Basically this is the "Daimajin" plot done with a few subtle differences. There are some interesting Christian motifs here; parting of the Red Sea, crucifixion... that I wasn't expecting being that Majin is a "kami". Visually it is very satisfying. Misumi went on to direct the incredible "Kozure Okami" or "Lone Wolf with Cub" movies. Daimajin has some interesting parallels with "King Kong". It's always a woman who ultimately commands the Majin with her prayers and tears.
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ebiros228 April 2011This is the second installment of the Daimajin trilogy although the three stories are not connected.
Daimajin is a talismanic 50 ft stone statue embodied with the spirit of local god. It normally sits idle with a peaceful face, but when the people are oppressed, it wakes up and changes to fierce expression to protect the innocent.
The settings is in samurai era Japan. Country of Chigusa is invaded by the neighboring warlord of Mikoshiba. What the warlord of Mikoshiba doesn't know is that Chigusa is protected by Daimajin. He wreaks havoc on the people of Chigusa until - you guessed it - he pisses off the Daimajin !
Even seen as samurai movie, this movie has one of the best cinematography showing Daiei's experience in making samurai movies. Special effects are one of the best for '60s Japanese movie as well. Kojiro Hongo who was the star of '60s and '90s Gamera series also stars in this movie. Supporting casts are good too, and they deliver superb performance.
The movie is an interesting mixture of samurai and giant monster movie, but it works.
The recent TV mini-series "Daimajin Kanon" is a direct homage to this series and features the Daimajin in modern settings. -
OllieSuave-00721 May 2016Daiei Studios' Return of Daimajin is the first sequel to the movie featuring the giant stone god. In this plot, villagers defy an evil warlord's order to turn over one of their protectors, Lord Juro (Kôjirô Hongô), and end up seeing their people being brutally attacked by the warlord and his soldiers. As a result, the villagers pray upon Daimajin, the great stone god, to fight for them.
The plot, I thought, was not as suspenseful and solid as the original movie, as it has more of a general "turn over your hero to us or we'll screw your village over" story line. But, there is plenty of sword-wielding and good guy vs. bad guy action to keep the film engaging, and the nastiness of the villains will make you want to root for the god to awaken and teach them a lesson they'll never forget - showing them that they shouldn't mess with the faithful.
The acting was pretty good, cinematography was brilliant and special effects were neat. Also, you really can't go wrong having the great Akira Ifukube score the music soundtrack to this film, though, much of the music is reused or reworked from the scores of past Toho films.
Overall, it's a rather entertaining feature that fans of Japanese sci-fi/fantasy films could enjoy.
Grade B- -
Not much different from the first film except that Majin now resides on the top of a mountain instead of the side. Great art direction, nature photography and overall excellent special effects elevated what is essentially the same story as the first film. Evil warlord enslaves and kills innocent townspeople and Majin rises up and kills all the samurai. The warlord even dies the same way as in the warlord in the first film. The middle of the film is beautifully photographed but really boring as the children travel over Majin's mountain to rescue their fathers from the warlord. Akira Ikufube's score is really good too but you can't help but notice it's almost an exact copy of his work for the Toho monster films at the same time.
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kevinolzak27 December 2013"Return of Giant Majin" (pronounced 'Mah-jeen') was a sequel to "Majin, the Monster of Terror," both TV staples from decades past, followed by a third that wouldn't see release in the US for nearly 40 years (all three completed in 1966). The plots are very similar, and the God Majin doesn't walk until an hour into each feature, but the spectacle of his presence beats Godzilla all to hell. This Japanese version of The Golem, who aided the Jews against their oppressors, was a creation of Daiei Studios, but produced far fewer films than their best known monster, Gamera. Despite his rubbery appearance, Majin truly lives up to his majesty, and the villains are so evil and despicable that one cannot help but cheer their defeat. Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater aired each film only once: "Majin, the Monster of Terror" on Aug 16 1969 (followed by 1957's "The Disembodied"), "Return of Giant Majin" on May 11 1974 (following 1965's "The Navy vs. the Night Monsters").
