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Revision as of 23:38, 10 June 2019

Article.png
Image gallery for The Mysterians
The Mysterians soundtrack


The Mysterians
The Japanese poster for The Mysterians
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Earth Defense Force (1957)
See alternate titles
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Shigeru Kayama
Takeshi Kimura
Jojiro Okami
Music by Akira Ifukube
Distributor TohoJP
RKO Radio PicturesUS
Rating Unrated
Box office ¥193,000,000[1]
Running time 88 minutesJP
(1 hour, 28 minutes)
85 minutesUS
(1 hour, 25 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1
Rate this film!
4.00
(24 votes)

From behind the moon they come... To invade the Earth! Abduct its women! Level its cities!
„ 

American tagline

The Mysterians (地球防衛軍,   Chikyū Bōeigun, lit. Earth Defense Force) is a 1957 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho. It was released to Japanese theaters on December 28, 1957 and to American theaters on May 15, 1959.

Plot

The astrophysicist Ryoichi Shiraishi is acting peculiarly. He has called off his engagement to Hiroko Iwamoto and moved to a small village near Mt. Fuji, estranging himself from his friends and colleagues. Prior to his seclusion, Shiraishi had been working on a series of fantastic reports for his mentor, Dr. Adachi, on a former planet he calls Mysteroid. According to this theory, the asteroid belt beyond Mars was once a singular planet. Adachi notes that the latest report surprisingly is incomplete at the time of its submission. Mystery follows Shiraishi to his new home: one summer night, a forest near the town erupts in a brilliant blaze in which the source of the radioactive flames is underground. Within days of this event, tragedy again strikes the village as a sudden and violent landslide annihilates the small town and seemingly all of its residents, including Ryoichi.

Joji Atsumi, a fellow scientist, joins the official investigation. Atsumi and several policemen are investigating radiation levels in the vicinity of the former village when a giant monster emerges from the side of a hill. The survivors of the attack retreat to alert the authorities, but by nightfall the monster has already reached the nearby city. The Defense Force is summoned to help evacuate the populace and defeat the kaiju. During this evacuation, Atsumi and Etsuko –his lover, and Ryoichi's sister– observe what appear to be flying saucers in the night sky, although the advance of the monster gives them little time to process this. Despite the creature's incredible destructive force, it's killed in the JSDF's destruction of the Koyama Bridge.

An analysis of the creature's remains determines it to be a robot, although the presence of unknown elements suggests its origin is extraterrestrial. After reevaluating the Mysteroid report, Adachi's observatory sights alien activity near the moon, and after hearing Atsumi's testimony about the saucers over Fuji, the doctor publicly announces the findings. A team of scientists, including Atsumi and Adachi, investigate the region highlighted in Shiraishi's report. A large artificial dome rises from the ground and an alien voice greets and requests the presence of the scientific party. Inside the Dome, the aliens introduce themselves as Mysterians, the last survivors of the planet Mysteroid, annihilated in an atomic war hundreds of thousands of years ago. Fearing retaliation would lead to another nuclear war on Earth between man and Mysterians, they launched their robot, Moguera, to demonstrate that man's technology was no match for their own. They request to immigrate to Earth and occupy the three kilometers surrounding their dome. Furthermore, the fallout from their wars has poisoned their bodies, resulting in 80% born with severe abnormalities. In the hopes of continuing their race, the leader also appeals for the right to intermarry with human women. Five have already been chosen, he says, and Etsuko and Hiroko are among them.

The Ministry of Defense officially declines these requests, citing the Mysterians' hostile acts, and prepares countermeasures against the Dome. Police protection is arranged for Etsuko and Hiroko, and during a visit with Atsumi, the three are contacted by Ryoichi over the television. He declares that he had joined the Mysterians prior to his disappearance to study their sciences, and he asks Atsumi to have the impending attack cancelled, suggesting it will only lead to useless bloodshed. The attack ultimately proceeds on schedule, however, and the JSDF forces are predictably eliminated by the alien invaders.

