Latitude Zero (1969)
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Discover the incredible world of tomorrow... 15 miles straight down at Latitude Zero
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Latitude Zero (緯度
Plot
After Dr. Ken Tashiro, Dr. Jules Masson, and Perry Lawton get trapped in a bathysphere due to seismic activity, they are rescued by the crew of the Alpha, a supersubmarine that was launched in the early 19th century. They are greeted by the ship's captain, Craig McKenzie, whom they learn is over 200 years old. McKenzie takes the men to Latitude Zero, an underground paradise located at the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line.
In Latitude Zero, gold and diamonds are plentiful, the inhabitants are peaceful, nobody ages or dies, and everyone lives in peace and harmony. But, McKenzie's rival Malic (who is also over 200 years old) doesn't feel the same way as Latitude Zero's inhabitants. Malic wishes to destroy it using everything he can conjure.
Of all the visitors to Latitude Zero, only Perry Lawton, a journalist, wishes to return home. He was picked up by a US Navy vessel and is left with two men who look identical to Captain McKenzie and Malic and insist their names are Commander Glenn McKenzie and Lieutenant Hastings. Confused at why the two men who look identical to McKenzie and Malic are acting so friendly toward each other, Lawton discovers his film is ruined and when he opens the pouch where he placed his complimentary diamonds, he finds tobacco. Just as he is about to resign himself to the fact that his adventure never occurred, the ship is wired a message stating that a cache of diamonds has been deposited in his name in a safe deposit box in New York City.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Ted Sherdeman, Shinichi Sekizawa, Warren Lewis
- Executive producing by Don Sharpe
- Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music by Akira Ifukube
- Cinematography by Taiichi Kankura
- Edited by Ume Takeda
- Production design by Takeo Kita
- Assistant directing by Seiji Tani
- Special effects by Motoyoshi Tomioka, Yoichi Manoda, Yoshiyuki Tokumasa, Yasuyuki Inoue, Funyoshi Hara, Fumio Nakashiro, Teruyoshi Nakano, Eiji Tsuburaya
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Joseph Cotten as Captain Craig McKenzie / Commander Glenn McKenzie
- Cesar Romero as Malic / Lieutenant Hastings
- Akira Takarada as Dr. Ken Tashiro
- Masumi Okada as Dr. Jules Masson
- Richard Jaeckal as Perry Lawton
- Patricia Medina as Lucretia
- Tetsu Nakamura as Dr. Okada
- Mari Nakayama as Tsuruko Okada
- Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Sugata
- Wataru Omae as Advisor
- Hikaru Kuroki as Captain Kroiga
- Linda Haynes as Dr. Anne Barton
- Susumu Kurobe as Chin
- Burr Middleton as Additional voices
- Haruo Nakajima as Bat Man / Giant Rat / Griffon
- Hiroshi Sekita as Bat Man / Seaman
- Haruyoshi Nakamura as Bat Man
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, Vehicles, Races |
Gallery
- Main article: Latitude Zero/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Latitude Zero (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles
- Latitude 0 Great Operation (Literal Japanese Title)
- Great Undersea War: Latitude 0 Great Operation (海底大戦争 緯度0大作戦 Kaitei Daisensō Ido Zero Daisakusen, Toho Champion Festival Title)
- Great Undersea War —Latitude Zero— (海底大戦争-緯度ゼロ- Kaitei Daisensō Ido Zero, Production title; third draft)[3]
- U 4000: Panic in the Deep Sea (U 4000: Panik in der Tiefsee, Germany)
- Where the World Ends (Donde el mundo termina, Spain)
Video Releases
Tokyo Shock DVD (2007)
- Region: 1
- Discs: 2
- Audio: English (5.1 Surround, 2.0 Mono), Japanese (1.0 Mono)
- Special Features: Photo gallery; three trailers; interview with Seiji Tani, Teruyoshi Nakano, Koichi Kawakita, and Motoyoshi Tomioka; unused special effects footage from Latitude Zero, Varan, The Storm of the Pacific, Atragon, Submersion of Japan, and The Imperial Navy (28 minutes)
- Notes: Out of print.
Though Latitude Zero is not available on Blu-ray, an HD version can be rented or purchased on the Japanese versions of Amazon Video and iTunes.
Videos
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Trivia
- Little is known about the radio show Latitude Zero was based on, but a 1941 TIME article states that the protagonist and antagonist were always Captain Craig McKenzie and Malic, the Alpha was called the Omega, and a griffon appeared in at least one episode.[4]
- Unlike other 1960's Toho productions starring American actors, Latitude Zero was filmed entirely in English. Even the Japanese actors, including Akira Takarada and Akihiko Hirata, deliver all of their lines in English.
External Links
- Interview with actress Linda Haynes about her experiences working on the film
- All footage removed from the American version of the film
References
This is a list of references for Latitude Zero. 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]
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