The Eclipse Viewer – Episode 21 – When Horror Came to Shochiku

David and Trevor examine the strange detour taken in the late 1960s by one of Japan's most venerable and prestigious movie studios.

This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor discuss Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku.

About the films:

Following years of a certain radioactive beast’s domination at the box office, many Japanese studios tried to replicate the formula with their own brands of monster movies. One of the most fascinating, if short-lived, dives into that fiendish deep end was the one by Shochiku, a studio better known for elegant dramas by the likes of Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu. In 1967 and 1968, the company created four certifiably batty, low-budget fantasies, tales haunted by watery ghosts, plagued by angry insects, and stalked by aliens—including one in the form of a giant chicken-lizard. Shochiku’s outrageous and oozy horror period shows a studio leaping into the unknown, even if only for one brief, bloody moment.

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Timeline for the podcast:

Introduction/Background (00:00:01 – 00:13:57)

The X from Outer Space (00:13:58 – 00:28:59)

Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell (00:29:00 – 00:51:53)

The Living Skeleton (00:51:54 – 01:16:45)

Genocide (01:16:46 – 01:36:30)

Conclusion (01:36:31 – 01:48:05)

Buy The Box Set On Amazon:

Episode Links:

Shochiku Studio:

Shochiku Films (international site publicizing movies produced by the studio)
Official History from Shochiku.com (note: it does not mention the films discussed in this episode.)
Film Comment overview of Shochiku’s history by Chuck Stephens
“Shochiku Drives Into Classic Films” from Variety Magazine (October 2013), by John Hopewell

Box Set Reviews:

PopMatters review by Marco Lanzagorta
DVD Drive-In review by Paul Tabili
Austin Chronicle review by Richard Whittaker

The X from Outer Space:

David’s Journey Through the Eclipse Series review
The Escapist video review by Bob Chipman
CineMassacre review by Mike Matei
BadMovies.org review by Andrew Borntreger
Braineater review by Will Loughlin

Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell:

Film Society of Lincoln Center review (uncredited)
1000 Misspent Hours review by Scott Ashlin
Doomed Moviethon review (uncredited)
Horror Movie A Day review by Brian (no last name given)
The Ladders commercial featuring Guilala

The Living Skeleton:

Wtf-Film review by Kevin Pyrtle
Black Hole review by Mark Hodgson
Talk of Horrors review by Joseph Howell
CineFantastique review by Steve Biodrowski
Seven Days review by Ethan De Seife

Genocide:

Movie Morlocks review by Kimberly Lindbergs
Sequart Organization review by Harry Edmundson-Cornell
RoweReviews (uncredited)
This Dark Exegesis review by Alex DeLarge
Lone Wolves and Hidden Dragons review by Shaun Anderson

Next time on the podcast: Eclipse Series 22: Presenting Sacha Guitry

Contact us:

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Email: theeclipseviewer (at) gmail.com
David Blakeslee ( Twitter / Website )
Trevor Berrett ( Twitter / Website )