The Japanese government requests foreign aid and the United Nations is called to session to establish an international coalition against the threat. An electron gun is developed and equipped to the airships Alpha and Beta for a test. Although the weapon proves successful in combat, the Dome's heat ray results in the destruction of the Beta. In retaliation to this attack, the Mysterians announce the occupation of a 120-kilometer radius, and privately, the alien leader tells Ryoichi that they will soon be capable of controlling all of Japan. The United States introduces a new technology, dubbed the Markalite F.A.H.P., which has the ability to reflect the Mysterian heat ray to its source. A decisive assault is planned using the new weapon in concert with the Alpha.

Etsuko and Hiroko are kidnapped on the eve of battle and taken to the Dome. Incapable of convincing Dr. Adachi to stall the offensive to mount a rescue effort, Atsumi, having previously found an obscured underground tunnel to the Dome, descends into the alien base. The Alpha, shielded by the new technology, distracts the Mysterians while the Markalite Cannons are dropped via rocket into the battlefield. With the heat ray's destructive effects now mostly neutralized, the tide of the war turns in favor of humanity. In a final effort, the Mysterians induce a tidal wave to destroy one Markalite, while a second Moguera is sacrificed to destroy another cannon from below. Meanwhile, Atsumi is captured and silently led back to the cave where the earth women are waiting. His captor reveals himself to be Ryoichi Shiraishi. Finding himself in disagreement with the Mysterians' plans for conquest, he allows his friends to escape with his final report while he heroically returns to the Dome to sabotage the invaders' efforts from inside.

Now facing certain defeat, the Mysterian leader orders a retreat to their orbiting space station. The Dome explodes, ending the alien occupation. The Alpha pursues the escaping saucers, destroying three, but the U.N. forces allow the rest to disappear into the cosmos. Dr. Adachi notes that humanity must not repeat the Mysterians' mistakes. The groundwork has been laid for a united world: now its nations must continue working together to achieve lasting peace.

Staff

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

Cast

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

Bang Zoom! Entertainment English dub

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


Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, Vehicles, and Races


Gallery

Main article: The Mysterians/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: The Mysterians (Soundtrack).

Alternate Titles

  • Earth Defense Force (Literal Japanese Title)
  • The Barbarians Invade Earth (Los bárbaros invaden la Tierra; Argentina, Os Bárbaros Invadem a Terra; Brazil)
  • Space Beasts (Weltraum-Bestien; Austria, Germany)
  • Prisoners of the Martians (Prisonnières des Martiens; France)
  • Mars vs Earth (Άρης εναντίον Γης Áris enantíon Gis; Greece)
  • Invasion of the Moon (Εισβολή από τη Σελήνη Eisvolí apó tu Selíni; Greece)
  • Flying Saucers Hit Earth (Ιπτάμενοι δίσκοι χτυπούν τη Γη Iptámenoi thíokoi chtipoón ti Gi; Greece)
  • The Unknown (De ukjente; Norway)
  • Earth is Under Attack (Jorden angripes; Norway, Jorden anfalles; Sweden)
  • Mysterious Strangers (Tajemniczy przybysze; Poland)
  • Space Monsters (Monstros do Espaço; Portugal)
  • Phantom 7000 (Germany)

Theatrical Releases

Foreign Releases

A November 1, 1957 report states that Southeast Asian distribution rights to The Mysterians were sold to Shaw & Sons of Hong Kong for the highest amount paid for a Japanese film of that time. Rights to other parts of the world were sold for a record price for a Japanese film to Topaz Film Corporation in February of 1958.

