Reviews & Ratings for
The Last War More at IMDbPro »Sekai daisensô (original title)

5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Interesting Curio That Overcomes Its Pretentiousness, 3 October 2003
Author: Eric-62-2 from Morristown, NJ

I was fortunate to obtain a widescreen subtitled edition of this 1961 movie, which is really the proper way to see it, devoid of bad English dubbing and rearranged sequences etc. In its original version, there are some great SFX sequences by Japan's master Eiji Tsubaraya, who was responsible for all the Godzilla movies, but rather than shock the viewer for its "graphic" depiction of nuclear war, as the filmmakers hoped to do, they just come across as neat-interesting in the "Armageddon" way of filmmaking that we see today. What makes "The Last War" more entertaining then films of today like "Armageddon" is that the acting is better (at least the Japanese actors), and there's just a greater sense of style in films from this era then what we see today.

Not that the movie is without flaws. The anti-nuclear war message is delivered in a very pretentious fashion, and its depiction of how the war breaks out is, as noted below, totally ludicrous with no context offered as to why tensions are escalating between the "Federation" (i.e. NATO and the US) and the "Alliance" (i.e. the USSR) in the first place. Scenes of the "Federation" and "Alliance" at their military bases are shot in English and feature very bad amateur "actors" mouthing dialogue that no one with a real grasp of the English language would ever have written (the Alliance commander at one point utters a dated exclamation, "Egads!" among other things) We also get that nice coat of whitewashing of Japan's aggressive past as an Imperial power that infests every Toho sci-fi movie that gets on a soapbox about the evils of atomic weapons. And the ending blatantly plagiarizes the ending of "On The Beach" to not good effect.

Still, I recommend owning a copy of this in the original widescreen subtitled format, just as a fascinating curio piece and also the chance to see some great special FX for the day in full splendor. Along with "Gorath" and "The Mysterians" it shows how there was much more to Toho FX movies of the 50s and 60s then just Godzilla and other giant monsters.

8 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
The real meaning of war, 18 April 2001
Author: gypsykoenigbill

Unlike the Mel Gibson "epic" THE PATRIOT and the upcoming PEARL HARBOR, this Japanese film SEKAI DAISENSO teaches us the real meaning of war and what war can do to us.

SEKAI DAISENSO, or known in America as THE LAST WAR, is about the possibilties of World War III beginning. And indeed it does begin and causes the world to end. Scenes of famous landmarks and buildings exploding to bits provide a good special effects highlight (after all, this film is made by Toho who also gave us the Godzilla films). But SEKAI DAISENSO does not deliver the special effects to wow the audience. The effects are to show us what would happen if we set off nuclear bombs in order to end a war quickly.

The film also has a romance angle between a young navy officer (Akira Takarada) and a young girl (Yuriko Hoshi), while the young girl's parents (Frankie Sakai and Nobuko Otowa) live their daily lives and try to cope with both good and bad memories. This angle between the romantic couple and their parents does not interfear with the film at all. It sets the whole film in motion. One particular sequence featuring Sakai standing at his window saying that the family will not die out but will go on living gives the film a powerful emotion of inocent people who are about to die in a war that will take their lives. Very sad isn't it.

Director Shue Matsubayashi brings SEKAI DAISENSO to life with his smooth and artistic direction. He is also perfect for directing this film because Matsubayashi was part of the Navy during World War II, so his experiences with war is also perfect for this film. Also Eiji Tsuburaya's groundbreaking special effects also put the message of war in front of our eyes very clearly.

The American release from Brenco Pictures was heavily edited and rearranged and is a bit of a disappointment due to the somewhat crude and out of place English dubbing. Though released theatricaly in the United States, badly panned and scanned video copies from television have turned up. However, I feel that both the American and Japanese version need to be released on video as soon as possible before the interest in these films begin to fade away.

SEKAI DAISENSO is told from the Japanese viewpoint on what war is like. SEKAI DAISENSO is not Japanese propoganda, but a film made by people who have experienced the cruel meanings of war through the Hiroshima bombing, which is also brought up in the film as well (but breifly in the American version). SEKAI DAISENSO teaches us that war is not something that we or the whole world shold get involved in or even create for that matter. War is not a good thing indeed and the whole world should prevent war from happening. If we don't, then war will pull us in and the world will end up just like it did in the film: a civilization that has been destroyed and the only thing that is left is some crumbled up buildings and corpses.

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
1961 color/scope Japanese TOHO doomsday film made during cold war's peak, and definitely not to be confused w/THE FINAL WAR made a bit earlier in B&W by another studio., 9 March 2007

Author: hideyotsuburaya from United States

This film has (almost) always been hopelessly confused w/THE FINAL WAR (B&W) in the past, so beware of this when referencing older reviews.

