IMDb >
Matango (1963)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsMatango (1963) More at IMDbPro »
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
11 August 1963 (Japan)
more
Plot:
Shipwrecked survivors slowly transform into mushrooms. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Why Not a space flower?: Six Killer Movie Plants
(From IFC. 2 July 2008, 10:43 AM, PDT)
Attack Of The "Attack Of" Movies
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 9 August 2001)
(From IFC. 2 July 2008, 10:43 AM, PDT)
Attack Of The "Attack Of" Movies
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 9 August 2001)
User Comments:
Dark and Powerful
more (59 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Akira Kubo | ... | Kenji Murai - Professor | |
| Kumi Mizuno | ... | Mami Sekiguchi - Singer | |
| Hiroshi Koizumi | ... | Naoyuki Sakuta - Skipper | |
| Kenji Sahara | ... | Senzô Koyama - Sailor | |
| Hiroshi Tachikawa | ... | Etsurô Yoshida - Writer | |
| Yoshio Tsuchiya | ... | Masafumi Kasai - Owner | |
| Miki Yashiro | ... | Akiko Sôma - Murai's Lover | |
| Eisei Amamoto | ... | Skulking Transitional Matango | |
| Takuzo Kumagaya | ... | Doctor (as Jirô Kumagai) | |
| Akio Kusama | ... | Police Personnel | |
| Yutaka Oka | ... | Doctor | |
| Keisuke Yamada | ... | Doctor | |
| Kazuo Higata | ... | Police Personnel | |
| Katsumi Tezuka | ... | Police Personnel | |
| Haruo Nakajima | ... | Matango |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Attack of the Mushroom People (USA) (TV title)
Curse of the Mushroom People
Fungus of Terror
Matango the Fungus of Terror
Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People (USA) (DVD box title)
Matango: Fungus of Terror
more
Curse of the Mushroom People
Fungus of Terror
Matango the Fungus of Terror
Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People (USA) (DVD box title)
Matango: Fungus of Terror
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
89 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The giant mushrooms that the characters eat were created by the special effects crew from rice pastry. The rice pastry would be picked up from a nearby shop that specialized in it, and taken to the studio where it was shaped and cooked. Because Kumi Mizuno was so well liked, they would add sugar and other flavors.
more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Kasai shoots at Yoshida and Mami as he chases them off the boat, you can see the bullets ricochet off the ground before he fires a shot.
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (59 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Matango (1963) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Hotaru no haka | Ossessione | Gojira, Ebirâ, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto | Kaidan | The Good Earth |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Fantasy section | IMDb Japan section |
| Add this title to MyMovies |

The cast of this film all consider it one of their proudest achievements. This film is about false friendships, utter hatred, and abandonment of values. Constructed from William Hope Hodgson's rather simple horror story, in which a man hailing a schooner for food tells how the virtuous (abstinent) unmarried couple (himself and his fiancee) were in a shipwreck and tried to make their home on an island encrusted with fungus, first in a ship and then in two tents on an unidentified sandy substance, only to eat the fungus and become it, takes on a whole new dimension by placing the man, here a psychology professor, and his student fiancee with a rich couple together only for the money, a serious writer, and the two-man crew. Though they never abandon the fungus-encrusted ship for tents, they soon become embittered over food, and the men all want the virgin, not the rich showgirl. Hodgson was on the way to becoming a minister before he was killed in WWI, and his story is explicitly Christian. This film takes out explicit religion (though the Japanese version has a brief scene related to Akiko's Shinto beliefs, which was deleted because most Americans wouldn't understand it), but retains the morals. The psychologist is unable to cope with the degrading values, particularly after the mate is shot over money (useless) and turtle eggs (food). The skipper takes the ship (which isn't his, Kasai wearing a captain's uniform to prove it (and how stuck up he is)) after repairing it, without anyone else, but he dies at sea, Murai soon finding the abandoned ship. The voyage reveals the true character of the relationships with one another, and their attempts to break down the virtuous couple, which ends with the psychologist in the asylum, where he tells his story. He gets succumbed, too. "My friends are alive; I'm the one who died," he tells them. The crew dead, his friends are left on the island, slowly merging with the fungus...