During the ’70s, it felt like the only movies from Japan that made it to America either starred Godzilla or were directed by Akira Kurasawa. You either saw a giant monster destroy everything or an emotional tale from feudal Japan. Little did we know that there was a movie that gave us both elements. Instead of a radioactive mutant lizard, we’re given a giant sea creature in The Whale God. The warriors facing off against this humongous force of natural are whaling fisherman and not samurai. We are given an epic tale that’s a huge as the whale that torments the village in The Whale God.
A small fishing village has been tormented by a single whale. As it swims by the community every few years, the whale has fought back against the whalers who hit the sea on their small boats with dozens of harpoons. For one family, the whale has been a massive destructive force having killed three generations of men in the family of Shaki (Satan’s Sword‘s Kôjirô Hongô). Each generation has sworn to kill the Whale God and drag it to Hell. Now it is Shaki’s turn. The whale has become the focus of the entire community that can’t stand losing to the creature. The wealthiest man in the village (Seven Samurai‘s Takashi Shimura), will give his fortune and his daughter Yuki (A Woman’s Testament‘s Michiko Takano) to the man who kills the whale. Shaki doesn’t really care about all this bounty because his only motive is to avenge the death of so many men in his family. But the reward does bring on others that want to be the one with the fatal harpoon. This includes the outsider Kiju (Shintaro Katsu, the star of the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman movies). He could care less about Shaki’s family legacy. He’s there to take all the glory and more as the village awaits the next pass by of the menacing whale.
Normally I wouldn’t be rooting for the Japanese in a story about whaling. I’ve seen enough modern documentaries about the Japanese whaling industry to be repulsed by it. But this is not about such a time. Judging from the early battles, the whale has the ability to lay a beating on the whalers. This is more of an even match between the two sides than what happens now in the oceans around the world. The movie is a Japanese variation of Moby Dick with Ahab’s obsession with the white whale transplanted into Shaki. We do get the religious element of the bookwith a Christian missionary priest lurking around the fishing village. The Godzilla element comes out with Akira Ifukube having done the score for The Whale God after he had created the iconic music for the original Godzilla film.
The Whale God is truly an unsung masterpiece of obsession. It doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry. I don’t get why there’s not a bigger following for the movie since it brings together the finer elements of a giant monster movie and a Japanese warrior film. Neither side gets unbalanced in the mixing. The film is as exciting as it is introspective. The final showdown between the whale and Shaki is unrelenting. This film never being mentioned in International Cinema classes is a sin. This is the first time the film has been released on home video in North America since the Japanese theatrical release in 1962. If you teach International Cinema, you better buy a copy and change your Fall syllabus. The Whale God is a great summer movie for when you want a classic Japanese movie that takes place at the beach.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer on the DVD looks sharp with black and white cinematography making life in the village and the Shaki’s battle with the whale look realistic. The Audio is Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. The track sounds clean enough to hear the ocean waves. The movie is subtitled in English.
Godzilla & Moby Dick is a text essay by Henning Strauss comparing the lizard to the whale.
Whales In Japanese Folklore is a text essay by Eugene Alejandro gets into the skeleton whale.
Kaiju United Speaks (1:32) has the head of the organization praising the DVD release of the obscure Kaiju film.
Trailer (2:50) have them call the whale a demon. Other Kaiju Trailers are included.
SRS Cinema presents The Whale God. Directed by Tokuzô Tanaka. Screenplay by Kaneto Shindô. Starring: Kyôko Enami, Shiho Fujimura, Kôji Fujiyama, Chikara Hashimoto, Kôjirô Hongô, Shintarô Katsu, Kanji Kawara, Bontarô Miake & Chieko Murata. Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 9, 2024.
