Daimajin Gyakushu a.k.a. Revenge of the Daimajin, Return of the Daimajin, The Giant Majin's Counterattack {literal trans} Release date: 12/10/1966 Color, Cinescope, directed by Kazuo Mori © 1966 Daiei Motion Picture Co., ltd.
The third (and final) film in the Daimajin series is "Daimajin Gyakushu". It leaves behind many of the studio produced sets of the first two films to take on some location shooting on some of the beautiful mountain scapes of Japan (which gives the film a "brighter" look than the first two). It is the least of the series, but is still miles above the average Kaiju film of the time. The child stars of this film, while occasionally childish, do not diminish the film's very serious tone.
SYNOPSIS:
In yet another peacefull Japanese village, trouble is brewing. An evil warlord (is there any other kind of warlord other than evil??) has enslaved the men of the village and taken them to his remote kingdom on the other side of a Japanese mountain range. There, he forces them to work under horrid conditions to build a massive fort. Four young boys, whoes fathers were taken, set out on a quest across the forbidden Majin mountain (different than the first one) in order to ask the vengeful god to save their fathers. The task is not an easy one, and the boys endure much hardship and are stopped just short of their goal. They are chased by three samurai under the control of the warlord, one of the boys even drowns. But just as all seems lost, the Majin awakens.
The Majin's arrival is signified here by the death of a bird (which is apparently an exstension of the Majin's own spirit) and by the self sacrifice of one of the four boys. The Majin then treks across a snow covered landscape, oblivious of all in his path, to dispose of the evil warlord and to free those who have been oppressed. The Majin, in the end, finally unsheaths his sword, and uses it to impale the evil doer. The Majin then vanishes in a sort of whirlwind of snow.
COMMENTS:
This film is notable in that it is the ONLY time the Majin ever used his sword (which is seen in every film hanging at his side). The special effects are creative and meticulous in their perfection (the warlord tries to dispose of the Majin by unleashing a bundle of logs and the Majin then picks up the logs and use them as weapons against the warlord) and are on par with those of Daimajin Ikaru. The Majin's awakening and his trek through the snowy countryside to take vengence on evil doers once again is breathtaking. Akira Ifukube's score is also quite memorable. A phenomenal film, much as we have come to expect from the Daimajin series; and a grand conclusion to the trilogy.