Dogora (film): Difference between revisions

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|writer      =Jojiro Okami {{small|(story)}},<br>[[Shinichi Sekizawa]] {{small|(screenplay)}}
|writer      =Jojiro Okami {{small|(story)}},<br>[[Shinichi Sekizawa]] {{small|(screenplay)}}
|composer    =[[Akira Ifukube]]
|composer    =[[Akira Ifukube]]
|distributor  =[[Toho]]{{sup|[[Japan|JP]]}},<br>American International Television{{sup|[[United States|US]]}}
|distributor  =[[Toho]]{{sup|[[Japan|JP]]}},<br>[[American International Pictures|American International Television]]{{sup|[[United States|US]]}}
|rating      =Unrated
|rating      =Unrated
|runtime      =81 minutes{{sup|[[Japan|JP]]}}<br />{{Small|(1 hour, 21 minutes)}}<br />79 minutes{{sup|[[United States|US]]}}<br />{{Small|(1 hour, 19 minutes)}}
|runtime      =81 minutes{{sup|[[Japan|JP]]}}<br />{{Small|(1 hour, 21 minutes)}}<br />79 minutes{{sup|[[United States|US]]}}<br />{{Small|(1 hour, 19 minutes)}}
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In April [[1965]], ''Dogora'' played at the Toho Theatre in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], in Japanese with English subtitles. A newspaper ad in the ''Honolulu Advertiser'' referred to it as ''Space Monster Dogora''.<ref name="Space Monster Dogora">[[File:Fullscreen capture 5172017 42925 PM.bmp.jpg|150px]]</ref>
In April [[1965]], ''Dogora'' played at the Toho Theatre in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]], in Japanese with English subtitles. A newspaper ad in the ''Honolulu Advertiser'' referred to it as ''Space Monster Dogora''.<ref name="Space Monster Dogora">[[File:Fullscreen capture 5172017 42925 PM.bmp.jpg|150px]]</ref>


''Dogora'' was licensed for [[United States|U.S.]] release to American International Pictures. Its television unit, American International Television, first offered the film to television stations as ''Dagora, the Space Monster'' in the "Amazing '66" syndication package starting in 1965.<ref name="Craig"/> It would later be included in AITV's "SciFi 65" package.<ref name="Craig"/> ''Dogora'' was not re-dubbed for AITV's release; this version featured no on-screen credits of any kind, only the new opening title.<ref name="Craig"/>
''Dogora'' was licensed for [[United States|U.S.]] release to [[American International Pictures]]. Its television unit, American International Television, first offered the film to television stations as ''Dagora, the Space Monster'' in the "Amazing '66" syndication package starting in 1965.<ref name="Craig"/> It would later be included in AITV's "SciFi 65" package.<ref name="Craig"/> ''Dogora'' was not re-dubbed for AITV's release; this version featured no on-screen credits of any kind, only the new opening title.<ref name="Craig"/>


As ''Dagora, the Space Monster'', the film was never officially issued on home video, although unlicensed copies from Video Yesteryear were produced in the 1980's and 90's.<ref name="Video Yesteryear">[[File:1997-11-25 Monsters on the March Video Yesteryear ad.png|150px]]</ref> Media Blasters released the film on DVD on July 15, 2005 under its Tokyo Shock label; audio options on the disc included the original Japanese audio with removable English subtitles and the original Toho international dub.<ref name="Henshin!Online">[http://web.archive.org/web/20050403172156/http://www.henshinonline.com/ DVD FIRST LOOK: Media Blasters' VARAN and DOGORA]</ref>
As ''Dagora, the Space Monster'', the film was never officially issued on home video, although unlicensed copies from Video Yesteryear were produced in the 1980's and 90's.<ref name="Video Yesteryear">[[File:1997-11-25 Monsters on the March Video Yesteryear ad.png|150px]]</ref> Media Blasters released the film on DVD on July 15, 2005 under its Tokyo Shock label; audio options on the disc included the original Japanese audio with removable English subtitles and the original Toho international dub.<ref name="Henshin!Online">[http://web.archive.org/web/20050403172156/http://www.henshinonline.com/ DVD FIRST LOOK: Media Blasters' VARAN and DOGORA]</ref>

