Saved events

Mothra (PG) + live performance from Frank Chickens

All Kaiju Attack!

,Cinema 1
A giant moth creature flies over an amusement park ride that has been smashed.

Mothra makes an unforgettable debut in Ishirō Honda’s vibrant, day-glo monster movie, introducing one of the most beloved kaiju to the world.

The divine Mothra is an unusual beast, a rare female kaiju, who appears in three different forms over the course of her debut film – first as an egg, then a larva, before emerging from a chrysalis, built against the then new Tokyo Tower, as a giant moth. Her city rampages are provoked not by malevolence, but in her desperate search for the Shobijin, her two kidnapped guardians - the mini-priestesses, or ‘Small Beauties’, memorably played by Yumi Ito and Emi Ito.

Mothra has many moments of humour, casting comedian Frankie Sakai in the lead role and satirically swiping at the imperialist land of Rolisica, a thinly veiled parody of the US and the Soviet Union. But the exciting scenes of Mothra’s destruction of Tokyo landmarks and a city clearly based on New York, are played straight, and remain classic moments of kaiju fury.

Tagged with: Cinema All Kaiju Attack!

Japan 1961 dir Ishirō Honda 101 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

This event will begin with a live performance on stage by Frank Chickens.

Frank Chickens

Frank Chickens are a Japanese punk pop performance group with a cult following in the UK, who were founded in London in 1982 as a duo with Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi, but the group has now expanded to more than 20 members. 

They were John Peel‘s favourite, had an independent chart hit with “We Are Ninja”, had a Channel 4 TV series: “Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub”, won the Foster Comedy God Award in 2010, released five albums and toured worldwide. Their song “Mothra” is directly inspired by the 1961 film.

Cinema 1

Location
Barbican Cinema 1 is located within the main Barbican building on Level -2. Head to Level G and walk towards the Lakeside Terrace where you’ll find stairs and lifts to take you down to the venue floor.   

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.