The Mysterians (1957)

Shortly after a giant robot destroys a village, aliens from outer space arrive offering friendship. Will stupid Earth creatures tie these two events together?

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Takeshi Kimura, Jôjirô Okami (story)

Stars:

Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kôchi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Itô	...	Capt. Seki
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Cmdr. Sugimoto
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Dr. Nobu Kawanami
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Leader of the Mysterians
Minosuke Yamada	...	The Secretary of Defense Hamamoto
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Koda
Heihachirô Ôkawa	...	Person at Board Meeting
Takeo Oikawa	...	Announcer on TV
Haruya Katô	...	Doomed Villager

Storyline

Aliens arrive on Earth and ask permission to be given a certain tract of land for their people to live on. But when they are discovered to be invaders, responsible for the giant robot that is destroying cities, the armed forces attempt to stop them with every weapon available.

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Plot Keywords:

running for one's life | army | helicopter | psychotronic film | giant robot | 

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Taglines:

They come from another world.... They want three kilometers of land--and...FIVE of your WOMEN!

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Genres:

Action | Family | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-Y7

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

15 May 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mysterians

Box Office

Gross USA:

$975,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 70 min (1978 Toho Champion Festival)

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording) Mono (US prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In several scenes, Harold Conway, an American tax accountant working in Japan who was often recruited to play official-looking westerners in Japanese films, is recorded sync-sound (live audio as they're shooting) and speaks both English and Japanese on camera on the film's Japanese soundtrack, a rare opportunity to hear his real voice in both languages. He is introduced in his first scene as Dr. Immerman, which is also the name of the character he plays in Battle in Outer Space (1959). He has a larger-than-usual part in this film.

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Goofs

One of the bicyclist firefighters has a very southern-US accent, when the on-screen actors are obviously Japanese. This occurs is the second English dubbed version done for U.S. DVD release, not the version shown in U.S. theaters starting in 1959.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

In the original japanese version but edited out for the US release, during the final battle there is a brief scene with a second Mogera (the giant robot). Also, the ending is slightly different.

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Connections

Featured in Gojira Fantajî: SF Kôkyô Fantajî (1984)

User Reviews

Kaiju Auteur

This has some of the highest production values, some of the best FX sequences, the best musical scoring and some of the best acting to be seen in any Kaiju film. Personally, I rate this as 3rd or 4th all-time best in the Kaiju genre, behind such uber-classics as Godzilla, Invasion of the Astro-Monster, and War of the Gargantuas.

Ishiro Honda was the greatest auteur of Kaiju. He was not only the D.W. Griffith of that genre, he was also the Orson Welles. His Kaiju films can be put into 3 rough categories: earnest (i.e. Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas); surreal (Mushroom People); and camp (Invasion of the Astro Monster).

This film is mostly in the earnest category, but the sequence with the long tailed mechanical monster hints at Honda's immanent surreal and camp tendencies.

Anyhow, this is definitely a very well-made Kaiju, but it is a little slow in some places and the whole strategy of the Mysterians for conquering Earth has some serious flaws. Nonetheless, the idea of alien invaders occupying Japanese territory and and seeking total domination, not to mention the aliens' designs on the local women, is interesting. And surely this storyline must reflect Honda's attitudes toward the American occupation forces which still were maintaining high visibility in Japan in this period.

It is my understanding that this film was originally released in Cinemascope or the equivalent, and it really would have been a gas to see it on the big screen that way. The battles between the Earth forces in their strange slow-moving aerial battleships and the Mysterians' ray weapons, in glorious color and with the orchestra playing in full stereo, must have been a kick.

Of less interest is the fact that the aliens in this film seem to be the direct inspiration for a dreadful yet popular 1990's children's TV show, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

All told, this movie is still a lot more interesting and fun than most of the scifi summer blockbusters nowadays, especially the crap with Will Smith or Tom Cruise.