The Green Slime

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The Green Slime

Directed by	Kinji Fukasaku
Produced by	Walter Manley Ivan Reiner
Written by	William Finger Tom Rowe Charles Sinclair Ivan Reiner (story)
Starring	Robert Horton Richard Jaeckel Luciana Paluzzi
Music by	Toshiaki Tsushima Charles Fox
Cinematography	Yoshikazu Yamasawa
Editing by	Osamu Tanaka
Distributed by	Toei MGM
Release date(s)	Dec 19, 1968 May 21, 1969
Running time	77 min 90 min
Country	Japan / USA
Language	Japanese English
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For other uses, see Green slime (disambiguation).

The Green Slime (ガンマー第3号宇宙大作戦, Ganmā daisan gō: uchū daisakusen^?) aka Gamma 3: Cosmic War is a 1968 science-fiction film co-produced by the Toei Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

1 Summary
2 Production
3 References in popular culture
4 External links
- 4.1 Reviews

[edit] Summary

A group of astronauts set out to stop a giant asteroid on a collision course with the planet Earth. They land on the asteroid, plant explosive charges and destroy it. Afterwards they return to the staging area, a space station called Gamma 3 in orbit around the Earth. Unfortunately, a scientist from the mission had unwittingly stowed a luminous-green substance on his back which quickly mutates into one-eyed, tentacled monsters with the ability to discharge lethal bolts of electricity. The Gamma 3 crew fend off the alien creatures with their laser-based weaponry, only to discover the creatures feed off the energy which, in turn, allows them to multiply rapidly, sprouting the new creatures from their blood. As the creatures overrun the station the crew continues to fight back against overwhelming odds.

[edit] Production

Green Slime is a Japanese-American co-production financed by Toei in Japan and MGM in the United States. It was filmed in Japan in 1968 using a largely American cast of B-movie actors, including Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, and Luciana Paluzzi, along with American background players recruited from USAF officers at an airbase in Tokyo and female, American, fashion models based in Japan. Communication between the Japanese crew and the American actors proved to be a problem, as did the cheap sets, special effects, and the title creatures (clearly actors in rubber suits). While the basic plot found its way into 1970s science-fiction classics such as Alien (1979), Green Slime's May, 1969 U.S release was met with a nominal critical reception. However, it did achieve a popular success with American matinée audiences due, in part, to an extensive advertising campaign aimed at children. It also features a notoriously psychedelic theme song.

The Japanese version was released in December, 1968 under the title Gamma 3: Cosmic War. It was 13 minutes shorter than the American version and eliminated a love triangle subplot, added different musical cues (notably absent was the infamous theme song) and gave the film an increased militaristic feel.

[edit] References in popular culture

Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured a portion of the American version in its pilot episode.
Game designer Tom Wham cited this movie as the inspiration for his game The Awful Green Things From Outer Space.