Invasion of Astro-Monster
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| Invasion of Astro-Monster | |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Tomoyuki Tanaka Henry G. Saperstein |
| Written by | Shinichi Sekizawa |
| Starring | Akira Takarada Nick Adams Kumi Mizuno Jun Tazaki Akira Kubo Yoshio Tsuchiya |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi |
| Editing by | Ryohei Fujii |
| Distributed by | Toho UPA Classic Media (DVD release) |
| Release date(s) |  December 19, 1965 April 6, 1970 |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Language | Japanese English |
| Preceded by | Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster |
| Followed by | Ebirah, Horror of the Deep |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Invasion of Astro-Monster; known in Japan as Kaijū Daisensō (怪獣大戦争? lit. "The Great Monster War"); Monster Zero and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero in the United States; and Invasion of the Astro Monsters in the United Kingdom is a Toho daikaiju eiga (giant-monster movie) released in 1965 and direct sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. It is sixth in the Godzilla series, popular in the West for having the Japanese series' only Hollywood lead, Nick Adams. It is the first Godzilla film to feature humanoid alien invaders and the last to feature the popular 1960s tokusatsu team of director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.
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[edit] Plot
The year is 196X, the two-man spacecraft, crewed by one Japanese and one American (Fuji and Glenn), is approaching Jupiter to visit the newly-discovered "Planet X", which inexplicably maintains a position directly behind Jupiter. The planet is rather dark, but still lit up enough to be visible and for it to be possible to navigate its surface. The spacecraft lands, and the astronauts disembark. Soon after the astronauts encounter inhabitants called Xilians who ask to borrow the two Earth-bound Monsters Zero-One and Monster Zero-Two to combat their own terror, Monster Zero.
One astronaut vanishes, and the other wonders where he, and the spacecraft, have gone, and then a flat voice intones to him, instructing him where to go. The astronauts are led through subterranean corridors to the office of the Controller of Planet X.
The spacecraft is safe, he assures them, and indicates that they are about to be attacked. The astronauts recognize the attacking creature: King Ghidorah, the three-headed monster. After a brief black-out, when the astronauts are cut off from being able to see and hear the Controller, they are assured that the monster, known as Monster Zero, has left.
The Controller says that they want Earth's help: to be allowed to capture Monsters Zero-One and Monster Zero-Two, known to Earthmen as Godzilla and Rodan. In return, Planet X will gift humanity with a wonder drug that cures all diseases. The astronauts agree to return to Earth with the proposal. As they lift off, they say on the radio to the Controller, "We're glad we found friends on Planet X."
Meanwhile, Fuji's sister's boyfriend, Tetsuo, who's invented a personal alarm he thinks women could use to summon assistance if they're endangered. It creates a horrific loud noise that can be heard blocks away, and wonders why nobody's interested in buying it, but then a Miss Namikawa comes and makes an offer to buy it as an educational device, but keeps putting Tetsuo off on completing the deal.
Fuji and Glenn arrive home, and tell their superiors of the offer by Planet X. Scientists begin searching for Godzilla and Rodan. Then, the Controller of Planet X makes mysterious appearances on Earth, and Glenn becomes suspicious about Planet X. The Controller finally makes his appearance overt, "apologizes" for his unannounced presence, and offers to help locate the two monsters. Two Planet X spacecraft rapidly fly off and extract the two monsters.
Glenn, Fuji and Dr.Sakurai are invited aboard a spacecraft to accompany the Controller back to Planet X, a trip that takes only a few hours; the Controller says that soon they'll be able to travel as fast as light. On reaching Planet X, there is almost immediately an attack by King Ghidorah, and the two from Earth are released to battle it. King Ghidorah is driven off, and the Controller exults about that. He presents a box that, he says, contains information about the miracle drug, and presents the three men with a faithful duplicate of their spaceship so they can fly home.
On arrival, the box is taken to a special international meeting and is opened to find a reel-to-reel tape. It is loaded onto a machine and set up to play. When the speakers remain silent for a long period, some wonder if the systems are compatible, but others say their system is exactly the same as ours. Finally, there is a beep, and the voice begins. "This is the Controller of Planet X. You will listen to my instructions..." It is an ultimatum to surrender to Planet X.
The aliens arrive, destroy the spacecraft, and threaten to release the three creatures, which are now all under Planet X's control. In a show of confidence, the aliens even betray the method of control: magnetic waves. The Earth scientists realize that they could exploit this information, and work rapidly to find a way to disrupt those magnetic waves, while in the meantime, Earth's armies fight nearly in futility with conventional weapons as the monsters wage most of their destruction against Japan.
Tetsuo, meanwhile, is dissatisfied with the lack of progress on his device, and his inability to get Miss Namikawa to tell him what's happening. He gets imprisoned by the Planet X soldiers. In the course of pursuing his interest in Miss Namikawa, Glenn learns that she's from Planet X and all their women are virtually identical. Fearful of what he knows, the aliens arrest him and place into the same cell as Tetsuo. However, this proves to be their undoing as he and Tetsuo put their clues together. Before being disintegrated by a Planet X soldier, Namikawa gave Glenn a letter in which she told him the weakness of the people of Planet X: the sound made by Tetsuo's "lady guard alarm". Tetsuo, still in possession of the prototype, takes it out and sets it off. It upsets and paralyzes the Planet X soldiers, enabling Glenn and Tetsuo to escape.
