Cinematic Point Of View

Remembering Ishiro Honda
(May 7, 1911- February 28, 1993)

“My nightmares are almost always about war – wandering the streets, searching for something that’s lost forever. But it’s possible for me to will myself to have pleasant dreams. For me, the most wonder fragrance in the world is new film. You open the canister for the first time and breathe deeply. That night, the same wonderful fragrance fills your dreams. It’s grand.” – Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda was a Japanese film director born on May 7, 1911, in Asahi, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. He became one of the most influential figures in Japanese cinema and is probably best known for directing ‘Gojira’ (Godzilla) in 1954.

His life and career were shaped by both war and filmmaking, as he began working in the film industry, then served in the Japanese military around World War II, and then returned to directing. Over the years, he made many films that helped define the classic kaiju era. Later in life he worked closely with director Akira Kurosawa on several of Kurosawa’s final movies.

The man has had an incredible life. I’m currently in the middle of a months long deep dive exploring his catalog of work. Some films work better than others, but all of them contain a childlike passion for filmmaking that I’ve come to love and see as uniquely Honda. You could pop on any one of his movies and know instantly, that it’s his work.

I’m also in the middle of reading his biography “Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa” and getting to know the man has been truly inspiring during a time when the world seems determined to go to war again. His deeply humanistic and pacifist perspective is needed now more than ever.

Honda died in Tokyo on February 28, 1993, but his legacy lives on forever.