Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005)

A drama set during World War II where a submarine carrying a secret weapon attempts to stop a planned third atomic bombing of Japan. Based on Harutoshi Fukui's novel Shuusen no Lorelei.

Directors:

Shinji Higuchi, Cellin Gluck

Writers:

Harutoshi Fukui (novel), Satoshi Suzuki (screenplay)

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Toshirô Yanagiba

Cast

Credited cast:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Masami Shin'ichi
Satoshi Tsumabuki	...	Yukito Origasa
Toshirô Yanagiba	...	Kizaki Toshiro
Yû Kashii	...	Paula Atsuko Ebner
Shin'ichi Tsutsumi	...	Asakura Ryokitsu
Ken Ishiguro	...	Narumi Takasu
Colter Allison	...	Lt. Eric Minott
David Austin	...	Lt. Dodet
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nicholas Dombrovskis	...	German Scientist
Christopher Ryan Doyle	...	Captain's Talker
Norman England	...	Sonar Operator #1
Caroline Paris Gluck	...	Girl on Beach
Isao Hashizume	...	Sadamoto Nishimiya
Masatô Ibu	...	Eitaro Narazaki
Takaya Kamikawa	...	Man

Storyline

A drama set during World War II where a submarine carrying a secret weapon attempts to stop a planned third atomic bombing of Japan. Based on Harutoshi Fukui's novel Shuusen no Lorelei.

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Plot Keywords:

weapon | japan | submarine | secret weapon | supernatural power | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Fuji TV [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

5 March 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Lorelei I-507 - Deutsche Wunderwaffe im Pazifik

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$661,912 (Japan), 11 March 2005, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cine Bazar, Fuji Television Network, Kansai Telecasting (KTV)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The design of the I-507 submarine is based upon a real one : the french submarine 'Surcouf', launched in 1929, was the biggest submarine ever launched at the time.

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Soundtracks

Wiegenlied (Cradle Song)
Composed by Bernhard Flies
Lyrics by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter
Performed by Hayley Westenra

User Reviews

A Japanese mix of historical fact and supernatural fiction

Lorelei can best be described as a Japanese version of "Das Boot" with a supernatural storyline thrown in. The setting is the last week of WWII, Hiroshima having just been bombed. A Japanese veteran captain is given command of a German-surplus submarine with a secret weapon, the "Lorelei System". As viewers of Japanese movies will know, scenes with English-speaking characters usually end up very awkward, with the English-speakers often being cheap local "talent" grabbed off the street, in most cases with very questionable English credentials. But this movie was just about on-par with the classic Tora Tora Tora, using professional Hollywood and local English-speaking actors that portray their roles to near perfection, making the whole movie flow smoothly. Without giving away spoilers, it's difficult to review this movie. But the advancement of computer graphics has made for some really visually stunning submarine battle action. If anything, the surface vessels come across as being a bit lifeless, as the effort was spent on the underwater sequences. At 140 minutes the movie is long, and by western standards probably somewhat talky, but there is a lot of political maneuvering going on in this movie, plus the diverting from history as we know it, that requires the additional dialogue. All actors put in very decent performances, the soundtrack is fittingly orchestrated and the cinematography excellent. While not being the classic that "Das Boot" was, this movie is very enjoyable, and with subtitles could potentially get a decent western cult following.