Nice effects though.

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Before I even started watching this film, I had a very, very strong impression that the film would suck--and boy, was I right! With such titles as "Frankenstein Versus the World" and "Frankenstein Verses Baragon", it was obvious it wasn't going to be Shakespeare. What surprised me, though, is that not only was this a cheesy Japanese Frankenstein story, but this time the monster was almost Godzilla-sized!! And this was never really fully explained in the longer international version (the DVD also had a shorter American version that I skipped)! The film begins with Nazi scientists sending something to Japan in the final says of World War II--though what exactly it happens to be is unknown. However, it must be important because the Germans risk a sub to get this secret to Japan. Well, it turns out the sub is carrying a box containing Frankenstein's indestructible heart and the idea is to research into how to make more so they Japanese can have an entire army of indestructible soldiers. However, just after they take the heart out of the box in Hiroshima, the city is nuked and 15 years pass. Now, for reasons completely unknown, this heart somehow got transferred into a feeble-minded teenager who looks like a cross between a caveman and a Japanese kid with an over-sized Frankenstein wig. Oddly, the scientist who examines him declares that the freaky boy "is a Caucasian", though he looks about as Causcasian as Gary Coleman! Oddly, this feral child is already pretty big but starts to quickly grow to gargantuan proportions. This leads the audience to wonder: 1. How the nuked heart survived Hiroshima and magically appeared in a caveboy's chest.2. Why the kid has been doing just fine eating pets and roadkill for years and only when he is rescued does he begin to grow.3. Is the scientist who examined him in his right mind? 4. When the Frankencritter escapes, the first person called is the comely Japanese lady scientist. However, while she is learning about it on the phone, Nick Adams (the token Western actor) announces he's going to find the boy and bring him back to the lab. But how did Adams know this BEFORE the lady? Did he have esp or did he just read the script? After all, SHE was on the phone and he was with her.Regardless of all these important unanswered questions, none are adequately answered and the script is a mess. Instead of trying to make a real horror film, it soon becomes a battle of giant monsters as two ugly brutes appear from nowhere to battle Frankie. It's the typical stupid Toho Studios fare--with tiny buildings and tanks being stomped. My favorite was the boar--that was so obviously fake it made me laugh. However, the first challenger to Frankenstein looked a lot like a dog in a rubber lizard costume! You have to see it to believe it.Despite the movie totally stinking, it is worth seeing if you are a "bad movie fan" who LIKES seeing inept and stupid films. Plus, thankfully, despite being really, really dumb, at least the film is better than the god-awful Gamera films--with that annoying brat who loves and believes in the monster. YECCCHH!!FYI--After writing this deservedly scathing review, I checked out the other reviews for this film and found three people who gave it a positive review AND a score of 10. Apparently, they must now be encouraging mental patients to post reviews.

If King Kong got to do battle with Godzilla, I guess that a Frankenstein vs. Baragon match is not that much of a stretch! We open with a crazy WWII prologue in which Nazi troops (on the verge of defeat) storm into a mad doctor's lab, steal the container with Frankenstein's heart still a-pumpin' and drop it into the lap of their still-kicking Japanese allies stationed at Hiroshima!! The creature (referred to as Frankenstein by virtually everybody throughout – even though it is made clear from the outset that this was in fact the name of its creator) starts off at normal size but grows to be a massive giant by the end of the film, which may be a new angle to the Frankenstein theme but seems to have been allowed simply in order to make the final showdown between the titans plausible! As can be expected, the latter delivers plenty of action but it goes on far too long; even worse, this (in which Baragon emerges the loser) is followed by yet another combat between the Frankenstein monster and a giant octopus (presumably the "Devilfish" referred to in one of the film's alternate titles) – which creature comes out of nowhere (this sequence was actually cut from the U.S. release version)! American star Nick Adams is once again the hero (as was the case with Honda's own MONSTER ZERO [1965]) – he and a couple of other scientists (one of them a beautiful girl, naturally, and whom the creature seems to trust most of all) spend most of the running-time trying to convince the authorities that the Frankenstein monster is a testament to the art of science and that he should be allowed to live. Throughout the course of the film, it's accused of being the perpetrator of a good deal of mayhem – until it transpires that Baragon is the real culprit! One of the funniest moments in the film is when the creature tries to catch a bird by hurling a tree at it(!), misses the target and lands on a cabin which is summarily flattened (to the gasping reaction of its owner standing nearby)! As with a few of the other Hondas I watched recently – presented in the original Japanese language and accompanied by Italian subtitles – I missed out on a sizeable chunk of dialogue because the translated lines weren't given sufficient time to register! Finally, watching the film I was reminded of other vulgarizations of classic horror myths made around this same time – such as BILLY THE KID VS. Dracula (1966), the various Paul Naschy werewolf entries, and even Jess Franco's Dracula – PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN (1971) and THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (1972)...