SEKAI DAISENSO was to have been theatrically released in U.S. back in early '60s by Edward G. Alperson's BRENCO PICTURES CO. (after Columbia Pictures passed on it), but this never actually occurred. An English dubbing & edit was attempted by Brenco, but not quite finished. A trailer was also made using JFK's "...mankind must put an end to war..." speech. When shown on U.S. television as THE LAST WAR starting in the '70s, it played strangely because the circular opening & ending was incomplete. Later prints of it by Heritage Enterprises tried to correct this. Disneys' "It's a small world after all" song pops up one too many times in the US soundtrack for me, though.

The small-scale miniature sets of various global metropolis's vaporized by all-out nuclear war were actually built out of sugar wafers for maximum explosive effect. However, on the day of shooting the Japanese technicians found that rats in the studio were getting first crack!

3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
More tearjerking than "Braveheart"! *SPOILERS*, 6 February 2004
Author: Angel Meiru

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Or at least I think so. "Sekai Daisenso" or the Last War is quite a powerful anti-war allegory film, I am quite shocked that the west don't even released the international version on video or DVD.

However, I do remeber that the international English version was played on the Sci-Fi channel years back. That is when I caught the film. Good lord, I had to use plenty of hankies for this film!

The most memorables scenes:

1. where where the main soldier, Takano, bids his girlfriend Saeko farewell after they were with each other for quite a while, so she can be with her family more before their lovely land is destroyed.

2. The freeze-frame shots of each major big city of the world before being nuked.

3. The somber ending. Only survivors are Takano and his men, and small towns of the world that have not been hit by the A-bomb. Everyone wonders what humanity has done and mourn the loss of most of the world. However, the miniscule survivors ponder the fact that why humanity should love each other more, while a haunting Japanese children's song plays in the background.

I think everyone should see this film. Toho sure can make powerful films indeed!

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Important, but dated look at the end of the world., 6 September 2004

Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

This is a story about the end of the world. It takes two hours to get there but when it comes its quite spectacular.

This is the story of two superpowers speeding toward war. In the middle are the Japanese and the people who live in Japan. We watch as the impending doom affects the lives of several regular Japanese, and we watch as the troops in the bunkers prepare to send their missiles.

Its sad its maudlin and its very dated. Special effects aside the film when dealing with the military looks all wrong, the fake superpowers are distracting. The fact that both superpowers speak in often oddly accented English distracts from the film, as does the fact that what they say is basically stilted discussion of the wisdom of war.

I can imagine that this film once rocked peoples world, in particular in the full 110 minute version, but now it remains as a talky, dated film about the end of the world. I'm not certain its worth seeing because it is so soapy and stilted, whoever it is important in that this film very graphically shows what will be left after the bombs drop, nothing, nothing but black ruins and dead bodies.

As a film 5 out of 10, as a warning 10 out of 10.

PS- If you want to see the bombs drop its about 100 minutes in

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Beyond Five Hankie!, 9 June 1999

Author: Ainsley_Jo_Phillips (penlady1952@riversongs.tv) from Anderson, Indiana

For days after watching this movie for the first time (summer of 1982 on TV), I would start crying everytime I thought of it. The version I watched was dubbed in English and titled The Last War. One part of the movie that was especially memorable to me (and inspired several poems) was where Seiko (the oldest child) returns home (after spending time with her boyfriend) to be with her folks and kid brother and sister so they can all die together when the bombs and missiles all hit in a matter of mere hours. She goes out into the back yard where her mother has just planted some tulip bulbs and breaks down and cries, saying that, next spring, all of the tulips will come up, but nobody will be left to see them. This movie was an ancestor to THE DAY AFTER, which was also well-made and driving the message home. In spite of the fact that THE LAST WAR was more of a low-budget film, it was, in many ways, more haunting than THE DAY AFTER. Anybody who thinks that war is cool instead of a last-resort necessary evil should watch this movie and understand that war isn't some sort of video game you play and then go eat and do your homework.

1 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Sappy. But lots of stuff blowing up. Where is Godzilla?, 11 June 2009

Author: baloney99 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Plot summary: boring Japanese family, Tokyo and the rest of the world is about to be nuked by inept US and Soviet nuclear armies supposedly in the year 2015.

There is a lot of scenes dedicated to the life and times of the boring Japanese family dealing with mundane everyday issues. Older daughter falls in love with sailor and Dad does not approve. Dad gets drunk during family dinner and passes out, mom and kids giggle lovingly.

