18
Dogora
from Uchu daikaiju Dogora [lit. Space Giant Monster Dogora] (Japan-1964;
dir. Ishiro Honda) [aka Dagora, the Space Monster (US-1965)]
This entry from the famed Toho Co. Ltd [creators of ‘Godzilla’] definitely stands out as one of their zaniest creations. It features giant flying jellyfish-like creatures that have an appetite for coal and diamonds. Sucking vehicles, buildings, people … everything … up into the air as they float ethereally through the upper atmosphere, along with a semi-comedic crime subplot involving diamond thieves and pursuing cops, make for some bizarre and surreal scenes.
Watch the original Japanese trailer:
This is a beautiful painting of Dogora painted by Bill Gudmundson (click on it to see it full-size):
Coming Tomorrow: Kaiju Search-Robot Avery’s Top 20 Craziest Kaiju Countdown Number 17!
Top 20 Craziest Kaiju Countdown articles:
- Kaiju Search-Robot Avery’s Introduction
- Number 20: The Monolith Monsters
- Number 19: The Giant Claw
Haven’t seen this one, but it looks very cool.
It’s a curious film, a sort of mix of monster and crime genres with the strange kaiju itself overseeing events. But it needs to be seen in the original Japanese version (of course), which thankfully is now available with subtitles.
Here is my review of it:
http://www.roberthood.net/reviews/randomstuff2.html#dogora
It’s definitely one of Toho’s weirdest entries,but it’s a lot of fun.It has Robert Dunham as a ‘Diamond G-Man’??I believe that his character’s name is Mark Jackson??He even tried to market the idea of a series of films starring the character here in the U.S..The Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters DVD is definitely a great buy.
Pingback: Undead Backbrain » Blog Archive » Top 20 Craziest Kaiju: Number 5
Pingback: Dogora (1964) | Old Old Films