Last week, Kaiju United focused entirely on announcing the upcoming documentary on Godzilla director Ishiro Honda’s life and career. Throughout those details, mentions were made of several people that were interviewed for the documentary, ranging from people that worked for or with Mr. Honda, scholars that have extensively documented his life, and his own family & friends. This week, KU was provided with exclusive stills and set photos to document the sheer extensive cast that was interviewed for this documentary to share with our readers.
Please enjoy!
Family & Friends
Despite all of the star power in this documentary, the most important interviewees – at least in our opinion – are the ones that were closest to Honda-san’s inner circle. Director Belles and crew spoke with Ryuji Honda, son of Ishiro Honda, to perhaps get some insight into how his father was as a man and a filmmaker. Yuuko Honda-Yun, granddaughter of Ishiro Honda, was also interviewed for this film. Sadly, Ryuji’s mother and wife of Ishiro-san, Kimi Honda, passed away in 2018, leaving Ryuji and Yuuko as the best direct family for anyone wanting to learn more about Ishiro Honda’s life outside of filmmaking. To get more insight into the iconic director’s lifelong friendship with fellow director Akira Kurosawa, Daifilms also connected with Kurosawa-san’s son, Asao Kurosawa. Together, they reflect back on their two fathers and how their life and impact has shaped their family.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
The Film Industry
Many individuals from the film industry, admirers and collaborators alike, joined in on the discussion about Ishiro Honda. Perhaps the biggest and most well-known names include Joe Dante and Shinji Higuchi. Surprisingly, Dante has a long relationship with Godzilla. Beginning with his fandom and admiration for the giant monster (and Ishiro Honda’s work) as a monster kid, his story crosses over with one of the biggest “What if?” scenarios in the franchise. An interview with Steve Ryfle on SciFI Japan confirmed that he was eyed to direct a potential Godzilla film, titled Godzilla Reborn. It was to be an American-made sequel to Godzilla 2000 after its release, but just didn’t quite pan out. Dante remains a legend in the horror scene, helming films such as Gremlins and its 1990 sequel, Piranha, and The Howling.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
Shinji Higuchi is also a life-long admirer of Kaiju and Tokusatsu media. Beginning his career as a co-founder of Daicon Films alongside peer Hideaki Anno (Evangelion), Higuchi-san cemented his Tokusatsu resume with his freshman outing as Director of Special Effects for the charming low budget romp, Orochi Strikes Again. Continuing to work as a special effects director, his work can be seen within the 1990’s Gamera trilogy and 2001’s GMK. Higuchi has since transitioned into a Director role, leading films such as Attack on Titan parts 1 & 2, Shin Godzilla (co-directed with Hideaki Anno), and Shin Ultraman. As one of the forefront modern kaiju directors, Higuchi’s clear love for kaiju and the Golden Age of Kaiju is ever present in all of his work.
Tomo Haraguchi is a special effects modeler, writer, and director. Perhaps best known for working alongside Shinji Higuchi on the aforementioned Gamera trilogy, his directorial library includes Death Kappa, Mikadoroid, and select episodes throughout the Ultraman franchise. His career spans all the way back to 1978 with work on the Tsuburaya Productions series Space Wolf, beginning there as an assistant modeler. Haraguchi-san also appeared in Daifilms’ other documentary, The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga, discussing the origins of the Godzilla franchise.
Photo courtesy of Daiflms.
Linda Miller is well known to kaiju fans. If not, her appearance as Lieutenant Susan Watson in Ishiro Honda’s beloved 1967 film, King Kong Escapes, is a must-see. One of the few people that can attest to directly working on an Ishiro Honda production, Linda Miller’s insight is key to understanding how Honda-san operated as a director. Despite her career being short, she remains a key English-speaking representative of the Showa era of Kaiju films that regularly engages with fans in the community.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
Scholars & Academics
Hirofumi Higuchi is a film scholar, critic, and director. In Japan, he wrote the book Godzilla Kantoku Honda Ishiro to Satsueijo no Jidai, which roughly translates to Ishiro Honda and the Studio Era. A listing on Amazon Japan also lists the title as “Good Morning Godzilla: The Golden Age of Movie Studio and Director Honda Ishiro”. Higuchi-san’s expertise in the Japanese side of cinematic studies, especially pertaining to Ishiro Honda and Akira Kurosawa, are key in understanding the true history behind these two directors.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski are authors and academics. Best known for being Ishiro Honda’s biographers in the English-speaking world, their book Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa is essential reading for any kaiju fan needing to know the history behind Mr. Honda and his contributions to the Godzilla series and cinema as a whole. Steve is also the author of Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G, whilst Ed has been writing about Godzilla and Japanese cinema since at least 1979, with his work being featured in Fangoria and other outlets in that era. The two are frequent collaborators and are currently working on a new book – Godzilla: The First 70 Years (The Official Illustrated History, 1954-2024) to be published by Abrams Books.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
There are many other notable interviewees that will take part in this epic chronicle of one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time. They include Japanese film historian Stuart Galbraith IV, Kaiju Club member Shinsuke Nakajima, artist and passionate kaiju fan Yuji Kaida, authors Atsushi Kobayashi & Daniel Aguilar, and Aruji Kuroki, the former programmer of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. The curators of the Lucky Dragon Exhibition Hall, Tsuruoka Art Forum museum, Kyoto Studio Park, and the National Film Archive of Japan were also interviewed, but no names are available at this time.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
Photo courtesy of Daifilms.
These are just the currently available names that will be interviewed for Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director. The cast is legendary and extensive, truly showcasing the sheer amount of individuals and admirers that Honda’s immortal legacy has created. Please stay tuned for further updates on this epic documentary on Kaiju United!