Furankenshutain tai Chitei Kaiju Baragon, or Frankenstein Conquers the World as it was renamed for American audiences, starts during '1945 - Somewhere in Germany' as a group of Japanese soldiers steal the immortal heart of the Frankenstein monster, they take it back to Japan & as they are about to start experimenting on it the Americans drop a load of atomic bombs... Jump forward 'Fifteen Years Later' at the 'Hiroshima Government Facility of Radiation Studies' where American scientist Dr. James Bowen (Nick Adams) along with his assistants Dr. Sueko Togami (Kumi Mizuno) & Dr. Yuzo Kawaji (Tadao Takashima) are unsurprisingly researching the effects of radiation, a young vagrant boy (Kenichiro Kawaji) who likes to eat animals catches the attention of Bowen who gives hims shelter at his hospital. However this is no ordinary boy, he seems to be growing at an incredible rate & once he outgrows his cage he breaks out & goes on a rampage across Japan. The Japanese military wants to kill him while the scientist dudes want to study it, who will win the war of wills?This Japanese production was directed by Godzilla veteran Ishiro Honda & I am pleased to announce that I saw the uncut, original language sub-titled full 2:35:1 widescreen version complete with Japanese opening & closing credits & if that wasn't enough folks I also managed to get hold of the deleted/alternate ending scene where Frankenstein fights a giant Octopus! The script by Jerry Sohl which was apparently originally going to have the Frankenstein monster fight Godzilla but was scraped because the studio felt it would be too implausible has one of the most bizarre & preposterous ideas behind it I've seen in a while, I mean the heart of Frankenstein stolen during World War II is taken back to Japan where radiation from American nuclear bombs makes it grow into a 100 foot Frankenstein monster with a distinctly Japanese complexion which then comes to the rescue of the country as an ancient dinosaur comes to life & causes havoc across Japan, they actually thought the Godzilla idea was implausible compared to what ended up on screen?! The first half of the film focuses on the Frankenstein monster & it's escape while the second half feels more like a Godzilla film as the dinosaur monster Baragon turns up to upset everyone, the film moves along at a decent pace & despite being one of the silliest films I've seen in a while it makes for good entertainment & there's some fun to be had here although how the Japanese military manage to keep losing track of a 100 foot Frankenstein monster is beyond me.Director Honda does an OK job, Baragon looks like a cute reptilian puppy with a glowing horn while the Frankenstein monster looks a bit silly with a huge gap in his front teeth & a poorly fitting skull cap. As mentioned I watched the Octopus deleted scene which is actually an extended ending, after Frankenstein defeats Baragon unlike the regular version where they are both engulfed in flames as the ground gives way Frankenstein throws Baragons body off a cliff & then turns round to see a giant Octopus crawling along the ground & they have a fight. The Octopus comes from absolutely nowhere & feels very odd, the Octopus special effects aren't too bad though & in fact are probably the best in the film.Technically the film is alright, some of the model shots are absolutely terrible as you would expect but you sense this had a budget. There's not much style here & it's certainly not scary but there's some fun to be had if you can enjoy it simply for what it is. Since I watched a sub-titled version it's difficult to tell about the acting.Furankenshutain tai Chitei Kaiju Baragon is childish silly fun that entertains to a degree but just can't be taken seriously, for monster film fans only really. Followed by the sequel The War of the Gargantuas (1966) which wisely plays down the Frankenstein connection in it's title.

"Frankenstein Conquers the World" was a one-shot attempt by Toho Studios (the same company that gave us Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, etc.) to re-invent the Frankenstein monster. It's easy to see why there weren't any sequels. While the opening sequences set in Nazi Germany are intriguing (if you've always wondered what Japanese actors look like playing Germans, here's your chance!!) and Nick Adams gives a fine performance as the token American (a role he was to reprise in "Godzilla v. Monster Zero") the sad fact is that Frankenstein just doesn't work in a Japanese setting. The movie becomes progressively sillier until it turns into a complete travesty. Even Inoshiro Honda, who directed the original "Godzilla," couldn't save this turkey. As late night horror movies go, this one's not too bad, and it has a certain campy appeal, but the more you see it the less there is to like about it. See it when it comes on TV, but don't waste your money on the DVD if there is one.