MovieChat Forums > Matango (1963) Discussion > Homer's ODYSSEY Lotus Eaters vs Mushroom...

Homer's ODYSSEY Lotus Eaters vs Mushroom People


Check my full review under user's comments (gortx). Anybody ELSE see the, to me, obvious parellel to Homer's THE ODYSSEY (THE LAND OF THE LOTUS EATERS)? Can anyone point to anywhere else that the connection has been made?

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i was thinking about that when i watched it. i assume he drew some of the stroy from htat. at least the idea of the mushrooms and such. all in all i thought the film was very well done, and my younger brother was terrified by it.

jk

"in the words of my generation Up Yours!!!!!"

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I see the parallel now that you point it out, however, having read the original story- "The Voice in the Night" -upon which the film was based, you can see that they came from two different directions.

Homer was about seduction and slavery, Hodgeson was more about mold and mutation.

"If you don't know the answer -change the question."

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I was actually forced to watch the end segment of this movie for an English class (the cheesy dubbed version because my teacher was extremely cynical). Having moved to a different school, we're re-covering the Odyssey and I actually used the movie as an example in an essay on hubris.


Slightly unrelated:
Is this movie actually any good or is it only popular because of the camp?

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The central part of the film -that dealing with the island and the corruption of the characters by the fungus is exceptionally chilling and the use of light/dark and color/monochrome is unusually effective.

Sure, some of the effects are dated by today's standards, but they hold up well and enhance the chills by their "organic" verus digital nature.

"If you don't know the answer -change the question."

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I haven't seen this movie in ages, since the 70s I guess. They would show monster theater on saturday afternoon and I saw it a couple times then and thought it was pretty good. Would love to see it again to see if its anything like I remember.

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[deleted]

I don't know about Homer but Matango definitely was the inspiration for Gilligan's Island. Obviously, the sitcom took a much more comical approach than Ishiro Honda's classic but the basic cast of characters is the same.

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I'd agree that Honda was explicitly creating a morality tale of Western influence "infecting" Japan. He was known for his social commentary. I also see it as a morality tale against drug abuse. The obvious mushroom connection to hallucinations is clear.

As far as Gilligan's Island....Amazing and I believe true. There is no way the person who first came up with the concept for the show (Schwartz or some writer working for him) DIDN'T see Matango...........

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