Toho's Banned Kaiju Movie | The Abominable Snowman
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- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2022
- Today we look at Toho's next monster picture after the original Godzilla and it's sequel. Jû jin yuki otoko (Abominable Snowman) was released in August of 1955, and was received quite well. However due to the Indigenous people in film resembling closely to that of the Burakumin the film became banned. To this day Toho has never given the film any sorta release both physically or digitally.
Sources for information
Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa
The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: Showa Completion (1954 -1989)
Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion
Toho Kingdom
The Monster Island Film Vault Episode 7: ‘Half Human’ (Mini-Analysis)
Music
Devil May Cry 5 - Gallery
Resident Evil - Guardhouse Dormitory
Glover - Atlantis Realm Lobby
Silent Hill 3 - I've Been Losing You
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Развлечения
Also worth mentioning Japan has its own abominable snowman/sasquatch/bigfoot. The creature in question is known as Hibagon.
Strangely there is no record of the Hibagon before 1970 (and he's only meant to be about 5 feet tall). It doesn't seem based on any legends, just a speight of sighting around Hiroshima in the early 70s.
@@Tyrconnell so like the ninja, it is a recent invention?
Two people found what they thought could be bones of sasquatch one belonged to a bear and the other a dog.
Vietnam supposedly has something translated as Wild Man which has red hair, but in real life have orangutans which have orange hair.
finally, for me. first and last time i saw this movie, along with the double bill mentioned, was in 1959 at the State Theatre in San Antonio, Tx. i was 12 yrs young then. my dad and mom would let me ride the city bus down town and watch movies. i knew i had seen this movie so long ago. a hundred years ago practically. i was thrilled with this movie at that theatre. it was torn down ages ago. but i could never remember the name of this film, 'til now. thanks for the memory, pard. the end.
The actress who played Chika in this movie was the main female dancer in King Kong vs Godzilla ,and was very attractive in this.
The Half Human costume was later repurposed into King Kong.....look at the chest area...it's 100% identical. The headpiece however is entirely different.
I guess that is why King Kong looks so bad in King Kong vs Godzilla 1962, his suit was left to rot for 7 years and then got modified.
“Dull, boring and without imagination”
I understood that reference
Yeah, just like this video
I saw both cuts of this movie recently. If anything Toho banned it for being ungodly boring more so than the racism. The original is ehhh but the American re-edit is outright terrible. The problem stems that you can’t really cut out the Burakumin stereotypes for how intergrated they are into the film. Great video as always man, would like to see you cover The Prophecies of Nostrodamas at some point as well.
Bingo. Good God I was asleep
Where did you find them? I’d like to watch it.
I’m intrigued that they’d ban it for the depiction of the villagers but not ban other movies for… well, blackface. But then again, cultural differences and all and I am unsure if blackface is as bad in Japan as it is here…
@@micshork internet archive.
@@TimothyCollins You can probably count the amount of black people in Japan on two hands, so...
I would be interested in seeing this. I kinda wish they could Re-introduce this character and make him part of the Godzilla universe.
@@ryanle7411 If it was introduced, I hope MonsterVerse could come up with a name like Gorisha
You can watch it on Archive
This guy appeared in one IDW comics as a cameo
maybe he will be added into monsterverse
Are you the gun writer?
The original is on Internet Archive and it's not that bad, way better than the Carridine version.
Thank you for this awesome video! Regardless of the quality of the film, I love these interesting deep dives you do. Again, thank you for your hard work! 😊
Love the resident evil theme in the background as your give the synopsis. That immediately set the tone!
Really cool vid man keep it up! Really informative and fun
Man, John Carradine did just about anything for work at some point.
Love ya videos such great work you really do your research thanks keep ‘em coming
Growing up in the 1970s, & 80s, I never knew this movie even existed until I bought a copy of Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide Book in 1989, and saw the title "Half-Human". He only gave it a *1/2. A year later, I walk into my favorite Suncoast Video, and lo and behold the title was right there, in a yellow cover titled "Half Human". After seeing it, I could understand a little better, Maltin's rating!
Another fantastic video!
The Snowman suit was MUCH beter looking than King Kong suit, I wonder why they didn't make a similar suit for Kong
They wanted Kong to look like a japanese macaque, IIRC.
I think they blew their money on the Godzilla suit.