U.S. Release

American The Mysterians poster

The Mysterians was released theatrically in the United States by RKO Radio Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May of 1959. The film was advertised as "The greatest science-fiction picture ever conceived by the mind of man." The film was later re-released in July. The U.S. version is notable, as it was the first Toho science fiction film to receive an English version without extensive re-editing. Only small edits were undertaken, and the English dialogue remains faithful to the Japanese script. This shortened 85 minute cut of the film was later distributed in European territories by the J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

After multiple VHS releases over the next half-century, Tokyo Shock released the full Japanese version of The Mysterians along with a new English dub by Bang Zoom! Entertainment on DVD in the U.S. This release also included various special features, including audio commentary from Koichi Kawakita and Shinji Higuchi.

Reception

In the United States, despite its successful theatrical run, The Mysterians was reviled by critics. The New York Times criticized the film as a generic alien invasion film with "runny color" and poor acting.

Nevertheless, The Mysterians proved to be an influential and important entry in Toho's library of science-fiction films, inspiring several more alien invasion and space-related films from director Ishiro Honda, including a sequel, Battle in Outer Space, and Gorath. Koichi Kawakita, later known as the special effects director for the Heisei Godzilla series and the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, said he was thrilled when he saw this film while in junior high and it inspired him to work in special effects. Fans of the tokusatsu genre often praise the film for its special effects, the introduction of the monster Moguera, and its score from Akira Ifukube.

Sequel

Main article: Battle in Outer Space.

Toho produced a sequel to The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, two years later in 1959. The film is set in 1965 and features some returning characters from The Mysterians, most of whom are played by different actors. This film features a new invading alien race, the Natarls, who engage in a war with humanity in outer space. Another sequel was planned, but was changed into a standalone film called The War in Space.

Video Releases

Toho DVD (2001)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: Japanese

Tokyo Shock DVD (2005)[2]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (5.1 Surround, Bang Zoom! dub), Spanish (2.0 Mono)
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Koichi Kawakita and Shinji Higuchi (subtitled), "backround music only" audio track, photo gallery, concept art, trailers
  • Notes: Out of print. A 2007 release packages it with Varan and Matango.

Toho DVD (2007)[3]

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: Japanese

Toho Blu-ray (2010)[4]

  • Region: A/1
  • Audio: Japanese (LPCM Mono, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Remix)

Videos

Trailers

Japanese The Mysterians theatrical trailer
American The Mysterians theatrical trailer
American The Mysterians reissue trailer
American The Mysterians DVD trailer

Miscellaneous

American The Mysterians opening and closing credits
French The Mysterians closing credits

Trivia

  • The Mysterians is notable for being the first tokusatsu filmed in TohoScope and the first Toho film to use Perspecta stereophonic sound.
    • It is also known for its use of color, in particular its heavy use of day-for-night shots and bright alien costumes.
  • The Mysterians was the first Toho film to feature an alien race, as well as the first to feature a mecha.
  • In an interview conducted just before his death, Ishiro Honda stated that The Mysterians was his favorite film that he directed.[5]
  • In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, special effects director Koichi Kawakita redesigned the giant robot Moguera into an anti-Godzilla mecha for the later film, called "M.O.G.U.E.R.A." (Mobile Operations Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aerotype).
  • The Earth Defense Force is also featured in Godzilla: Final Wars.
  • Moguera's inclusion was a last minute idea as producer Tomoyuki Tanaka felt the film needed a monster.
  • Moguera was originally conceptualized as a living breathing monster, however director Ishiro Honda reworked it into being a robot as a way to further demonstrate the technological power the Mysterians possessed.
    • Moguera's original concept can still be seen in story board stills, which depicted him as a half-mole half-reptilian monster. Though the design was never used, some key details were later used in the monster Baragon for the film Frankenstein vs. Baragon. Most notably was the monster's burrowing ability, heat ray, and a ridged back.

External Links

References

This is a list of references for The Mysterians. 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. Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzizewski (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film. Wesleyan University Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780819577412.
  2. Amazon.com: The Mysterians (2005) Tokyo Shock
  3. Amazon.co.jp: 地球防衛軍 (2007) 東宝
  4. Blu-Ray.com: The Mysterians (2010) Toho
  5. Ishiro Honda Interview

Comments

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