Janne the Director’s Favorite Rare Movies Top 100 List #79: Matango (1963)
79. Matango (1963)
I said it before. There will be a lot of weird psychedelic movies from Japan on this list. Basically because I want to pay tribute to all the Japanese people buried, burned and cancer-stricken these last couple of weeks. I think of you while watching.
And thinking about that while watching Matango is almost inevitable.
Director Ishirô Honda made a lot of movies about a Japan after the bomb (you know… THE bomb) and he drew from his own experiences from World War II. He is mostly known for Godzilla that was a creation to “make radiation visible”, a monster born from radiation that leaves cities in ruins.
And if Godzilla was about the bomb, Matango is about the aftermath. There is no coincidence that the makeup design had similarities how a lot of survivors looked like after the bombing of Hiroshima.
Tip: if you are rewatching Lost I recommend that you watch Matango instead of the final episode. It doesn’t make any more sense, but when it comes to the “being lost on an island”-genre Matango has got the best ending.
PREVIOUS ON THE LIST: #80: Irma Vep (1996)
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