Tensions heat up when toy Korean tanks get blown up by a toy nuclear bomb dropped by a toy airplane. Then, there are several instances of close calls of accidental detonation of toy ICBMs. For these Toho used incredibly stupid looking western non-actors in bizarre costumes, with dialog that is so wooden and ridiculous it must be heard to be believed. Multiple redundant failsafe mechanisms that in reality are built into nuclear devices are somehow miraculously bypassed. For an example, an enormous red warning light accidentally comes on, with "outbreak of nuclear war" writing on it. The CO, who is a stubborn idiot, ignores the obvious suggestion by his corporal to check with the President first, and instead goes ahead and initiates missile launch by pushing an enormous red button. The presidents generals guys find out and call him and start yelling and screaming at the CO to stop the launch. The CO argues and refuses to comply because... I'm not sure. However, the corporal finds a broken widget and for some other obscure reason this convinces the CO to abort the launch at the last second.

A street vendor accurately summarizes the Japanese version of WWII history: Japan was unfairly attacked by foreigners and were victims of a nuclear bomb. Like another naive reviewer here on IMDb, he neglects the history before Hiroshima: about the 50 years of aggression by Imperial Japan, resulting in the occupation of Korea, china, Mongolia, parts of Russia, and most of SE Asia, the deaths of tens of millions of Asian civilians, be-headings, deaths of millions of us and British soldiers, the rape of Nanjing, forced labor, death marches, and forced prostitution.

A top level American diplomat just casually tells Dad that there is going to be a nuke attack on Tokio, so Dad immediately calls his stock broker and buys stock in a company that makes bombers, and sells all of his Tokio land stocks. Older daughter and sailor book a hotel room and we are given hints that they have premarital sex. They declare themselves married the next morning. Mom plants tulip bulbs.

A bunch of kids at a boarding school sing songs to an old guy who is the cook on the sailors ship. One of the mothers, the cooks daughter, promises to take her kid to the zoo after the kid gets over her cold.

Meanwhile, we are now on the eve of destruction, after Russian and American toy jets get into a dogfight, leading to an exchange of bottle rockets flying on wires. Eventually they resort to nuclear tipped bottle rockets, and this leads to world to full blown nuclear war by toy ICBMs flying toward models of Tokyo, Delhi, new york, Paris, London and Moscow.

The Japanese government springs into action by having many long meetings and are astonished to learn that their Japanese Defense Force cannot actually defend Japan. So, they decide to hold the crisis from the public until the very last minute, guaranteeing the death of half the population. As war becomes imminent, they begin nonstop world radio and TV broadcasts calling for whirrled peas. Tokio citizens panic and flee, leading to the mandatory Toho scenes of panicked extras running through the streets, with policemen with tidy blue helmets waving their arms to move the extras more quickly.

Boarding school mom tries to get back to pick up her kid but dies at the hands of the panicking masses. Her kid gets sad and teacher cheers the kids up by singing songs.

Boring Japanese family decides to stay in Tokyo to get nuked. They go all Kabuki theater. They get very sad and mope around the house talking to themselves. Mom declares the tulip bulbs are safer in the ground than they are. Dad starts crying and hits the booze.

Finally, The toy missiles arrive at their model targets. AFter two long hours of tedium, we finally get to see stuff get blown up. Models of the worlds cities are blown to bits with gusto, using generous amounts of pyrotec explosives and gasoline. Stock footage of nuclear mushroom clouds are stuck between scenes of burning buildings, melting bridges, tidal waves, and eerie piles of soot in the shape of human bodies. Presumably the remains of boring family. This might have been done to remind people that, when a 20 megaton tritium hydrogen bomb is coming down on your head, its best to run away rather than contemplate tulip bulbs.

Sailor and old guy cook is on a ship and witness the horrible carnage and get sad. They decide to sail the ship back to Tokyo in spite of their knowledge that the massive radioactive fallout there will immediately result in a long painful slow death. The movie concludes with A few opticals with the usual warnings of planetary self destruction. The end.

4 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
So dumb it hurts, 17 February 2002

Author: Spike-in-Berlin from Berlin, Germany

Sorry but this pathetic japanese try to create a warning about the threat of a nuclear war during the cold war is so dumb it hurts. The movie shows us how an international crisis escalates to a global nuclear war wiping out mankind! The second plotline shows us the life of an average japanese family in Tokyo which dies when the city is hit by a nuclear warhead. The problem is that this movie has a completely unbelievable storyline not to mention the cheap SFX. World War Three takes place in the year 2015!! but the cities we see, especially Tokyo, the cars, the complete technology is that of the sixties of the twentieth century. The uniforms of the military are pure fantasy designs, the soviets look more like nazis and the NATO-soldiers look like the came out of an extremely cheap SF-movie. But the main problem with this movie is that the whole scenario is unrealistic, the superpowers seem to trigger the war just for fun. No real political and believable crisis takes place, no military action that makes really sense (the script by the way doesn´t make sense too). Add the extremely cheesy dialogue and you know why the movie cannot fulfil its purpose. When the miniature missiles finally hit the city models in the end you don´t really care (actually you have to see some very bad SFX and see how Tokyo is covered by LAVA!!) and I was actually glad that this bad movie finally came to an end.

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