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kosmasp20 June 2022The Daimajin trilogy is quite an odd one. The main ... well I'll call him character (no pun intended Mr. God) is quite stiff through most of the movie. Again sorry for the pun, but it is true you see. And this is true for all three movies, that are not sequels to each other but just a bit of slightly different variations of each other.
All released in one year and been done with. Quite curious to say the least. This one seems to or at least feels like it is as good as the first one (or bad if you didn't like it). That being said, the action sequences and stunts work for the time they were made. The effects were good as they were in the first one. Still this also has pacing issues - if you are not that patient and all that.
The end justifies the mean(s)? Or just another pun - you'll be the judge (Daimajin will be the executioner) -
Return of Daimajin (1966) is a Japanese gem I recently watched on a random streaming service. The storyline follows a small town that is getting conquered by an evil dictators army. A young lady escapes and flees to a sacred temple and prays to their god to come save them. When the young lady is captured and made an example of the village god returns one last time to save the village.
This movie is directed by Kenji Misumi (Shogun Assassin) and stars Kôjirô Hongô (Satan's Sword), Shiho Fujimura (Zatoichi's Cane Sword), Tarô Marui (Fangs of Vengeance), Takashi Kanda (The Devil's Ballad) and Kôji Fujiyama (Bullet Train).
These are all a nice mix of samurai genre and monster movie, even if the monster doesn't appear until there's about 25 minutes left in the movie. The action scenes are very well choreographed and take place in some fun settings. I always love a good samurai sword fight scene. The effects on the monster is essentially a costume, mask and makeup but it works. The attack on the village at the end is good as is the final scene to conclude the series.
Overall this series is fairly consistent and worth watching for horror fans who enjoy samurai movies. I would score this a 6/10 and recommend giving it a try. -
Woodyanders12 March 2009An evil warlord takes over a peaceful small village and enslaves the residents of said community. The noble Lord Juro (nicely played by Kojiro Hongo) tries to oppose the warlord to no avail. So the feisty Lady Sayuri (a sound and affecting performance by the lovely Shiho Fujimura) prays to the giant statue Majin to come to life and rescue her people. Director Kenji Misumi and screenwriter Tetsuro Yoshida deliver a simple and engrossing tale of wrongdoing and retribution which benefits from a steady pace, a vivid and convincing evocation of 17th century feudal Japan, an equally strong and credible depiction of a bleak, harsh and brutal world, uniformly fine acting from a capable cast, several exciting rough'n'ready swordfights, a full, rousing, dynamic score by Akira Ifukube, picturesque cinematography which makes neat occasional use of stately fades and dissolves, clearly drawn characters (the good guys are virtuous and engaging while the villains are extremely cruel and despicable), a grimly serious tone, nifty and impressive special effects, and, of course, a thrilling last reel ferocious mondo destructo rampage by the mighty Majin. Moreover, there's an interesting pronounced religious aspect to the narrative: Lady Sayuri gets tied to a stake and narrowly avoids being burned alive, the water of a lake parts as Majin rises forth to save the day (this particular image is truly striking), and the main heavy winds up being crucified on the sail of his boat. A really solid and satisfying Japanese fantasy feature.
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BandSAboutMovies30 June 2021Never released theatrically in the United States - it was shown on TV by American-International Pictures in 1967 - the second film in the trilogy finds Daimajin concerns an evil lord who takes over the villages of Chigusa and Nagoshi. He also shatters the statue of Daimajin with gunpower, sending what's left of the spirit to the bottom of a lake where it comes back to life to save the villagers who pray to him.
All three of these movies were written by Tetsurô Yoshida, with this installment being directed by Kenji Misumi, who made four of the Lone Wolf and Cub films. While this is similar to the first film, it does have a scene where the giant Daimajin parts the seas as well as an amazing scene where he rescues a crucified woman while stomping an army of samurai into puddles of bone and blood.
