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The X from Outer Space (1967)

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Credits for The X from Outer Space
The X from Outer Space soundtrack


The X from Outer Space
The Japanese poster for The X from Outer Space
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Giant Space Monster Guilala (1967)
See alternate titles
Directed by Kazui Nihomatsu
Producer Wataru Nakajima
Written by Eibi Motomochi, Moriyoshi Ishida,
Kazui Nihonmatsu
Music by Taku Izumi
Special
effects by 		Hiroshi Ikeda
Distributor ShochikuJP, AITVUS
Rating Not Rated
Budget ¥150 million[1]
Running time 88 minutesJP
(1 hour, 28 minutes)
86 minutesUS
(1 hour, 26 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1JP
1.33:1US TV
Rate this film!
3.73
(11 votes)

“
Guilala, a giant space monster who consumes energy and becomes a fireball to soar through the air!
 (エネルギーをたべ火の玉となって空をとぶ宇宙の大怪獣ギララ！)
„ 

— Tagline
“
MANKIND THREATENED BY A DEADLY NUCLEUS FROM THE VAST VOID OF SPACE
„ 

— International tagline

The X from Outer Space (宇宙大怪獣ギララ,   Uchū Daikaijū Girara, lit. "Giant Space Monster Guilala") is a 1967 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Shochiku Company Ltd. It was released to Japanese theaters on March 25, 1967, and to American television syndication via American International Television in 1968. Shochiku would revive the Guilala character for the 2008 film Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit.

Plot

The Fuji Astro-Flying Center in Japan is determined to land a spaceship on Mars. All previous attempts have failed, with the crews reporting UFO sightings before they disappeared. FAFC selects Captain Kazuo Sano, space biologist Lisa Schneider, Dr. Shioda, and Signal Officer Hideo Miyamoto to investigate in the nuclear-powered AAB-Gamma. After a successful launch, they quickly encounter a UFO which jams their transmissions while monitoring them from a distance. Shioda suddenly falls ill, but Sano refuses to treat him before attempting to pursue the alien craft, which easily outspeeds them. FAFC orders them to make an emergency landing on Moon Base MSC. Shioda is diagnosed with space sickness by Dr. Stein, a routine ailment, and Lisa meets Michiko Tazaki, an air traffic controller enamored with Sano. The cantankerous Stein replaces Shioda as the AAB-Gamma resumes its mission.

Small asteroids pummel the ship, with one punching a hole in the hull. Lisa struggles to put her helmet on and loses consciousness, while Miyamoto is dragged towards the opening and plugs it with his rear. Stein and Sano use the opportunity to close the oxygen valve. No sooner have they sealed the hole properly and revived Lisa with oxygen than the UFO appears again, dragging the AAB-Gamma towards it with a tractor beam. Sano cuts the engines to conserve fuel, but a panicked Stein revolts and seizes the controls. The UFO suddenly departs, leaving a mysterious foamy and flashing substance on the engine, dramatically weakening it. Sano and Lisa venture out to take a sample, a rock-like spore covered in insulating material, and remove the rest. FAFC makes contact with them and sends a rescue rocket from Moon Base MSC with Michiko aboard.

Back on Earth, Drs. Kato and Berman of FAFC take charge of the sample, but quickly depart the laboratory to throw a party in celebration of the astronauts' safe return. In their absence, the spore burns a hole through the floor, leaving the insulating material behind. Sano finds a chicken-like footprint on the floor, which they deduce belongs to the alien hidden inside it. After a nearby power plant begins to experience voltage issues, Sano, Lisa, Michiko, and Miyamoto watch a giant monster emerge from behind a hill. A comparison of his footprints with the one left in the lab reveals that he is the missing alien, which they dub Guilala.

Guilala stomps towards Tokyo. FAFC advises the government that the insulating material, Guilalanium, may contain the key to his defeat. Tanks, planes, missiles, and even laser cannons prove useless against him as he demolishes the capital. Lisa determines that FAFC will need to synthesize Guilalanium in a vacuum, requiring a return trip to the Moon in the AAB-Gamma. Sano, Michiko, and Miyamoto join her. They discover that Guilalanium can reflect cosmic rays, leading Berman to conclude that it could be used to smother the monster. With Japan’s allies unwilling to use nuclear weapons, it seems to be their only means of defense. Guilala advances north, destroying Tatebayashi, but the JSDF observes his energy diminishing.

