Chikyû Bôeigun (1957)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Shigeru Kayama (story)
Takeshi Kimura (writer)

Release Date:

15 May 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller | War

Tagline:

They come from another World...They want 3 kilometres of land-and...FIVE of your WOMEN!

Plot:

Aliens arrive on Earth and ask permission to be given a certain tract of land for their people to live on...

Plot Keywords:

Giant Robot | Alien | Flying Saucer | Radioactivity | Dome

Cast

Kenji Sahara	...	Joji Atsumi
Yumi Shirakawa	...	Etsuko Shiraishi
Momoko Kôchi	...	Hiroko Iwamoto
Akihiko Hirata	...	Ryoichi Shiraishi
Takashi Shimura	...	Dr. Tanjiro Adachi
Susumu Fujita	...	Gen. Morita
Hisaya Ito	...	Capt. Seki
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Cmdr. Sugimoto
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Dr. Nobu Kawanami
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Koda
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Leader of the Mysterians
Yutaka Sada	...	Police Capt. Miyamoto
Ren Imaizumi	...	Adachi's Assistant Hayami
Takeo Oikawa	...	Announcer on TV
Tadao Nakamaru	...	1st Lt. Yamamoto

Also Known As:

Defence Force of the Earth
Earth Defense Force
The Mysterians (USA)

Runtime:

89 min | Japan:88 min | USA:85 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Norway:12 | UK:PG

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The Mogera suit, originally worn by Haruo Nakajima, was, after filming, kept in storage in one of Tôhô's visual effects soundstages until 1974, when it was destroyed in a fire on the lot, caused by a pyrotechnical accident during the filming of Nosutoradamusu no daiyogen (1974).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): One of the bicyclist firefighters has a very southern-US accent, when the on-screen actors are obviously Japanese.

Quotes:

Ryoichi Shiraishi: The tragedy of the Mysterians is a good example for us! Don't use science in the wrong way!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Resist Evil Part Three: Don't Stop or We'll Die (2009)

Finally On DVD!! If You Love The Genre, You'll Love This

Brilliant re-mastering of a childhood favorite. All of the painstaking detail of the original miniature work can once again be clearly seen, especially if you have a digital-ready TV. Gone are the days of the lousy prints, garbled sound track, and comical dubbing!! Even the models -- the flying saucers, planes, tanks, the dome -- as well as the "big kahuna" himself (i.e. Mogera) come across as more vivid and life-like than ever. Watching it took me back 45 years, glued to my seat today just as it was when I saw it in theatrical release in my adolescence. Akira Ifukube's stirring score, which stands alone quite well as an orchestral piece, has been brilliantly restored (in Dolby 5.1 no less). It sounds wonderful. The English dubbing is entirely new, but to be honest, I found it nearly as inane, but not so nearly endearing, as the original. The dubbing of the early Toho Sci-Fi flicks was so bad it was great, and was in fact one of the things that attracted many (myself included) to the genre. Not so here. I ended up watching it in the original Japanese, with English subtitles. Much better. This release contains all of scenes that were cut from the original U.S. release -- such as, the second Mogera getting clobbered by a falling Markalite as it attempts to emerge from underground. Like I said, if you love the genre, you're gonna love this!!!