I misteriani

We have always enjoyed the early Japanese Fantasy Films circa 1954-1963. During this time they took themselves and there subjects seriously. What ever their technical short comings were you could see they were in earnest. Basically after this period starting with KING KONG -vs- GODZILLA the slide down to kiddy fare began just a step above STARMAN.

Though we consider the original GORJIRA/Godzilla as the first and the best THE MYSTERIANS is the one (1) we enjoyed most. This is a SPACE OPERA on a grand scale. Watching it is like seeing the old pulp Science-Fiction magazine covers of the 1930's being brought to life. Basically the team that acted and made the original Godzilla are back plus the addition of Technicolor and WideScreen. They needed a big and splashy story and THEM -vs- US for the world was the canvas that well suited this first effort.

We first saw it on T.V. in the mid 1960s and were enthralled like any early teenagers by these scenes of action and massed destruction. But even then we (my brother and I) felt something was missing. It was not until the early 1990s that we saw a restored Japanese print in it's original format (WS) and subtitled in English that what happened on screen made sense. Best of all there were more scenes of destruction.

It is a pity that TOHO did not make a direct sequel and made BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE instead (still a fun film). Now that they are more technically adapt it would be nice to see this film remade. The one (1) thing I would keep though (other then the basic plot line) is the exceptional musical score.

For the first fifteen minutes of "Chikyu Boeigun" (known in USA as "The Mysterians"), nothing happens. Scientist poking around a forest fire site comes face to face with a giant, metallic bird like monster. Then this film takes off, becoming more and more exciting. After the monster ravishes a village, the military kills it. We discover it's from the planet Mysteriod, and citizens of that planet are setting up a base here on Earth. The rest of the film concerns the battles betwen the Earth and The Mysterians. A bunch of Inoshira Honda's touches abound. There's a doomed hero (Ahikio Hirata) literally going on a kamikaze mission through the alien base, the plea for all nations to drop their petty squabbles and join forces to save the Earth, and wall to wall giant monster/spaceship excitement. Musician Akira Ifukube's score is militaristic, throbbing, and perfect. While "Gojira" is the best Japanese sci-fi classic, "The Mysterians", a candy coated treat is a close second, being the most fun.

Trivia note: Musician Akira Ifukube invented the famous Godzilla roar.

This is a pretty decent invasion film. This time around, Honda seems to have been inspired by the films "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and does a good job in conveying a lot of themes that pretty much permeate a lot of his films, fear of nuclear war and the world unifying for a common cause. Also, Akihiko pretty much built on his portrayal of the tragic hero that sacrifices himself at the end to save humanity and did his usual good job.

The only complaint I have about the film is the fact that the appearance of Moguera takes place too early in the film and his destruction is much too early. They do return him to the end, but I would have preferred to see him as the weapon of last resort that the aliens use to try to deliver the crushing blow. Other than that, this is a pretty good movie.

I just rented "The Mysterians" which seems to be called "Earth Defence Force" in the Japanse version. The movie holds up well because it seems that the people involved treated the story seriously. When I was young I remember that the "Marcolights" were pretty cool and the music was very dramatic. The music still sounds good today but the sound quality on the tape wasn't that good.

I am glad to see the writers took the job seriously and had the characters ask the questions we asked from the audience. Can the Mysterians be trusted even though they say they are peaceful? Should we ask for a nuclear strike? The Marcolights have a limited range, how can we get around that? Should we wait for the Electronic Cannon or attack right now with the giant airships and Marcolights?

There were a few flaws. For example one of the characters mentioned that a fixed base was a weakness. I assume that is because you can't depend only on a defensive shield. A base must be defended by mobile fighter craft as well. The flying saucers performed that function until they unexpectedly retreated to the base during the climatic battle. The other weak point was the giant airships Alpha-1 and Beta-1. They moved like zeppelins and the standard cannon seemed weak. I guess their plot purpose was to be shot down so that Beta-2 could built for a second attack on the Mysterian base.

If you saw this movie as a kid it is still enjoyable as an adult. If you've never seen it then it is probably only of interest to those who want to see the early days of Japanese monster movies. You may be pleasantly surprised to see the leader of the Seven Samurai as the head scientist.

There's something endearing about this movie. The plot is good, casting is good (with so many pretty faces, no wonder the Mystery guys wanted to come to earth), and even the score (by Akira Ifukube) remains in your head long after you see the movie. But above all there's a special atmosphere about this movie that won't let you forget it any time soon.

Mogera (Of Godzilla vs Space Godzilla fame almost 40 years later) makes its debut in this movie, and it started its career as weapon of the aliens not a giant UN transformer robot.

Once the fact that the Mysterians showed themselves, earth defense force ( thus the movie's Japanese title Chikyu Boeigun ) musters up all its plans for super weapons and goes on the offensive against the Mysterians (who've shacked up in Japan even before they got official permission from them ).

If military technology can catch up with the aliens so quickly as in this movie, we won't have any problems. In reality from what I understand, we're not even near parity.

Special effects are good, and weapons looks cool (Designed by famous Japanese sci-fi artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki. They have kind of a retro look which still works today) which all adds up to make this movie one of Toho's best.

It's one of a kind movie, and highly recommended to watch.