Matango (1963)

Shipwrecked survivors slowly transform into mushrooms.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura (screenplay), Shinichi Hoshi (adaptation),

Stars:

Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Hiroshi Koizumi

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 - Student
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Skulking Transitional Matango
Takuzô Kumagai	...	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

Storyline

A group of pleasure-seeking young people are stranded on a mysterious island when their boat crashes. One by one they succumb to the lure of the deadly music.

---

Plot Keywords:

island | mushroom | yacht | radiation | occult | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 August 1963 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Attack of the Mushroom People

Filming Locations:

Hachijôjima, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was nearly banned in Japan due to the fact that the makeup that some of the cast wore as they were turning into mushrooms was very reminiscent of how many people looked after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

---

Goofs

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.

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits of the Japanese version are on animated sails.

---

Connections

Version of Suspicion: The Voice in the Night (1958)

---

Soundtracks

(untitled)
Performed by Kumi Mizuno

User Reviews

a new video master in Tohoscope widescreen available

First a correction : the making year and distribution release year in Japan of MATANGO is 1962 and not 1963. It is of course a very good movie from Inoshiro Honda, the father of "Kaiju Eiga" and every cinephile knows what that means. Besides, it is a "Kaiju eiga" (= "monster movie" as trasnlated in English) quite closer to horror than to science-fiction, even it is also a sci-fi, including mentions of the atom research in the ghost boat in which the survivors are living. It is closer to BINJO TO EKITAI NINGEN [L'HOMME H] (Jap. 1958) than to GOJIRA (Jap. 1954), both directed by Honda, if you want to have a comparative idea. Anyway, it is a very original movie in Honda carrier. Even it can remind, as a cultivate reader mentionned it, a W.H.Hodgson's novel. But were the Japanese scriptwriters aware of that source ? Interesting question. I am glad to announce you that in France, a smart distributor has bought the rights from Toho and distributed that movie in a beautiful Cinemascope complying with 16/9 TV screening : it has been shown on Canal + private famous French TV but I do not think it is available on DVD or video.

It was around one or two years ago and we have been able to discover it in original japanese langage with French subtitles : beautiful master and beautiful movie. Honda is my favorite horror and sci-fi movie director with regard to history of Japanese movie. I have recently written an "Elementary filmography of Kaiju Eiga" in which Inoshiro Honda has of course the main place, as far as Toho is concerned. MATANGO is a masterpiece.