Daimajin

Daimajin, directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, is a Japanese film about a village crushed under a cruel lord in feudal Japan, and the vengeance taken when an imprisoned, wrathful spirit called Daimajin comes to life as a giant stone statue. The character and its theme of vengeance trace back to the Golem of Prague legend as depicted in the 1936 Czechoslovak film Le Golem; in Jewish folklore, this humanoid being formed from clay and capable of being both protector and destroyer carried directly into the Daimajin concept. Released in the mid 1960s when kaiju films like Godzilla and Gamera dominated, Daimajin stood out as a bold fusion of the monster movie format with a historical samurai drama, and was the first entry in a trilogy shot simultaneously by three different directors that same year. Who it's for: anyone curious about a distinctive Japanese monster film that draws on the Golem of Prague legend and fuses samurai drama with the kaiju genre. Who it's not for: those expecting fast paced monster action throughout, since the film deliberately builds at a slow pace until its climax.