It is the same suit, King Kong only looks bad because the Snowman suit was left to rot for 7 years and then got just modified to look like King Kong for the 1962 movie.
@@jerk5959 The Godzilla suit looked even worse though. 😂
@@bobcat24 His face was overly crocodilian and he has a dead pan stare but the body and fins were top notch IMO.
Burakumin aren't just villagers in inhabitable places, they are specifically kind of like the untouchables of Indian caste systems, as people got discriminated for just being descended from them. It was officially abolished as a status in 1868, but it was still a really sensitive societal problem at the time this film came out (although not so much anymore).
The topic of buraku itself is usually considered taboo as a whole, so unfortunately I don't see this film coming back any time soon
This is a good comment about a VERY complicated subject. I've lived in Japan for 30 years and I would not dare try to explain it to people coming to the subject for the first time.
Anyone else find it a bit depressing that a trope of the golden age era of kaiju was offensive portrayals of minorities, often with the use of make up to make the actors looks like caricatures of said groups. I.e the villagers in this film, the natives in the mothra movies, the natives of skull island in the kong movies.
Your channel is definitely one of my favorites
Mine too
That Glover track at 5:50 was a pleasant surprise (and an instant sub from me lol) Great video! Keep it up!
Saw this movie on TV back in the '60's. Often wondered why it kind of disappeared.
I just recently watched war of the Gargantua’s and I could’ve swore that somebody mentioned they thought one of the Gargantuas was the snowman but obviously bigger
Keep up the great work 👍👍👍
Re "Half Human," a Morris Ankrum movie I did NOT know about. Now I'm interested! And, thank you for your thorough research into this film genre.
very interesting video, great job
A great video essay! I also saw this in the Toho section growing up but never knew about the movie story.
when i first saw his appearance i swear i thought he was a 62 king kong alternate suit
Didn't even know about toho kingdoms website ..thank you !!
Here's a fun little rewrite:
A group of friends go on a skiing trip. After the group splits up a terrible snow storm strikes. Only one group returns to the hotel and realize the second group never returned. With no luck searching they head to the local village. On their way there they meet another group who appear lost. The "lost" group claims to be in the same situation as the main characters and are trying to find the village. Include scene here where a member of the lost group takes out a specific and recognizable knife to cut branches. The two groups team up and once they find the village the locals warn them of the abominable snowman. The MCs show more concern for finding their friends while the "lost group" ask the villagers oddly specific questions about the monster. During this the villages talk about Chika, a recluse women who is rumored to have contact with the monster and is good at traveling the mountains. When meeting Chika she is at first shy, but becomes more open after finding out the MCs are from a major city, which she asks many child like questions about. The "lost" group question Chika about the beast, but she denies any knowledge of it. Chika agrees to help the group. They explore the surrounding area and find a small cave. Inside are the blood covered bodies of the missing people. A roar is heard in the distant. After bringing the body back to the village doctor for examination the group becomes more paranoid about the possibility of the creature exsistene. The lost group is insistent of this, claiming that their own friends must of been swallowed whole. Chika becomes more defensive of the creature not being real. When night time hits the group stay at the village's inn. One of the MCs (im just gonna make him a guy) notices a strange light in the darkness. After following it he finds Chika in front of a dark cave. Chika waves the light around and then (gasp) the baby snowman comes running out. He rushes to Chika and grabs her causing her to yell. She drops the light and the baby rushes back to the cave. When the guy mc makes a comment about the "monster being small," the big boi snowman appears and grabs the guy. Chika stops the snowman from harming the man. It's reveal Chika has been keeping the creatures a secret because she has found they are peaceful and have humanity. It's also reveal they are they reason why she stayed in the village rather then leaving, since the big boi saved her life in the past. The man isn't fully convinced, but agrees to keep Chika's secret. Unknowingly to them someone from the lost group has followed them and watched everything. The next day the lost group has chika help them search another area they believe their "missing friends" could be in, once again the first group of main characters splits up to help Chika in the search, while the second group stays behind to await the autopsy reports. The lost group ambush the main characters and Chika, revealing they've been hunting the beast. The hunters tie the mcs and Chika off a ledge to bait the snowmen into coming. Back at the village the report reveals the friends were stabbed to death. Cut back to the ledge where one of the hunters says to save every bullet for the beast. When it's looking like the end is near a couple of villagers and the other mcs come out with weaphons, since they put 2 and 2 together that the lost people were suspicious and they were out longer then they should of been. In the chaos the snowman and child actually shows up which throws in more chaos and confusion. The creature brings the captured back up, but the baby is killed. The creature goes on a rampage attacking anyone with a gun, but when Chika is about to be killed by the last hunter the creature sacrifices itself by falling off the cliff with the remaining hunter.
