When I was growing up in the ’70s, there were two kinds of Japanese films that were playing in America. They either starred Godzilla or were directed by Akira Kurasawa. Turns out both types of films involved the same man. When Ishiro Honda passed away in 1993, most people remembered him for directing Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, Destroy All Monsters and more Kaiju films for Toho Studios. But then people started talking about how Honda worked with Kurasawa in the ’70s and ’80s. The word was that Honda directed the samurai action scenes in the epic Ran. Also that for worldwide boxoffice, Honda was a bigger sensation than Kurasawa. I wanted to know more about Honda, but there was very little information about the director (at least in English). Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director brings his own life to the screen.
Director Jonathan Bellés was also concerned about a lack of a proper documentary about Honda seeing his importance in World Cinema. He works with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski who co-authored the biography Ishiro Honda: A Life In Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. There are a few other biographers and relatives relating the life of Honda to viewers. The director was born in Japan in 1911 when the country was taking in Western influences and technology. Although he was born in the mountains where this change wasn’t happening. He didn’t get hit until his family move to Tokyo while in grade school. Audio from an interview with Honda has him remember seeing The Last Laugh as his first motion picture when he was in sixth grade. He wanted to make movies. He wanted to change people’s lives with art. His granddaughter describes him as serious and kind. He wasn’t into joking around. While wrapping up film school, he was invited to join the company that would evolve into Toho. But Japan went to war and he was drafted into the military. His unit was involved in a conspiracy to restore the Emperor. He wasn’t part of it, but found himself spend more time in combat. He wrote about the atrocities. During this time he met Akira Kurasawa. The director of The Seven Samurai didn’t get drafted. Honda at one point was assigned to a brothel camp in a clerical position. He wrote an essay about his time and how much he hated what he did to the women that were slaves. He eventually became a P.O.W. of the Chinese toward the end of the war. His captors liked him. He eventually made it home, but had nightmares for the rest of his life about what he experienced.
It was five years after the war that he was able to direct a film again. He became noted for his female characters. There is a museum in his hometown with an extensive exhibit on his film career. We learn how after doing women oriented films, he was offered Godzilla by the studio. He wanted to do it because of his hatred of war an the atomic bomb. Audio recordings have him talk about his view of science in the film. Honda’s son recalls swimming in Toho’s special effects pool. A tape of Honda has him recount working with the special effects crew and making Godzilla stomp. There’s a visit to a Cinematic Kaiju museum in Japan. Of Honda’s 50 films, 20 of them were not science fiction or monsters. They are starting to get restored and shown once more in Japan. We learn how Honda met his wife Kimi at Toho. We hear how Toho had Honda working on the international co-productions. Actress Linda Miller describe her time with Honda when shooting King Kong Escapes. There’s discussion of how Japan’s film industry hit a bad patch. The special effects budget on the films were cut back. He eventually quit Toho. Turns out he didn’t have any royalties or retirement benefits from the studio.
After a few years, Kurosawa called him about working with him as part of his team. One way they worked was Honda would set up and direct the B and C cameras for shoots. Biographers do their best to explain how the collaboration happened on the set. We learn what Honda said about being Kurosawa’s assistant instead of directing once more. There are photos of Honda’s funeral with the crowd overflowing. What helps wrap up this movie are a series of people talking about how Honda and his movies affected their lives.
Jonathan Bellés does a fine job keeping the focus on Honda. We don’t get breakdowns of all 8 Godzilla films he made. The focus is on the man which is good since he has never received this much attention. I don’t think the Godzilla DVD collections ever gave him much attention. Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director lets us get to know about the man behind Godzilla. This is essential viewing for anyone who owns the giant Godzilla Blu-ray boxset or enjoys Svengoolie running Toho classics.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The film relies more on new interviews than clips from the film so everything looks great on the screen. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. Most of the interview subjects are speaking Japanese. The movie is subtitled in English and Spanish.
Director’s Notes Inside Cover Linear Notes has him explain why he pursued this documentary.
Essay: “Ishiro Honda Expose” by Jonathan Bellés is a text piece about the director’s life.
Memoirs of the Filmmaker: An Interview With Jonathan Bellés on Ishiro Honda (41:22) has him explain how this was part of his college thesis. But he had to save up to go to Japan to get the stories and other informaiton. This was done on a Zoom call.
Deleted Joe Dante Interview (8 Min) is more memories of Godzilla from the director of The Howling and Gremlins.
Behind The Scenes Slideshow (5:57) shows what it took to shoot the interviews at various locations.
Meet the Interviewees Photo Gallery (1:25) is a montage of the people who speak in the film.
The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga Trailer (2:25) is a trailer about the rise of the monster films in Japan and the relationship to the atomic bomb.
Trailer is in both English and Spanish.
SRS Cinema presents Ishiro Honda: Memoirs of a Film Director. Directed by Jonathan Bellés. Written by Jonathan Bellés. Featuring Daniel Aguilar, Joe Dante, Stuart Galbraith IV, Ed Godziszewski, Tomoo Haraguchi, Naofumi Higuchi and Shinji Higuchi. Running Time: 66 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 8, 2026.