As the AAB-Gamma returns to Earth, they realize that the Guilalanium's properties have left them unable to communicate with FAFC. Michiko suggests negating its effects by placing it inside the ship’s nuclear reactor, which is surrounded by thick walls. Sano deems the plan risky, but they have no other way to safely land. Meanwhile, Guilala destroys a nuclear power plant and absorbs its energy. Transforming into a massive sphere of energy, he continues spreading devastation from the air, then touches down near a dam and returns to his monstrous form. Kato and Berman determine that the XTU nuclear fuel at FAFC headquarters will be his next target.

The UFO menaces the AAB-Gamma once more, but this time the Earth ship outmaneuvers it. The JSDF orders all FAFC personnel to evacuate, but Kato and Berman insist on staying, along with the landing crew. The astronauts touch down successfully and get the Guilalanium safely aboard a helicopter to be sent to the JSDF. Sano proposes that they evacuate with the fuel, lest Guilala grow even more powerful. The monster demolishes the grounded rockets, trapping Lisa under rubble. The others manage to free her. With Guilala closing in, Sano and Miyamoto lure him away by loading the fuel onto a Jeep trailer. He chases after them, finally separating the trailer containing the fuel from the Jeep with a swipe of his claws. Sano falls to the ground, and Miyamoto jumps clear of the car just before it crashes and explodes. Michiko and Lisa find them and tend to their injuries.

Guilala returns to FAFC in search of more energy. Squadrons of fighter jets bombard him with Guilalanium, which quickly covers his body. After he destroys several planes, the substance begins to take effect, turning him back into a spore. Lisa contains it, and FAFC resolves to send it back into space, lest the monster emerge again. In the aftermath, Lisa declines to tell Sano that she is in love with him, allowing Michiko to be with him instead. Pondering Guilala's fate, the couple walks off hand in hand.

Staff

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

  • Directed by   Kazui Nihonmatsu
  • Written by   Eibi Motomochi, Moriyoshi Ishida, Kazui Nihonmatsu
  • Executive producer   Wataru Nakajima
  • Music by   Taku Izumi
  • Cinematography by   Shizuo Hirase
  • Edited by   Yoshi Sugihara
  • First assistant director   Keiji Shiraki
  • Director of special effects   Hiroshi Ikeda
  • Special effects supervisor   Keiji Kawakami

Cast

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

  • Eiji Okada   as   Doctor Kato
  • Shunya Wazaki   as   Captain Kazuo Sano
  • Itoko Harada   as   Michiko Tazaki
  • Peggy Neal   as   Lisa Schneider, space biologist (Japanese voice actor: Reiko Muto)
  • Franz Gruber   as   Doctor Berman (Japanese voice actor: Tamio Oki)
  • Mike Daneen   as   Doctor Stein (Japanese voice actor: Teiji Omiya)
  • Shinichi Yanagisawa   as   Signal Officer Hideo Miyamoto
  • Keisuke Sonoi   as   Doctor Shioda
  • Hiroshi Fujioka   as   Moon Station Correspondent A
  • Ryuji Kita
  • Takanobu Hozumi   as   FAFC technical officer
  • Toshiyuki Watanabe   as   FAFC operator
  • Torahiko Hamada   as   Kimura
  • Oya Mitsuru
  • Daisuke Nakako
  • Teruo Sudo
  • Sonosuke Oda   as   Moon Station Correspondent B
  • Jun Kashima
  • Koji Nakada   as   Director General of the Metropolitan Police Agency
  • Kamon Kawamura   as   Substation staff
  • Hideaki Komori
  • Jun Yamanaki
  • Akimitsu Kawashima
  • Shuichi Oki
  • Kenji Sonoda
  • Hideki Kato
  • Teruko Higa
  • Etsuko Miyama
  • Tadaharu Sato
  • Wataru Nakajima   as   Defense Agency Director
  • Kathy Horan   as   Earth base control assistant (uncredited)

AITV dub

  • Robert Sommer   as   Captain Sano
  • Susan Spafford   as   Lisa
  • Mel Welles   as   Doctor Berman
  • Edward Mannix   as   Doctor Stein

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Gallery

Main article: The X from Outer Space/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: The X from Outer Space (Soundtrack).

