Godzilla/Toho Movies/Media

Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director: Official Info & Pics

9/29/2024

Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director
Storyline: Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director is a documentary that explores the life and career of prolific Japanese director Ishiro Honda, highlighting his filmography, war experiences, and obsession with the atomic bomb. Through interviews and analysis, it also delves into his friendship and collaboration with Akira Kurosawa.

Synopsis:

Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director is a documentary film that delves into the life and cinematic career of one of Japan’s most prolific directors: Ishiro Honda.
The film will spotlight Honda’s filmography from both a historical and personal perspective, exploring his contributions to the Japanese film industry and his firsthand experiences of war, from which he barely survived. It will also delve into his profound feelings regarding the atomic bomb, a subject that became an obsession for him and was frequently reflected in his films.
The documentary will analyze Honda’s body of work through interviews with individuals who had the privilege of collaborating with him, as well as experts on Honda’s films from both Japan and the Western world.
Furthermore, the film will uncover Honda’s friendship and professional relationship with director Akira Kurosawa.

Director’s Note:

Given the absence of a documentary focusing on the director Ishiro Honda (1911-1993), both in Japan and internationally, I have embarked on the documentary project “Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director” with the aim of highlighting the significance of this Japanese filmmaker.
Ever since I discovered kaiju eiga movies (Japanese monster movies) at the age of eight, I decided that the audiovisual medium would be my artistic outlet. I watched and analyzed the greatest films, but it was monster cinema that captivated me the most, leading me to create a documentary about the origins of the monster Godzilla titled “The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga” (2019).
Following its completion and after obtaining my doctorate in Japanese cinema, I felt compelled to produce this documentary about director Ishiro Honda. Not solely for his filmography of giant monsters, but for his entire body of work: encompassing human dramas, war films, his filmmaker’s obsessions, and, naturally, his personal life.
As a former combatant in the Second World War, Honda is recognized as a pacifist and humanist filmmaker. I have always regarded him as the Japanese equivalent of “George Pal” – a director who approached his craft with seriousness, particularly within the science fiction and giant monster genres, which were often relegated to mere adolescent entertainment in Hollywood.
With a diverse filmography spanning various themes, with the specter of the atomic bomb looming large, Ishiro Honda’s works stand out as remarkable contributions to cinema.

Production:

Country of Production: Spain
Film company: Daifilms
Year of production: 2023-2024
Runtime: 70 minutes
Languages: Japanese, English, Spanish
Subtitles: Japanese, English, Spanish
Filming locations: Tokyo, Tsuruoka, Sukagawa, Kyoto, Chicago (G-Fest)

Main Cast:

Ryuji Honda, Son of Ishiro Honda
Yuuko Honda-Yun, Author
Hisao Kurosawa, Son of Akira Kurosawa
Joe Dante, Director of Gremlins
Shinji Higuchi, Co-Director of Shin Gojira
Steve Ryfle, Author
Ed Godziszewski, Author
Tomoo Haraguchi, Special Effects Modeler
Naofumi Higuchi, Critic and Film Director
Shinsuke Nakajima, Member of Kaiju Club
Stuart Galbraith IV, Film Reviewer
Linda Miller, Actress
Atsushi Kobayashi, Author

Main Crew:

Produced, Written, Edited and Directed by Jonathan Bellés
Associate Producers: Shinsuke Nakajima, Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski and Yuuko Honda-Yun
Cinematographers: Ségolène Lacourte and Óscar Rivero
Sound Design and Mix: Elena Fernández
Supervising Editor: José Luis Romeu
Aruji Kuroki and Shinsuke Nakajima: Associate Producers
Daniel Aguilar: Translator and Interpreter
Blanca Vázquez: Logo and Poster