Revision as of 23:26, 13 July 2020

Article.png
Image gallery for Dogora (film)
Credits for Dogora (film)
Dogora (film) soundtrack


Dogora
The Japanese poster for Dogora
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, Yasuyoshi Tajitsu
Written by Jojiro Okami (story),
Shinichi Sekizawa (screenplay)
Music by Akira Ifukube
Distributor TohoJP,
American International TelevisionUS
Rating Unrated
Running time 81 minutesJP
(1 hour, 21 minutes)
79 minutesUS
(1 hour, 19 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1
Rate this film!
3.45
(11 votes)

Earth SOS! Both buildings and people are sucked up by the terrifying giant monsters! (地球SOS!ビルも人間も吸い上げる恐怖の大怪獣!)
„ 

— Japanese tagline

Dogora (宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ,   Uchū Daikaijū Dogora, lit. Giant Space Monster Dogora) is a 1964 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho Company Ltd. It was released to Japanese theaters on August 11, 1964.

Plot

After a giant jellyfish-like alien called Dogora comes to Earth and sucks up all the coal in the Tokyo area, a band of citizens, including a scientist, a diamond broker and a police inspector, band together to try and find a way to kill it after missiles and shells prove ineffective. After several attacks, the main characters find that wasp venom can be used to kill the beast. An artificial substance of equal power is hastily manufactured and after a long while, the mammoth Dogora is finally defeated.

Staff

Main article: Dogora (film)/Credits.

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Yosuke Natsuki   as   Komai
  • Yoko Fujiyama   as   Masayo Kirino, Dr. Munakata's assistant
  • Hiroshi Koizumi   as   Kirino
  • Akiko Wakabayashi   as   Hamako, Diamond thief
  • Nobuo Nakamura   as   Dr. Munakata
  • Seizaburo Kawazu   as   Chief Diamond thief
  • Robert Dunham (as "Dan Yuma")   as   Mark Jackson
  • Susumu Fujita   as   Defense Force Executive Officer Iwasa
  • Jun Tazaki   as   Police chief
  • Yoshibumi Tajima   as   Tada, Thief
  • Hideyo Amamoto   as   Maki, Thief
  • Nadao Kirino   as   Gen, Thief
  • Akira Wakamatsu   as   Matsu, Thief
  • Haruya Kato   as   Sabu, Thief
  • Jun Funado   as   Detective Nitta
  • Yasuhisa Tsutsumi   as   Ginza policeman
  • Koji Iwamoto   as   Dr. Munekata's assistant
  • Mitsuo Tsuda   as   Defense Corps executive
  • Takuzo Kumagai   as   Defense Corps executive
  • Chotaro Togin   as   Coal truck driver
  • Shoichi Hirose   as   Thermal power plant staff
  • Yutaka Nakayama   as   Coal truck assistant
  • Yoshiyuki Uemura   as   Diamond transport, passenger
  • Shiro Tsuchiya   as   Thermal power plant staff
  • Jiro Tsuzukawa   as   Thermal power plant staff
  • Haruya Sakamoto   as   Diamond transport, driver
  • Hideo Shibuya   as   Journalist
  • Yutaka Oka   as   Transport company manager
  • Ichiro Chiba   as   Tenpodo staff
  • Shinjiro Hirota   as   Tenpodo staff
  • Toku Ihara   as   Drunk
  • Tadashi Okabe   as   Ginza policeman
  • Wataru Omae   as   Radio lab researcher
  • Koji Uno   as   Thermal power plant worker

International English dub

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Ted Thomas   as   Dr. Munakata / Police chief / Ginza policeman
  • Nick Kendall   as   Mark Jackson

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Production

In 1962, following the completion of Gorath, Toho commissioned science fiction writer Jojiro Okami to write an original story for an alien invasion monster movie. Shinichi Sekizawa adapted the story, titled Space Mons (スペース・モンス,   Supēsu Monsu), into a film treatment which was never produced. Two years later, the Space Mons treatment was revisited and reworked by Sekizawa into Earth Martial Law (地球戒厳令,   Chikyū Kaigenrei)[1] and produced as The Space Monster (宇宙大怪獣 (スペースモンスター),   Supēsu Monsutā).[2]

Gallery

Main article: Dogora (film)/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Dogora (Soundtrack).

