Big Man Japan (2007)
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Big Man Japan (大日本人 is a Dai Nipponjin, lit. Great Japanese)2007 tokusatsu kaiju film co-produced by Realproducts and Yoshimoto Kogyo Company and distributed in Japan by Shochiku. The film was released to Japanese theaters on June 2, 2007 and to American theaters on May 15, 2009.
Plot
A documentary film crew interviews and follows the life of Masaru Daisato, the sixth and current member in a family line of supernatural protectors of Japan who can temporarily grow into giants when infused with electricity.
Despite the fame and admiration the previous giant guardians had garnered, defending Japan from various monsters of similar heights, by Masaru's time, the tradition is viewed as old hat by the jaded Japanese public and controversial by the unfairly critical Japanese media, even though giant monsters still menace the country on a near-weekly basis and there is still a need for Masaru's service. It also doesn't help matters that Masaru himself is something of a loser: an unkempt divorced father living alone with a timid and lazy demeanor that only adds fuel to the criticisms, especially when compared to his far more successful late father, The Fifth, and still-living grandfather, The Fourth, the latter of which having succumbed to mental illness in his old age.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto
- Written by Hitoshi Matsumoto, Mitsuyoshi Takasu
- Executive producing by Yasushi Minatoya
- Produced by Akihiko Okamoto
- Music by Towa Tei
- Cinematography by Hideo Yamamoto
- Edited by Soichi Ueno
- Production design by Etsuko Aiko, Yuji Hayashida
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
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Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Gallery
- Main article: Big Man Japan/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Big Man Japan (Soundtrack).
Alternate titles
- Great Japanese (literal Japanese title)
- The Demon (English working title)
- The Electric Man (English working title)
- The Man of Electricity (English working title)
- Giant Japanese (Японский гигант; Russia)
- Very Big Japanese (Πολύ μεγάλοι Γιαπωνέζοι; Greece)
Theatrical releases
- Japan - June 2, 2007
- Hong Kong - November 8, 2007
- United States - March 13, 2008 (Cleveland International Film Festival); April 3, 2008 (Wisconsin Film Festival); July 4, 2008 (New York Asian Film Festival); May 15, 2009 [view poster]
- Germany - July 17, 2008
U.S. remake
Because of the film's positive reception during its limited but lengthy theatrical run in America, Columbia Pictures optioned a remake with Neil H. Moritz attached as producer and Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi taking on screenwriting duties.[1] The project went silent after its initial 2011 announcement but in 2013, the screenwriters gave the online new site Collider an update on the remake; namely, that it was still in the works but not much else. Afterwards, the planned American remake virtually vanished into development hell and is widely believed to have been quietly killed off.
U.S. release
Big Man Japan was first screened at the Cleveland International Film Festival on March 13, 2008 and was screened in April of the same year at the Newport Beach International Film Festival and the Wisconsin Film Festival. On May 15, 2009, the film was given a theatrical release by Magnet Releasing.
Awards
Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
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Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Best Film | Hitoshi Matsumoto | Nominated |
Cannes Film Festival | C.I.C.A.E. Award | Hitoshi Matsumoto | Nominated |
Golden Camera | Hitoshi Matsumoto | Nominated | |
Asian Film Awards | Best Visual Effects | Hiroyuki Seshita | Nominated |
Video releases
Madman Entertainment DVD (2009)
- Region: 4
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (5.1 Surround)
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Japanese theatrical trailer, still gallery
- Notes: Released on January 22, 2009
Videos
Trailers
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Clips
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Trivia
External links
References
This is a list of references for Astounding Beyond Belief/Sandbox/Big Man Japan. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Comments
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