Alternate titles

  • Giant Space Monster Guilala (literal Japanese title)
  • Guilala, The Space Monster (Guilala, O Monstro do Espaço; Brazil)
  • Alert in Space (Uzbuna u Svemiru; Yugoslavia)
  • Guila - Frankenstein's Devil Egg (Guila - Frankensteins Teufelsei; West Germany)
  • The Chicken-Lizard from Mars (A Galinha-Lagarto de Marte; Portugal)
  • Itoka, The Monster of the Galaxies (Itoka, le monstre des galaxies; France)
  • A Monster in Space (Un monstruo en el espacio; Mexico)
  • Monster from Space (Hirviö avaruudesta; Finland)
  • Monster from Other Space (Finnish English video title)
  • The Monster from the Universe (Uhyret fra Universet; Denmark)
  • The X Monster from Space (X monstret från rymden; Sweden)
  • The Monster from Space (Monstret från rymden; Swedish video title)
  • "X" - A Monster from Space ("X" - Nestvůra z vesmíru; Czechoslovakia)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - March 25, 1967
  • Czechoslovakia - 1968
  • France - April 12, 1969
  • Mexico - 1970
  • Canada - April 1, 1970
  • West Germany - July 13, 1972
  • Australia - November 10, 1972
  • Sweden - June 24, 1981

Foreign releases

U.S. release

American International Television (AITV) brought The X from Outer Space to television syndication in the U.S. in 1968. Instead of using the export dub provided by Shochiku, AITV commissioned a new dub from a group in Rome that they frequently contracted for kaiju films at the time. AITV trimmed the film from 88 minutes to 86, mostly by shortening the opening credits and deleting a sequence of newscasters from around the world reporting on Guilala's rampage.

Orion Home Video released the AITV dub of The X from Outer Space to VHS and LaserDisc in 1989. The Criterion Collection released the original Japanese version and the export dubbed version to DVD as part of the Eclipse Series box set When Horror Came to Shochiku in 2012. It is currently available to stream on The Criterion Channel and HBO Max.

United Kingdom release

VUL released The X from Outer Space to VHS in the UK in October 1982.[2]

Video releases

Orion Home Video VHS (1989)

  • Tapes: 1
  • Audio: English (AITV dub)

Shochiku DVD (2012)[3]

  • Region: 2
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (Mono)
  • Subtitles: Unknown
  • Special features: Unknown

The Criterion Collection DVD (2012) [Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku][4]

Shochiku Blu-ray (2014)[5]

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese, English (export dub)
  • Subtitles: Japanese
  • Special features: Lobby card-style postcard, The X from Outer Space trailers

Videos

Trailers

Japanese newsflash trailer
Japanese trailer
International trailer
International trailer (textless)
West German trailer

Miscellaneous

Opening credits from the export
version (audio from AITV version)
End title from the export version
(audio from AITV version)
Opening credits from the AITV version
Comparison of the film's two English dubs

Trivia

  • Early drafts for the film featured gigantic monstrous plants as the antagonists, before Guilala was created to replace these abandoned creatures.[6]
  • Special effects footage from this film was later reused for the 1984 Japanese comedy Tora-san's Forbidden Love, the 34th entry in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
  • In the 2017 Hulu-produced documentary Too Funny to Fail, which discusses the hopeful rise and the disastrous fall of The Dana Carvey Show, footage of Guilala rampaging through the city while chasing after the fleeing human masses was briefly used to visually represent the public's negative reaction to the TV series' premiere episode.

References

This is a list of references for The X from Outer Space. 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. ↑ "The X from Outer Space vs. Gappa". Shibuya Culture Project.
  2. ↑ Branaghan, Sim. "Monsters From An Unknown Culture: Godzilla (and friends) in Britain 1957-1980 - Part 4". SMGuariento.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "あの頃映画　「宇宙大怪獣ギララ」 [DVD]". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Amazon.com: Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku (2009) Criterion Collection
  5. ↑ "あの頃映画 the BEST 松竹ブルーレイ・コレクション 宇宙大怪獣ギララ [Blu-ray]". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  6. ↑ [1]

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