Alternate titles

  • Giant Space Monster Dogora (宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ,   Uchū Daikaijū Dogora, literal Japanese title)
  • Space Monster Dogora (Japanese poster title)
  • Space Mons (スペース・モンス,   Supēsu Monsu, original story and 1st draft title)[1]
  • Earth Martial Law (地球戒厳令,   Chikyū Kaigenrei, 2nd draft title)[1]
  • The Space Monster (宇宙大怪獣 (スペースモンスター),   Supēsu Monsutā, preparatory and final draft title)[1][2]
  • Dagora, the Space Monster (United States)
  • X 3000 - Phantoms Against Gangsters (X 3000 - Fantome gegen Gangster, Germany)
  • Dogora: The Monster from the Great Swamp (Dogora: Il Mostro Della Grande Palude, Italy)
  • Dogora, The Space Invader (Dogora, O Invasor Espacial, Brazil)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - August 11, 1964
  • Thailand - 1964
  • West Germany - 1965
  • Colombia - 1966

U.S. release

Toho had an English-language version of Dogora prepared[3] in Hong Kong by Ted Thomas's Axis Productions.[4] Because Robert Dunham primarily spoke Japanese for his role in the film, his voice was dubbed into English by another actor.[5]

In April 1965, Dogora played at the Toho Theatre in Honolulu, Hawaii, in Japanese with English subtitles. A newspaper ad in the Honolulu Advertiser referred to it as Space Monster Dogora.[6]

Dogora was licensed for U.S. release to American International Pictures. Its television unit, American International Television, first offered the film to television stations as Dagora, the Space Monster in the "Amazing '66" syndication package starting in 1965.[3] It would later be included in AITV's "SciFi 65" package.[3] Dogora was not re-dubbed for AITV's release; this version featured no on-screen credits of any kind, only the new opening title.[3]

As Dagora, the Space Monster, the film was never officially issued on home video, although unlicensed copies from Video Yesteryear were produced in the 1980's and 90's.[7] Media Blasters released the film on DVD on July 15, 2005 under its Tokyo Shock label; audio options on the disc included the original Japanese audio with removable English subtitles and the original Toho international dub.[8]

Video releases

Tokyo Shock DVD (2005)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese, English (Mono 1.0)
  • Special Features: Original trailer, production gallery, previews for other Tokyo Shock kaiju releases
  • Notes: Out of print. Picture is slightly cropped.[9]

Toho DVD (2005)

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (Mono 1.0 and Surround 5.1)
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Yosuke Natsuki, original trailer, interview with Teruyoshi Nakano and Keizo Murase (26 minutes), photo gallery, booklet
  • Notes: Does not include English subtitles.

Though Dogora is not available on Blu-ray, an HD version can be rented or purchased on the Japanese versions of Amazon Video and iTunes.

Videos

Japanese Dogora trailer
German Dogora trailer
American Dagora, the Space Monster title card
American Dagora, the Space Monster end title

References

This is a list of references for Dogora (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "電脳小僧の特撮映画資料室". Cyberkids1954. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. Village Books. 28 September 2012. p. 84. ISBN 9784864910132.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Craig, Rob (2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 109, 429. ISBN 9781476666310.
  4. MAN OF A THOUSAND VOICES! Hong Kong Voice Actor Ted Thomas on His Prolific Dubbing Career!
  5. Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G". ECW Press. p. 187. ISBN 9781550223484.
  6. Fullscreen capture 5172017 42925 PM.bmp.jpg
  7. 1997-11-25 Monsters on the March Video Yesteryear ad.png
  8. DVD FIRST LOOK: Media Blasters' VARAN and DOGORA
  9. DVD: Dogora (Tokyo Shock)

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