Chikyu Boeigun

The Mysterians

Japan 1957
produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka for Toho
directed by Ishiro Honda
starring Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Susumu Fujita, Hisaya Ito, Yoshio Kosugi, Fuyuki Murakami, Tetsu Nakamura, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yutaka Sada, Ren Imaizumi, Takeo Oikawa, Tadao Nakamaru, George Furness, Harold Conway, Haruya Kato, Senkichi Omura, Shin Otomo, Akio Kusama, Shoichi Hirose, Rinsaku Ogata, Heihachiro Okawa, Takuza Kumagai, Mitsuo Tsuda, Kamayuki Tsubono, Hideo Mihara, Yasuhiro Shigenobu, Katsumi Tezuka, Haruo Nakajima, Rikie Sanjo, Soji Ubukata, Hideo Unagami, Minosuke Yamada
story by Shigeru Kayama, Jojiro Okami, screenplay by Takeshi Kimura, music by Akira Ifukube, special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya

review by
Mike Haberfelner

An insignificant stretch of land in Japan is suddenly struck by disaster, and a giant monster (eventually revealed to be a robot) comes out of nowhere to roam the countryside. Amidst all this chaos, local scientist Shiraishi (Akihiko Hirata) disappears into thin air ... and a few days later, it is announced that an alien race called the Mysterians have taken over the disaster area. They claim they want nothing more than 3 square kilometres of land to live on since they have lost (=blown up) their own planet, they want to ensure peace on earth to save earth from the fate of their home planet, want to ensure peace by use of their superior weapons if necessary - oh, and they want earth women to procreate ...

To noone's real surprise, earth leaders won't give in to the aliens' demands, and also to noone's real surprise, Shiraishi, who has incidently written a report on the aliens, is found with them, but not as a captive but as an ally.

The Japanese army throws everything it's got at the aliens headquarters, a weird dome, even their newly developed death ray deflector shields, but nothing seems to even dent the dome, and while the army is busy fighting a war, the Mysterians steal a few of earth's women, including Shiraishi's sister (Yumi Shirakawa) and his fiancée (Momoko Koji). Because of this, Shiraishi's sister's boyfriend Atsumi (Ksnji Sahara) decides to enter the alien dome on his own to free the girls and cause maximum damage in the process. Once in the dome though, he is soon overcome by the aliens and only saved by Shiraishi who has only now realized the Mysterians have tricked him. And now he helps Atsumi and the girls to escape, after which he helps to destroy the dome from the inside while Japan's new superweapon destroys it from the outside ... and in the end, the aliens have been defeated - but has earth learned anything from the experience?

This film features quite a few excellent miniature effects and also provides some food for thoughts while telling its futuruistic yarn - and yet, The Mysterians is one of director Inoshiuro Honda's lesser sci-fi-disaster movies: Basically, the film lacks a good human subplot to back up its basic alien invasion story, and thus what the movie lacks in human subplot it makes up with endless military procedures and UN conferences that just lack to create any real tension.

That said though, the effects coupled with some great 1950's futuristic designs are still reasons enough to watch the film nevertheless.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find The Mysterians at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find The Mysterians here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

Thanks for watching !!!