Frankenstein and the Giant Lizard

Classic quality stuff from Ishiro Honda. So it's not surprising to see precise work with miniatures, models of tanks, forests, villages, ships at sea, etc. When the oversized Frankenstein walks through the Japanese woods, you can clearly see the painted background and artificial trees, but that's the beauty of it, like looking at the set of Josef Lada in the fairytale Playing with the Devil. Of course, if you don't buy the synopsis that a little boy carries the immortal heart of Frankenstein inside him, mutates to giant proportions due to radiation, and has a fair fight with a kaiju monster at the end, then ignore it, as there's no logic or realism. Speaking of Baragon, he always managed to bring a good mood in Kaiju movies, at least to me. I love those big floppy ears of his, he's adorable :o) The head of the team of good guys, as was quite common in Ishiro Honda's movies from the 1950s and 60s, plays a low-cost version of Lex Barker – I wonder where Honda always dug up these uncharismatic types, who were not even barked at by dogs in Hollywood. The fiercely physical, sweaty final fight between a half-naked actor and a stuntman in a Baragon costume is unforgettable, it has the same grit as Godzilla’s brawl with King Kong. Honda really knew how to enjoy that. PS: Thanks pepuo for the good subtitles. (16.06.2019)

If I said that Toho Studios sometimes took shortcuts with effects and opted for the easiest route, then the film Frankenstein Conquers the World confirms that to some extent, but not entirely. Here you'll find scenes that are visually stunning due to their effective use of rear projection. Baragon isn't a particularly great monster, and the way it fights with Frankenstein isn't impressive, especially because it looks odd in those rear projection scenes. However, I still have mostly positive impressions due to the original story that captured my attention. (09.11.2014)