Invasion of Astro-Monster
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| Invasion of Astro-Monster | |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Written by | Shinichi Sekizawa |
| Starring | Akira Takarada Nick Adams Kumi Mizuno |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi |
| Editing by | Ryohei Fujii |
| Distributed by | Toho |
| Release date(s) | December 19, 1965 |
| Running time | 101 min |
| Language | Japanese English |
| Preceded by | Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster |
| Followed by | Ebirah, Horror of the Deep |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Invasion of Astro-Monster, released in Japan as Kaijū Daisenso (怪獣大戦争? lit. "Great Monster War") and also known to U.S. audiences as Monster Zero and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, is a Toho daikaiju eiga (giant-monster movie) released in 1965 and direct sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. It is sixth in the Godzilla series, popular in the West for having the Japanese series' only Hollywood lead, Nick Adams. It is the first Godzilla film to feature humanoid alien invaders and the last to feature the popular 1960s tokusatsu team of director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.
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[edit] Plot
During a manned mission to Planet X behind Jupiter (not to be confused with the hypothesized Planet X), the astronauts encounter inhabitants called Xilians who ask to borrow the two Earth-bound Monsters Zero-One (Godzilla) and Zero-Two (Rodan) to combat their own terror, Monster Zero.
At the outset of the movie, the two-man spacecraft, crewed by one Japanese and one American (Fuji and Glenn), is approaching Jupiter to visit the newly-discovered "Planet X", which inexplicably maintains a position directly behind Jupiter. The planet is rather dark, but still lit up enough to be visible and for it to be possible to navigate its surface. The spacecraft lands, and the astronauts disembark.
One astronaut vanishes, and the other wonders where he, and the spacecraft, have gone, and then a flat voice intones to him, instructing him where to go. The astronauts are led through subterranean corridors to the office of the Controller of Planet X.
The spacecraft is safe, he assures them, and indicates that they are about to be attacked. The astronauts recognize the attacking creature: Ghidorah, the three-headed monster. After a brief black-out, when the astronauts are cut off from being able to see and hear the Controller, they are assured that the monster, known as Monster Zero, has left.
The Controller says that they want Earth's help: to be allowed to capture Monsters Zero One and Zero Two, known to Earthmen as Godzilla and Rodan. In return, Planet X will gift humanity with a wonder drug that cures all diseases. The astronauts agree to return to Earth with the proposal. As they lift off, they say on the radio to the Controller, "We're glad we found friends on Planet X."
Meanwhile, Fuji's girlfriend has a brother, Tetsuo, who's invented a personal alarm he thinks women could use to summon assistance if they're endangered. It creates a horrific loud noise that can be heard blocks away, and wonders why nobody's interested in buying it, but then a Miss Namikawa comes and makes an offer to buy it as an educational device, but keeps putting Tetsuo off on completing the deal.
Fuji and Glenn arrive home, and tell their superiors of the offer by Planet X. Scientists begin searching for Godzilla and Rodan. Then, the Controller of Planet X makes mysterious appearances on Earth, and Glenn becomes suspicious about Planet X. The Controller finally makes his appearance overt, "apologizes" for his unannounced presence, and offers to help locate the two monsters. Two Planet X spacecraft rapidly fly off and extract the two monsters.
Glenn, Fuji and one of their superiors are invited aboard a spacecraft to accompany the Controller back to Planet X, a trip that takes only a few hours; the Controller says that soon they'll be able to travel as fast as light. On reaching Planet X, there is almost immediately an attack by Ghidorah, and the two from Earth are released to battle it. Ghidorah is driven off, and the Controller exults about that. He presents a box that, he says, contains information about the miracle drug, and presents the three men with a faithful duplicate of their spaceship so they can fly home.
On arrival, the box is taken to a special international meeting and is opened to find a reel-to-reel tape. It is loaded onto a machine and set up to play. When the speakers remain silent for a long period, some wonder if the systems are compatible, but others say their system is exactly the same as ours. Finally, there is a beep, and the voice begins. "This is the Controller of Planet X. You will listen to my instructions..." It is an ultimatum to surrender to Planet X.
The aliens arrive, destroy the spacecraft, and threaten to release the three creatures, which are now all under Planet X's control. In a show of confidence, the aliens even betray the method of control: magnetic waves. The Earth scientists realize that they could exploit this information, and work rapidly to find a way to disrupt those magnetic waves, while in the meantime, Earth's armies fight nearly in futility with conventional weapons as the monsters wage most of their destruction against Japan.
Tetsuo, meanwhile, is dissatisfied with the lack of progress on his device, and his inability to get Miss Namikawa to tell him what's happening. He gets imprisoned by the Planet X soldiers. When Glenn, who was infatuated with Miss Namikawa, is also arrested after finding out something about her - she's from Planet X and all their women are virtually identical, he and Tetsuo put clues together. Namikawa gave Glenn, before she was disintegrated by a Planet X soldier, a letter, and in it she says that one simple sound will destroy the people of Planet X. It is the sound made by Tetsuo's "lady beware alarm". He still has the prototype, takes it out and sets it off. It upsets and paralyzes the Planet X soldiers and Glenn can immobilize them and they escape.
They reach the space center scientists and explain about the device. Arrangements are made to broadcast it on all radio and television stations, a tactic that will be employed when the magnetic disruption devices are deployed.
The three monsters are removed from Planet X control, as Planet X spacecraft explode and personnel escape the noise by blowing up ships. Planet X withdraws its attempts to conquer Earth. Meanwhile, Godzilla attacks King Ghidorah with the aid of Rodan, forcing Ghidorah into a retreat.
Glenn and Fuji are to be sent to Planet X again as ambassadors to seek peaceful relations.
[edit] U.S. Version
The film was released in North America by[UPA in 1970 under the title Monster Zero. It played on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas. There were several alterations made:
- Dialogue was dubbed to English.
- The theme song was changed, and some of Akira Ifukube's score was re-arranged. Several sound effects were also added.
- Deleted: several shots of Godzilla's foot stepping on houses and huts.
- Deleted: some short shots of flying saucers.
- Deleted: Rodan blowing away tanks from the top of a hill.
- Deleted: a scene of the Planet X leader speaking in the language of Planet X.
The American version runs 93 minutes, three minutes shorter than the Japanese version. In his book Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: An Unauthorized History of 'The Big G', Steve Ryfle says "The Americanization...is respectful to the original Japanese version."
[edit] Box Office
In Japan, the film sold approximately 3,780,000 tickets.
[edit] Alternate Titles
- Battle of the Astros
- Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (USA) (video title)
- Invasion of the Astros
- Invasion from Planet X (UK Television Title)
- Monster X ( US Working Title)
[edit] DVD Releases
Simitar Entertainment
- Released: May 6, 1998
- Aspect Ratios: Widescreen (2.35:1) letterboxed; Full frame (1.33:1)
- Sound: English (1.0), English (5.1)
- Supplements: Godzilla trailers; Godzilla art gallery; Trivia game; Film facts; DVD-ROM (screen savers, prinable art gallery, web access)
- All Regions
- Note: Contains the U.S. release
Classic Media
- Release date: June, 2007
- Note: Contains the both the original Japanese version and the U.S. release
[edit] King Geedorah
The film was heavily sampled by underground hip-hop artist MF Doom's side project "Take Me to Your Leader (King Geedorah album)".
[edit] External link
- Invasion of Astro-Monster at the Internet Movie Database
- Review at Toho Kingdom by Miles Imhoff