They reach the space center scientists and explain about the device. Arrangements are made to broadcast it on all radio and television stations, a tactic that will be employed when the magnetic disruption devices are deployed.
The three monsters are removed from Planet X control, as Planet X spacecraft explode and personnel escape the noise by blowing up ships. Planet X withdraws its attempts to conquer Earth. Meanwhile, Godzilla attacks King Ghidorah with the aid of Rodan, forcing King Ghidorah into a retreat.
Glenn and Fuji are to be sent to Planet X again as ambassadors to seek peaceful relations.
[edit] United States version
The film was released in North America by UPA in 1970 under the title Monster Zero. It played on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas. There were several alterations made:
- Dialogue was dubbed to English.
- The opening theme was changed, and some of Akira Ifukube's score was re-arranged. Several sound effects were also added.
- Deleted: several shots of Godzilla's foot stepping on houses and huts.
- Deleted: some short shots of flying saucers.
- Deleted: Rodan blowing away tanks from the top of a hill.
- Deleted: several scenes with the Xilians speaking in the language of Planet X.
The American version runs 93 minutes, three minutes shorter than the Japanese version. In his book Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: An Unauthorized History of 'The Big G', Steve Ryfle says "The Americanization...is respectful to the original Japanese version."
Also, in the original version of the film, the drug the Xiians promised was a cure for all forms of cancer. However, in the American version of the film, the cure was for all forms of disease.
In the original Japanese version of this movie, even though it was in Japanese, Nick Adams spoke English throughout filming. After being completion, his voice was dubbed over by the Japanese voice-actor, Goro Naya. However in the re-edited American version (including the unedited International version), Nick Adams' voice wasn't dubbed over. Marvin Miller voiced Fuji in the English Dub. The other dub cast is unknown.
[edit] Box Office
In Japan, the film sold approximately 3,780,000 tickets.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Godzilla is not portrayed as a hero here. The only good Godzilla and Rodan do is drive off King Ghidorah.
- The "jumping shay scene" was protested by Ishiro Honda and Tomoyuki Tanaka, but Eiji Tsuburaya insisted on keeping it, saying "it would make the children happy."
- 『Shay』 adopted a gesture of the popular comic 『Osomatsukun』 which there was in those days in Japan. It was amused and employed Director Eiji Tsuburaya when Haruo Nakajima hit on this and telephoned Director Tsuburaya and suggested it. In addition, Yoshio Tsuchiya seems to have done the same suggestion in Toho, too
- The Godzilla suit in this movie is called “Daisensou-Goji”.
- The only Godzilla film in the series to show on-screen kissing.
- Some deleted scenes include: An extension of Tetsuo's conversation on the phone with the company who buys the "Lady Guard Alarm". All we see of the man on the other line in his mouth and hand holding the phone. When Tetsuo tries to get for answers out of him, the man hangs up abruptly, leaving Tetsuo with with a comically-confused face; An extension of the talk between Fuji and Glenn in the diner. They crack jokes about what living on Planet X on a daily basis might be like; some very minor shots of the monsters, most notably one of Godzilla and Rodan staring at an angry King Ghidorah. Godzilla responds simply by scratching his shoulder. Most of these scenes were cut due to being "too comical."
[edit] Alternate Titles
- Invasion of the Astros (U.S. Military film circuit title)
- Monster Zero (wide U.S. theatrical release by UPA & Maron Films, 1970)
- Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1980s U.S. video title, Paramount Home Video)
- Invasion of the Astro Monsters (early U.S. adaptation by UPA, release cancelled)
- Invasion from Planet X (UK Television Title)
[edit] DVD Releases
Simitar Entertainment
- Released: May 6, 1998
- Aspect Ratios: Widescreen (2.35:1) letterboxed; Full frame (1.33:1)
- Sound: English (1.0), English (5.1)
- Supplements: Godzilla trailers; Godzilla art gallery; Trivia game; Film facts; DVD-ROM (screen savers, prinable art gallery, web access)
- All Regions
- Note: Contains the U.S. release
Classic Media
- Release date: June 5, 2007
-Original Japanese version with subtitles and American release
- Audio Commentary by Stuart Galbrath IV
-Tomoyuki Tanaka biography
-original trailer
- Note: Contains the both the original Japanese version and the 1970 U.S. release version
[edit] King Geedorah
The film was heavily sampled by underground hip-hop artist MF Doom's side project "Take Me to Your Leader (King Geedorah album)".
[edit] External links
- Invasion of Astro-Monster at the Internet Movie Database
- Invasion of Astro-Monster at Rotten Tomatoes
- Review at Toho Kingdom by Miles Imhoff
- 怪獣大戦争 (Kaijū Daisenso) (Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