The effects in this film are gorgeous, with the stone spirit looking as if it was a real kaiju and not just special effects. These movies aren't as well known in the U. S., but they certainly deserve to be. -
Scott-4216 February 2000Better in the first in that there is a fun adventure story included and the writers aren't afraid to make a few sacrifices along the way to give the story some extra weight. The Majin's vengeance is better thought out than it was in the first film, and He is much more of a hero to the villagers this time out.
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Jeremy_Urquhart27 March 2023Anyone who finds themselves obsessed with kaiju movies is eventually going to stumble on the Daimajin series (probably once they run out of Godzilla movies). That's my experience at least, and I remember the first movie in this series not really doing much for me, even though its mix of samurai drama/action with scenes of the titular giant (rock) monster sounded like a match made in heaven. A samurai + kaiju movie? "Sign me up," I thought.
The first film didn't work for me all that much, and neither has this sequel, Return of Daimajin. It's honestly not terrible, in terms of how it looks and how the action's pulled off. It just feels oddly lifeless and uninspired to me, like it doesn't want to be a deadly serious samurai drama, but it also doesn't want to be too goofy (or generous) with its kaiju scenes. At under 80 minutes, it didn't test my patience as much as it could've, but it didn't really have the time to venture into any interesting directions narratively.
Like the first movie, this one was admittedly watchable. It wasn't offensive. It wasn't terrible. It just didn't do nearly as much for me as I wanted it too, and if my memory serves me correctly, I felt basically the same after finishing the first Daimajin. -
kluseba12 October 2022Return of Daimajin is the second film in the trilogy about the great demon god that combines elements of period dramas and giant monster movies. In this shortest movie of the series, an evil lord menaces, destroys and conquers two neighbouring villages when farmers seek refuge from him in these peaceful places. The survivors of the invasion retreat to an island on a lake where Daimajin's statue is hidden in a cave. As the lord destroys the statue, the demon god comes to life to save the villagers from the murderous dictator.
This movie convinces on numerous levels and has aged very well. First and foremost, this film clocks in at only seventy-nine minutes and entertains from start to finish with swift pace.
Up next, the locations have been chosen particularly well and bring ancestral Japan back to life. The scenic mountains and fields, the colourful villages and fortifications as well as the mysterious island on the lake are quite memorable.
The characters are also very intriguing. The antagonist is particularly brutal, pitiless and selfish and will make viewers root against him. The protagonists shine with courage, perseverance and resilience and will make viewers empathize with them. Even the side characters have interesting emotional characteristics to offer. Needless to say that the skilled acting performances match the wonderful script.
The final twenty minutes of the movie are particularly spectacular. The titular monster goes on an impressive rampage as the simple yet efficient special effects shine brightly in this movie. The architecture of the villages, the armour of the monster and the costumes of the villagers have all been crafted with great detail. The destruction of infrastructures looks impressive and has been prepared very skillfully and filmed very precisely.
The technical aspects of this movie are very strong in general. Even decades later, the calm, organized and precise camera work stands out very positively if compared to numerous action movies with dizzying shaky camera sections. The authentic, detailed and intense sound effects in the destructive finale will send shivers down the spine of any cineast. The excellent classical music soundtrack by skilled veteran Ifukube Akira is another noteworthy highlight and makes an intense movie even more emotional.
As you can read, Return of Daimajin is even a slight improvement over its critically acclaimed genre-breaking predecessor Daimajin. This sophomore entry is even more detailed, organized and precise as it turns out being a great example of how to make a timeless movie with a limited budget but much professionalism. The two movies aren't directly related to each other, so you could watch Return of Daimajin as a standalone feature. Anyone who likes period dramas and monster movies should call a copy of this movie her, his or their own. I would suggest picking up the wonderful boxed set by Arrow Media with all three films and plenty of interesting bonus material.