Yeah ik this whole comment is chaos. I wasn't expecting it to be this long, but it was fun lmao.
Cool
Already a bit better
Hey, man! Thanks for the shout-out at the end! I initially researched what I shared in that episode in grad school. 😊
Thanks for watching! That video defiantly helped me get an idea about the Burakumin, and the Ainu.
5:34 "How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?"
Well, yes, it seems that a falling human body REALLY COULD get pretty "doll-like" like THAT 6:34 if it's hitting MULTIPLE ROCKS and getting SMASHED UP like it appeared was happening in THAT SCENE.
I never heard if it so thanks for sharing!
I have this gem on VHS , Pretty good flick, I liked it 👌🏻
The spooky setup at the beginning reminds me of the first few minutes of "The Return of Godzilla".
This is incredible dude! i don't know how you found this film because it was banned and lost. Anyways this was very interesting video and I enjoyed it. Thank for your hard work as always!
Internet archive
Such an awesome channel. I had no clue this film existed.
I actually watch this about two years ago and it’s original Japanese format, and I think it’s rather surprising how sympathetic they made the apemen in this movie. They could’ve gone the Frankenstein route and made it a horrible monster, but he realized that it’s just a lonely creature that’s not too far off from stories heard in North America of ape-like animals kidnapping and looking after humans
Frankenstein was also a sympathetic monster
Frankenstein's monster*
@@ExtremeWreck the Monster is often called the son of Victor which would make him part of the Frankenstein family, so I just call the monster Frankenstein
Kind of been knocking around in my head for a while a fanfic where characters from Toho's other movies -- whether sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, drama, romance, or comedy -- also pop up in the same reality as Toho's kaiju-verse. Finding out more about the studio's various non-Godzilla flicks would be welcome.
I, for many years only ever saw a few stills from this movie.
Fortunately I was able to purchase a copy of the American edit.
Less than two weeks later I found the original Japanese edit, subtitled for download on-line.
Neither edit is a great film, but compare it to "Monster from Green hell, and other drive-in B movies and it is no worse.
I was entertained by both edits, and I was happy to be able to add both to my film collection.
I had no idea the Japanese edit was banned, so that just sweetens the deal when it comes to acquiring it.
A Forbidden treasure is even more desirable than a rare treasure.
I found the original cut of this online maybe ten years ago. An interesting film, even if I didn't know about the sociological controversy of the film.
Being the completist that I am where it comes to Toho tokusatsu films, about 2 years ago I found an uncut bootleg DVD of the film which was fan-subbed. I could easily see why the film had been banned in Japan. It reminded me of episode 12 of Ultraseven being banned for a similar reason. I enjoyed watching it, but admittedly part of the thrill came from the knowledge that I was viewing something that so few people even know exist. I'm not sure how this copy came to exist, but my guess is that when the film was screened in 2001 at a film event in Kyoto, someone was able to make a copy of it.
I wish I could find subtitled versions of 1956's Byaku Fujin no Yoren and 1959's Nippon Tanjō!
I first thought it was lost media from the few stiles you used, but then I remembered that it’s a Toho film
I remember renting the VHS of the American cut in the early 90s. Yes it's very boring, but now I have both versions for completions sake. Like the author said, a fan subbed version isn't hard to find if you know where to look.
I saw it once on a stream. Would love seeing it again
Watched it a couple years ago when I had sat down to watch every one of Ishiro Hondo's kaiju films in order. It was extremely forgettable and you're right the best part of the whole movie was the monster while everything and everyone in the movie was just there to be filler for scenes between monster shots
英語ですので分かりませんが何故かびんびんおっしゃっているのが感じます！とてもワンダフルです❣️
When will you release the final marvel Godzilla comic video
This felt like King Kong meet jurssaic park and also the thing
"This is a certified hood classic "
I watched it earlier this week, the monster actually creeped me out
The lost Toho production I always wanted to see was "Nessie".
