Talkback: Half Human (1955) aka Jūjin Yuki Otoko

[Godzilla21]

I am really interested in seeing this film, if anyone could PM me a link to English dubbed version I would be very grateful. It is the only other Toho/Honda kaiju like film that has avoided me.

Added in 58 minutes 20 seconds:
If no one has a link I will consider buying it off Sinister Cinema. Has anyone else bought from them and can verify their authenticity? And is it the American version?

The dubbed version is the Americanized version. I don't believe a dub of the original Japanese version exists. I can PM you if you need a link to a site with both the Americanized and subtitled original Japanese version.

[gzillafan17]

I am really interested in seeing this film, if anyone could PM me a link to English dubbed version I would be very grateful. It is the only other Toho/Honda kaiju like film that has avoided me.

Added in 58 minutes 20 seconds:
If no one has a link I will consider buying it off Sinister Cinema. Has anyone else bought from them and can verify their authenticity? And is it the American version?

The dubbed version is the Americanized version. I don't believe a dub of the original Japanese version exists. I can PM you if you need a link to a site with both the Americanized and subtitled original Japanese version.

Yes Please!

[Terasawa]

I am really interested in seeing this film, if anyone could PM me a link to English dubbed version I would be very grateful. It is the only other Toho/Honda kaiju like film that has avoided me.

Added in 58 minutes 20 seconds:
If no one has a link I will consider buying it off Sinister Cinema. Has anyone else bought from them and can verify their authenticity? And is it the American version?

This video is from the Sinister Cinema DVD. It's better than the official Rhino/Englewood VHS releases in some ways, worse in others. Sinister's transfer comes from a splicy print whereas the VHS releases are much less damaged. However, the Sinister copy is arguably better because of the higher resolution.

Also worth noting that DCA's Half Human is not a dubbed version. Carradine narrates the Japanese footage but none of the cast is dubbed at all. All music and sound effects are replaced too. It's probably the worst Americanized version of any tokusatsu movie, which is a shame since the Japanese version is much more difficult to view.

[Gothicserpent]

Honestly, if anyone wants to watch it you can PM me. It's a neat little film with a great atmosphere.

[LegendZilla]

I think the odds are that the stereotypical portrayal of the Ainu-esque natives in the film (which is why it is banned until this day in Japan) is why Akira Ifukube himself did not end up scoring the film.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Ive heard about this, sounds interesting.

Wasnt the suit in this reused for the King Kong suit in 1962? Could be wrong, I read it somewhere.

[Terasawa]

Wasnt the suit in this reused for the King Kong suit in 1962? Could be wrong, I read it somewhere.

No. They are totally different costumes.

[UltramanGoji]

Does anyone know the origins of the timecoded Japanese cut? Someone earlier in the thread said it was an unreleased screener, is that true?

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

I heard that it was sourced from an unreleased VHS tape but I might be confusing it with Nostradamus's situation. Somebody like Terasawa or SpaceHunterM know more about it.

[Terasawa]

I heard that it was sourced from an unreleased VHS tape but I might be confusing it with Nostradamus's situation.

You're not confusing them, both films had the same fate. Both were intended for home video release and neither were released. Keith Aiken talks about the aborted Half Human release in this Monster Zero post. The leak of Nostradamus might have been from a similar situation.

[UltramanGoji]

I heard that it was sourced from an unreleased VHS tape but I might be confusing it with Nostradamus's situation.

You're not confusing them, both films had the same fate. Both were intended for home video release and neither were released. Keith Aiken talks about the aborted Half Human release in this Monster Zero post. The leak of Nostradamus might have been from a similar situation.

Good stuff, thanks for the info. This'll help greatly with a video I'm making.

[H-Man]

I watched both versions today. The American version with John Carradine plays like an incredibly dumbed-down cliff notes version of the Japanese film. I did get a good laugh out of the scene where Carradine and his colleagues are talking about the "mysterious mountain village" (the Burakumim hamlet in the Japanese version):

Scientist: So were they savages?
Carradine: Not to the point that they'd eat their own dead...

I dunno why, I thought that was funny.

[Terasawa]

The human characters have zero characterization. Like I know some Toho films don't have strong characters but Godzilla 1954 has some great human drama and later entries in toho's library have memorable people. This is just a group of people, a group of hunters, and some demented villagers. There's zero compelling dialogue about who or where the people we focus are from, or what their background is, beyond being from some university or being poachers.

This is absolutely this movie's biggest flaw. Except for the mountain girl Chika and the two snowmen, the characters we have any empathy for are gone for most of the second act and their reintroduction to set up the third act stalls the film.

[Voyager]

Just watched it, and I found it entertaining, for the most part. The characters felt quite dull.