the Hideous Idol (USA) (promotional title)
Majin the Monster of Terror
Majin, Monster of Terror
Majin, the Stone Samurai
The Devil Got Angry (USA) (promotional title)
The Giant Majin (Canada: English title) (TV title)
The Vengeance of the Monster

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

All three "Daimajin" movies were made at the same time but released a year apart.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Daimajin ikaru (1966)

Suprisingly enchanting fantasy

With its rerelease by ADV Films, I've had a chance to watch "The Giant Majin" for the first time without the deep cuts and unkind words of a late night Horror Chiller Theaters. Guess what? It's a pretty damn good movie!

The sets are authentic, the acting in subdued and believable, and the giant Majin is stately, powerful, and unstopable. I loved the subtle fantasy touches (the enchanted wood, luck charm, etc), and the potrayal of the god as a little less than 'good'.

This movie is begging for a remake in the new century!