There's actually a studio photo somewhere of the Abominable Snowman and Godzilla posing in a mock battle stance. It's in a dressing room, so obviously done for fun, but makes me think that at one point it could have been the follow up in place of Godzilla Raids Again.
I heard Tahoe wanted to release this movie like on DVD as a collector's item I wouldn't mind getting that
Hey PF, how about doing an episode on the alleged 'trilogy' "Frankenstein Conquers the World/War of the Gargantuas"(1965 & 1966);was there really supposedly a 3rd-FINAL film or..???
Is that Glover music in the background? 👀
From the opening sequence, I'd guess Honda saw "THEM."
Thanks for the review. I caught this a long time ago on one of the local channels. I needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open it was so boring. And I love Toho movies. I can't help wondering if the supposed relationship between the girl and the Monster was something more, hence the child, but the movie makers realized they were treading on dangerous ground. Which would also explain the villagers hatred for her because of her, supposed, relationship with the monster. At least that what i took away from it. But the movie is a real snoozer.
To be honest, Chika would have been better off with the Snowman considering the rest of the human cast in this oddball mess. That sad fact said, this is a great video on an obscure film and it reminded me of the comparisons between The Abominable Snowman and episode 30 of Ultraman, Phantom of the Snow Mountains, which has some story and character similarities.
If I'm, this snowman suit would later be reworked into the suit used for King Kong in King Kong vs Godzilla.
I found a bootleg DVD of this (with both US & Japanese versions included) a few years back, I think it was on Ebay ... I love both Toho's black sheep cousins HALF HUMAN & VARAN
Really dug how ya was going about the movie havin' perfectly good set-up within the actual story as you had some Resident Evil music playing, even if only to put emphasis on the letdown on the premise with bone-headed decisions and padding. Almost like the reviewer was giving more thought than the writers (not that rare)
The snowman looks like the brown gargantua, maybe the snowman costume was re-vamped for War of the Gargantuas ?
Was it banned back then? Or was it banned in the last like 10 years or so?
Early Kong! Nice....
R.I.P. Akira Takarada (1934 - 2022)
A poster for this movie appears in the 1994 movie Ed Wood
I agree with a lot of this, except I find the movie fascinating, as it's an early black-and-white kaiju film that we don't have enough of. I think there's quite a bit of atmosphere in the film, and I find Satoh's eclectic score to be unique, sounding like a mix of folk music and motion picture scoring.
Nice to see this film getting some more exposure, for better or worse, as it really is a depressing slog of a watch 😓 Really only worth tracking down if you’re a hardcore fan or collector of kaiju & kaijin films, or obscure tokusatsu in general. That said, this is still my second-favorite Yeti film of the era (behind Hammer’s 1957 _The Abominable Snowman),_ which should hint at how awful the others are 😅
How did you find it?
@@rickyratcomics Copies of the only print that escaped Japan (the one with the hard-coded time stamp, though it is usually blurred to make it less noticeable) have been circulating for a while. For a quality, reputable source I’d recommend CreatureFeatureVideos either on the webs or that popular bidding place 🙂
It's hard to imagine the same wooden John Carradine shown playing narrator in Half Human and Invasion of The Animal People back in the 1950's would later voice The Great Owl in The Secret of NIMH decades later.
Is the movie available? I want to see it.
I love both of these films and in spite of your smarmy, sophomoric analysis I do appreciate the fact that you made this presentation…
They should do a kaiju profile of the Abominable snowman
Oddly terrifying
Ischiro Honda. LOL I thought for a second it was the guy who started Honda, like the motorcycles and cars, Civic Accord etc.
Didn't they change the name to "Half Human"? Because I have a copy of it.
You should make a video of why Godzilla movies are so hard to find or get
Why does the snowman look SO much better than their version of Kong?
You know, I think I saw something like this in Big Trouble In Little China.
I never actually saw this movie. But I do remember seeing it up at my local "Video Connection" as a kid. I probably would have taken an interest in it if I had known it was from the Godzilla studio, though I was a sensitive kid so killing the snowchild probably would have made me cry. I only saw it because it was in the horror section where they for some reason put the other Godzilla movies. All those freaky covers of monsters coming in windows and knife welding menaces really freaked me out.
