| The Mysterians | |
|---|---|
original Japanese movie poster |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Written by | Jojiro Okami Shigeru Kayama Takeshi Kimura |
| Starring | Kenji Sahara Yumi Shirakawa Takashi Shimura |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi |
| Editing by | Koichi Iwashita |
| Distributed by | Toho (Japan) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (U.S.) |
| Release date(s) | December 28, 1957 (Japan) May 15, 1959 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 88 min. 85 min. (USA) |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese English |
The Mysterians, released in Japan as Chikyū Bōeigun (地球防衛軍, lit. "Earth Defense Force"), is a tokusatsu science fiction film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1957. It was directed by the "Golden Duo" of Ishirō Honda (drama) and Eiji Tsuburaya (special effects). It is notable for being the first tokusatsu filmed in TohoScope and the first Toho film to use Perspecta stereophonic sound. Allmovie praises the film for its excellent special effects.[1]
The Mysterians (which inspired Rudy Martinez to name his band Question Mark & the Mysterians) was followed by a sequel, Battle in Outer Space. The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, and Gorath are considered Toho's space-opera trilogy. For Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), special effects director Koichi Kawakita redesigned the giant robot Mogera into an anti-Godzilla mecha called M.O.G.E.R.A. (Mobile Operation Godzilla Expert Robot Aerotype).
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Scientifically advanced wanderers from the destroyed planet Mysteroid request a patch of land on Earth and the right to marry Earthling women. After a demonstration of their destructive abilities from the help of their giant robot Moguera, humankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist. Predictably, the Earthlings choose to resist. The Mysterians have giant burrowing dome bases that can come up out of the earth and deploy death rays that emanate from the dome's crown and can melt tanks and jeeps as if they were plastic.
Miraculously, the Earthlings develop their own death-ray-equipped, agile rocket aircraft that enable them to blow up the dome.
The film was released in the U.S. in May 1959. The New York Times called the film "an ear-splitting Japanese-made fantasy, photographed in runny color and dubbed English," and concluded: "This Metro release is crammed with routine footage of death rays and scrambling civilians, not one of whom can act. Tomoyuki Tanaka produced the mess and Inoshiro Honda directed it. Peter Riethof and Carlos Montalban are responsible for the 'English version,' and may it spread no further linguistically."[2]
The original English dubbed version was released at least twice on VHS in the US. Media Blasters released the Japanese version on DVD in 2005 and recorded new English and Spanish audio tracks for the disc. Toho claims it doesn't own the original English dub anymore and thus it was not included on the DVD.
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