Dogora (1964)

The Earth is attacked by a giant jellyfish monster from outer space that, for some reason, has a sweet tooth for diamonds.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Jôjirô Okami (story "Space Mons"), Shin'ichi Sekizawa

Stars:

Yôsuke Natsuki, Yôko Fujiyama, Hiroshi Koizumi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yôsuke Natsuki	...	Inspector Kommei
Yôko Fujiyama	...	Masayo Kirino
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Kirino
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Dr. Munakata
Robert Dunham	...	Mark Jackson (as Dan Yuma)
Akiko Wakabayashi	...	Hamako the Gangster Moll
Jun Tazaki	...	Chief Inspector
Susumu Fujita	...	General Iwasa
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Gangster Boss
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Maki the Safecracker
Haruya Katô	...	Sabu the Small Fry
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Gangster
Nadao Kirino	...	Gangster
Akira Wakamatsu	...	Gangster
Jun Funato	...	Inspector Nitta

Storyline

Several satellites have been destroyed without explanation. A few days later, a group of diamond thieves are thwarted when the gems they are after suddenly disappear. Strangely enough, the two incidents are connected when scientists discover that a giant jellyfish like creature, which was mutated due to a high amount of radiation hovering over Japan, is drawing up all carbon based matter, including coal and diamonds. Soon the creature is also attacking bridges and ships. Can anything be done to destroy the creature before he begins drawing up all mankind?

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Plot Keywords:

poliziottesco | japanese poliziottesco | diamond | jellyfish | outer space | 

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Taglines:

SOS From Earth. It Devours Buildings and People.

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 August 1964 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Dogora

Filming Locations:

Fukuoka, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were originally plans to feature Robert Dunham in a series of films based on the "Mark Jackson" character he played in this film. However, those plans never came to fruition.

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Goofs

In the scenes featuring the smaller Dogoras, the strings holding them up are clearly seen.

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Crazy Credits

The U.S. English dubbed version, released by American International under the title "Dagora, The Space Monster," has all of the cast and credits removed. The picture and sound contain an awkward jump from the main title to the first scene. It is believed that American International, for unknown reasons, physically cut the cast and credits from their initial release prints.

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Connections

Referenced in Found (2012)

User Reviews

Great monster but not enough of it

Dogora is a flying space squid/jelly fish that feeds by sucking up carbon. While coal and diamonds seem to be the creature's preferred foods, Dr. Munakata (Nobuo Nakamura), the film's resident scientist, is concerned that if the monster decides to ingest other sources of carbon, life on Earth could be destroyed. The rarely seen beast seems indestructible but a swarm of high-flying bees and rocks falling from the sky provide clues to what might be mankind's only hope. "Dogora the Space Monster" would have made an outstanding 30 min episode of "Ultra-Q" (1966) but as a full length movie it's stretched well beyond the breaking point. The tedious secondary plot follows diamond thieves and pursuing detectives. As Dogora eats diamonds, there is a tenuous connection between the two stories but the 'crime' story is neither interesting nor entertaining: it is simply filler to anchor the brief appearances of the titular monster, which are the highlights of the film. Unlike most Toho tokusatsu, there is no suit-mation: Dogora is a puppet manipulated in water. The effect is impressive, especially for a film with an obviously limited budget, as the surreal creature undulates in the sky, drawing up food from Japanese coal yards. The special effects team also made effective use of colour and animation, especially in the scene where Dogora destroys the Wakato Bridge. The movie is directed by "Godzilla" (1954) helmsman Ishiro Honda with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano and music is by Akira Ifukube (both names closely associated with Godzilla and the Japanese diakaiju genre from the 1950s to the early 1980s). I was watching an indifferently English-dubbed version of the film (replete with goofy 'gangster' voices) so I can't comment on the acting or the actual script/story. A full viewing of "Dogora the Space Monster" would be a bit of a slog for anyone but a die-hard kaiju fan; however, fast forwarding to the monster scenes would be well worth it for anyone who likes to see imaginative cinematography and the unreal made real.