Half human has a pretty interesting history
This movie could use a remake
Very interesting review. I've herd about this film but wasn't really intrigued enough to track it down to watch. Shame it wasn't that good. Oddly enough I recently watched a review of a American Bigfoot horror film from the 80s called "Night of the Demon" that has similar nonsensical plot narration with it being told by one of the characters and the monster having relations with a woman. (Creepy) Wonder if they were inspired?
Honestly, I would've imagined if Toho Studios is willingly to do an 80's live-action adaptation of Devilman and Demon Lord Dante through tokusatu stylish.
@@kaiju-odanny9778 I'd definitely love to see that man!
@@ShinGoji1987Official I mean, around the mid-80s through 90s.
@@kaiju-odanny9778 Yeah it would have been better than the mediocre cgi one we got in 2004. It had some good moments/effects but could've been way better storywise etc.
@@ShinGoji1987Official Yeah, and since there was an 50th anniversary Devilman 3D-VR experience which is supported by Toho themselves too. Perhaps there's some indication that Toho Animation is quite interested in doing an Devilman anime in an movie of sort.
I thought Honda was commissioned to do "female" films, considering Toho thought that was the audience he was geared for at the time. He was already in production of.the first of the two when Godzilla's Counterattack was ready to go. Rumor has it he really wanted to work on Godzilla instead of sappy love flicks.
I think Akira Kurosawa might had encouraged him to do Godzilla.
You've got it the other way around. While enthusiastic about Godzilla and company early on, his passion was for smaller human interest films. Within a few years, he became less enthusiastic about kaiju eiga and the like and only took those assignments because, especially as Japan's movie industry was in decline, they were all Toho would allow him to do since he was so good at it. Of course, I'll always know him most for his marvelous work with monsters and aliens, but I recommend seeking out films like THE BLUE PEARL and COME MARRY ME, as they show a different and very interesting side of the man. It can help create a more complete perception of him as a filmmaker and a human being.
The Yeti Suit reminds me of the Cowardly Lion Suit from Wizard of Oz.🦁
I like that ending card on the American version of the movie, dedicating itself to the original makers of the film as if they were just like, consultants on their own movie. Wish we'd see that more often. Friday the 13th: Japanese edition. Starting a bunch of people edited unconvincingly into the movie at random places. Kevin Bacon was there too. Dedicated to the American filmmakers and artists who helped make their production possible.
I own halfhuman on dvd but it’s bootlegged, it’s in its original audio with sub titles.
Glover music ftw!
I haven't seen this yet. The monster deserve a retelling. He looks great and an alternative to the zombie films we have to day.
The suit looks better than the king kong one so that isn't bad :)
Kinda surprised that Toho hasn't remaking this .
The abonable snowman kinda looks like the creature from unknown island from 1949
Can't even find that box set for morbid curiosity.
Meant to be a dupe of monster based on folklore To me it’s probably one of my favorite yeti monster but it’s forgotten until
Man to be I do love the idea of Toho making a mythical yeti but yeah it’s forgotten
Man that’s one of the most infinite scenes in monster behind the scenes Godzilla versus the abominable snowman
Maybe The suit what is really made it into King Kong 1962 maybe they’re similar
Please make a Godzilla differences on Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
Great video as always! I've never actually seen the movie, but as a kaiju fan is one of those oddities you inevitably come across at least once while browsing on wikis, blogs, forums etc. The Snowman kinda made also a cameo in the comic Godzilla: Rage Across Time lol, so it's not completely forgotten. Btw, I wanted to send you some pictures oddities you may be interested in: some italian vhs of Godzilla and Gamera that I own with the wackiest covers you could think of. Is there any social where I may contact you? Thank you and keep up the good work!
No socials at the moment, but I have an email address if that works?
@@PaperFinz yeah sure!
If you are interested I can show you some unknown italian Godzilla media as well, I think you may like it
Cool
Did Toho ever released this film on DVD or Blu-Ray or HBO Max?
No. Toho had plans to give a home video release of it in the 90's, but held back on doing so.
Need a website for all the giant monster movies
As a kaiju fan, I had to watch this movie but I don't think I'll ever watch it again 😴
16:05 Maybe this is the scene that inspired the Suburban Sasquatch to throw that bad cgi cop car.
Should have added the Machico skinny-dipping scene.