Frankenstein Conquers the World

"A fearsome kaijin? A mad new antagonistic kaiju? A golden entertainment epic of Japan-U.S. collaboration!"

1965 1h 30m JA

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 78

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During WWII, Germans obtain the immortal heart of Frankenstein's monster and transport it to Japan to prevent it being seized by the Allies. Kept in a Hiroshima laboratory, it is seeming lost when the United States destroys the city with the atomic bomb. Years later a wild boy is discovered wandering the streets of the city alone, born of the immortal heart.

“A fearsome kaijin? A mad new antagonistic kaiju? A golden entertainment epic of Japan-U.S. collaboration!”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Tadao Takashima
Dr. Yuzo Kawaji
Nick Adams
Dr. James Bowen
Kumi Mizuno
Dr. Sueko Togami
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Daigo Kawai
Koji Furuhata
Frankenstein
Jun Tazaki
Hideo Nishi, Director of the Okayama Prefectural Police
Susumu Fujita
Osaka Prefectural Police Chief
Takashi Shimura
Hiroshima Army Hospital doctor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ishirō Honda
Writers: Takeshi Kimura, Reuben Bercovitch, Jerry Sohl
Languages: Japanese, German, English
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Japanese, German, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Frankenstein (Toho) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ryôhei Fujii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tadao Takashima and Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ishirō Honda directs. Hajime Koizumi behind the camera. Akira Ifukube scores. Ryôhei Fujii cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, German, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
261 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Japanese, German, English.
4Part of the "Frankenstein (Toho) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Ishirō Honda, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ryôhei Fujii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tadao Takashima and Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A fearsome kaijin? A mad new antagonistic kaiju? A golden entertainment epic of Japan-U.S. collaboration!".
10IMDB entry: tt0059205 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 78 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
12Classified under 15 themes, including "japan", "monster", "submarine", "germany".
13Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hajime Koizumi
Original score: Akira Ifukube
Editing: Ryôhei Fujii
Production design: Takeo Kita
Makeup / hair: Riki Konna
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)

Part of

Frankenstein (Toho) Collection

During WWII, a human heart taken from Dr. Frankenstein's lab and is kept in Japan where it gets exposed to the radiation of the bombing of Hiroshima. The heart grows in size, mutates and eventually becomes an indestuctable humanoid. Later, a reptilian monster goes on a rampage. Eventually the Frankenstein creature and the reptile face off in a terrible battle. An experimental lab animal called a gargantua escapes from his captors and is suspected to be the creature that is killing people all over the countryside. But when the gargantua from the lab appears at the same time as the evil gargantua, the two begin to battle across Japan.