Virus: The End

Haruki Kadokawa was the heir to a major publishing empire. He entered the film business in the mid 1970s with some high-profile features. This was to be his big breakthrough in the international market. He tried to ensure its success by casting some U.S. stars and doing major international promotion (under the international title "Virus"). However, the film was a major flop. Although it may have had some special showings in the U.S., it did not receive a general release. It was sold directly to pay television in an edited one hundred eight-minute version.

The ARS (a device that launches many nuclear missiles in retaliation to a strike) is activated by one man pushing a few buttons. Devices that launch nuclear missiles are normally (and believably) portrayed as requiring launch codes, special keys and the authorization of at least two people.

The Japanese version mixes English and Japanese writing during the opening credit sequence. The English-speaking actors' names are in English and the Japanese cast and crew members' names are in Japanese.

As of 2006, the full 155-minute version of this film is officially available on DVD in the United States. BCI Eclipse released the full Japanese version in anamorphic widescreen as part of their Sonny Chiba Action Pack, which also includes the films Golgo 13 and Bullet Train (which are also featured in anamorphic widescreen transfers). This release keeps an original Japanese title card and the Kadokawa logo before the film begins, which is something that the deluxe Japanese DVD set deletes (albeit, it is an inconsequential deletion). The BCI Eclipse release is not the butchered 108-minute cut. It is labeled on the box as the "Uncut International Version".

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