Atragon is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho, it is based on The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure by Shunrō Oshikawa and The Undersea Kingdom by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film stars Jun Tazaki, Tadao Takashima, Yōko Fujiyama, Yū Fujiki, and Ken Uehara.
Theatrical release poster
Ishirō Honda was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, with his films having a significant influence on the film industry. Despite directing many drama, war, documentary, and comedy films, Honda is best remembered for directing and co-creating the kaiju genre with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.
Honda at the National Museum of Nature and Science during the filming of Frankenstein vs. Baragon
Honda practicing Kendo in the late 1920s
Honda stationed in China during the late 1930s
From the left: Akira Kurosawa, Honda, and Senkichi Taniguchi with their mentor Kajirō Yamamoto, late 1930s
