The Great Buddha Arrival (Japanese: 大仏廻国, Hepburn: Daibutsu Kaikoku) is a 2018 Japanese kaiju film directed by Hiroto Yokokawa. The film was based on the lost 1934 film of the same name, made with the cooperation of director Yoshiro Edamasa's grandson.[3] Additional footage with new actors was shot to extend the film's run time for international distribution. Still more footage was shot for a Japanese theatrical release, termed the Final Edition.[4][5] This last release occurred on September 4, 2020.
| The Great Buddha Arrival | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Yoshiki Takahashi | |
| Directed by | Hiroto Yokokawa |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | The Great Buddha Arrival: Chukyo Edition by Yoshiro Edamasa |
| Produced by | Hiroto Yokokawa Avery Guerra |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Hiroto Yokokawa |
| Edited by | Hiroto Yokokawa |
| Music by | Hiromi Shinoda |
Production company | 3Y Film |
| Distributed by | 3Y Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 50 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | ¥3 million[2] |
Background edit
After the release of the 2014 Godzilla remake, director Hiroto Yokokawa was introduced by a friend to the existence of The Great Buddha Arrival[2] a film made in 1934 that is now considered one of the earliest kaiju films.[6] In 2016, he contacted Kazuyoshi Fohara, the grandson of Yoshiro Edamasa, and the project of creating a remake began.
Production edit
Actors who have appeared in Tokusatsu films (such as Godzilla, Gamera) that influenced Yokokawa, such as Akira Takarada and Yukijiro Hotaru, were asked to appear in the film. Although 80% of the offers were declined, some tokusatsu actors decided to appear because "Mr. Takarada will appear".[2]
Part of the production cost was raised by crowdfunding. In particular, a description of the project that was translated into English by producer Avery Guerra and published on Yahoo! News, created interest in the project. In addition a few overseas actors such as Philip Granger decided to appear, which further led to international knowledge of the project.[2]
Home media edit
As of 2023, the film is available to stream on Amazon Prime.[7]
Cast edit
- Masanori Kikuzawa as Yoshiro Edamasa
- Kazuma Yoneyama as Murata[8]
- Shelley Sweeney as Canadian interviewer[9]
- Philip Granger as President of the United States
- Peggy Neal as Dr. Mary Lisa Gleason[10]
- Norman England as American newscaster[11]
- Akira Kubo as Prime Minister Maki[5]
- Iwata Momoka as Momorun[12]
- Akira Takarada as Storyteller[13]
- Yukiko Kobayashi as Yuko Murata[14]
- Yukijiro Hotaru as Detective Osaki[15]
- Shiro Sano as Newscaster Miyakura (Final Edition)[16]
- Bin Furuya as Kazuyoshi Edamasa (Final Edition)[17]
- Yuma as Kitayama
- Ai Aoki as Female suicide
- Takashi Yasuda as Reporter Kayama
- Iku Hasegawa as Emasasa's sweetheart
- Yoshiro Uchida as Mayor Sakurai
- Ippei Osako as Producer Tanaka
- Yuki Morita as Announcer Sakano
- Inge Murata as Chancellor of Germany
- Toshi Toda as Maxwell (Toshi) James
- Yoshihiko Otsuki as Physicist
- Junichiro Nirasawa as Paranormal researcher
- Robert Scott Field as Mysterious person
- Takahiro Yamakawa
- Ryotaro Fujiyama
- Francisco de Borja De la Bella
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Bad Karma Awaits Tokyo in the Bizarre New Kaiju Flick the Great Buddha Arrival". 16 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d "平成最後の年末にリメイクされる幻の特撮映画『大仏廻国』とは一体何か？ 横川寛人監督に聞く". Excite Bit コネタ. 2018-09-09. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ "大仏廻国 The Great Buddha Arrival : 作品情報". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Guerra, Avery (29 July 2020). "THE GREAT BUDDHA ARRIVAL – Final Edition – Adds 2 More Kaiju Film Legends!". SciFi Japan. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24.
- ^ a b "SciFi Japan - Toho Legend Akira Kubo Joins THE GREAT BUDDHA ARRIVAL!". SciFi Japan. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ "Filmfax Plus Magazine #163". Atomic Books. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "Amazon.com: The Great Buddha Arrival : Hiroto Yokokawa: Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
- ^ "米山冬馬". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "シェリー・スゥエニー". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "ペギー・ニール". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "ノーマン・イングランド". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "岩田桃夏". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "CAST/STAFF". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "小林夕岐子". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "螢雪次朗". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "佐野史郎". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "古谷敏". 映画『大仏廻国』公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-09.
External links edit
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