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Giants and Toys

Original title: Kyojin to gangu
  • 19581958
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
37,575
13,130
Giants and Toys (1958)
ComedyDrama
In the middle of a fierce commercial competition between three caramel companies, an executive builds up a ditsy teenage girl as a mascot while simultaneously trying to uncover the rival com... Read allIn the middle of a fierce commercial competition between three caramel companies, an executive builds up a ditsy teenage girl as a mascot while simultaneously trying to uncover the rival companies' plans.In the middle of a fierce commercial competition between three caramel companies, an executive builds up a ditsy teenage girl as a mascot while simultaneously trying to uncover the rival companies' plans.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
37,575
13,130
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Yasuzô Masumura
    • Writers
      • Takeshi Kaikô(novel)
      • Yoshio Shirasaka
    • Stars
      • Hiroshi Kawaguchi
      • Hitomi Nozoe
      • Osamu Abe
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Yasuzô Masumura
    • Writers
      • Takeshi Kaikô(novel)
      • Yoshio Shirasaka
    • Stars
      • Hiroshi Kawaguchi
      • Hitomi Nozoe
      • Osamu Abe
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 19User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos158

    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)
    Giants and Toys (1958)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Hiroshi Kawaguchi
    Hiroshi Kawaguchi
    • Yôsuke Nishi
    Hitomi Nozoe
    Hitomi Nozoe
    • Kyôko Shima
    Osamu Abe
    • Wrestler
    Kôichi Fujiyama
    • Tadao Yokoyama
    Yoshihiro Hamaguchi
    • Driver C
    Tatsuo Hanabu
    Tatsuo Hanabu
    • Fuyuzaki
    Fujio Harumoto
    Fujio Harumoto
    • Shimomura
    Hisako Horigome
    • Miyuki Fujimoto
    Hikaru Hoshi
    • Kurosawa
    Kôichi Itô
    • Haruoka
    Naoyasu Itô
    • Nakazaki
    Yûnosuke Itô
    Yûnosuke Itô
    • Junji Harukawa
    Shôji Kawashima
    • Eigineer
    Hiroko Machida
    • Suzue, Gôda's wife
    Sachiko Meguro
    • Iwafuji
    Fumiko Murata
    • Kiku, Kyôko's mother
    Shô Natsuki
    • Minami
    Michiko Ono
    • Masami Kurahashi
    • Director
      • Yasuzô Masumura
    • Writers
      • Takeshi Kaikô(novel)
      • Yoshio Shirasaka
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews19

    Review
    Top review
    Fierce satire that has lost some some of its bite in these 50 years but none of its youthful energy
    Three caramel companies compete with each other to dominate the market and each of three resorts to a ludicrous marketing campaign to attract the public's attention. Spacemen dancing in astronaut suits, savages dressed in leopard skins yelling through loudspeakers from the backs of buses, financial subsidies from birth to marriage, each company resorts to a kitschen-sink approach that's as good as the results it brings. There's nothing at all subtle about this movie. It's completely in your face from start to finish, a fast-paced riproaring cataract one part irreverent comedy twenty parts OTT scathing satire.

    And therein lies the problem. GAT makes its point across with the same clarity and fierceness of a DR. STRANGELOVE, lacking the acerbic wit and terrific performances of Kubrick's anti-war film maybe, but the problem is that the point it beats over our heads is not as urgent, prophetic or insightful as it might have been in the context of the booming economy of postwar Japan. It's all a bit much to take in one sitting. Greedy PR managers yell stuff like "We need more sells!", neon signs flash, a painted girl does a dance number, advertising trucks, wheels moving, assembly line machines pumping out caramel boxes, executives telling each other the plot of the movie in front of sales diagrams, grotesque faces smile grimly in closeup, people point at camera yelling "we need more sales!" etc.

    When the two principal characters, the honest exec who values integrity above money and the cut-throat exec who will stop at nothing to achieve the company's goals, clash in the film's climax yelling at each other stuff like "We must sell more caramels! We must win the prize!" / "No, I value my integrity!", the movie had long outstayed its welcome. Masumura backed himself into a corner that left him no other option but to beat the same dead horse for 90 minutes. As a piece of satire, GAT has lost some of its bite. As a piece of kitschen-sink camp, it's still as outrageous as it ever was. Combine the two and it's easy to see why it has a cult following. It just wasn't my thing.
    helpful•4
    8
    • chaos-rampant
    • Apr 26, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 22, 1958 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Гиганты и игрушки
    • Production company
      • Daiei Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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