O Alerta do Espaço

I remember watching this film when I was a kid. Ironically, it was before I saw When Worlds Collide or The Day the Earth Stood Still (ironically, I still have yet to see the latter). This film is successful for two reasons. The first one is the fears of the Japanese about nuclear holocaust. Like so many science fiction films that the Japanese released during this era, it was pretty much inspired by the events that had happened the previous decade. Also, this film also spreads the message of world cooperation, especially when there is a threat of total extinction either by aliens or a runaway planetoid (see Gorath). This was a pretty interesting film and its too bad that it is not being shown on television anymore.

Aliens, from the planet Paila, and Earthlings work together to prevent the Earth from being destroyed by a runaway planet, Planet R, from another galaxy in this early Japanese Sci-Fi movie released in 1956 with the American title "Warning from Space".

The Pairans who's planet Paila is on the other side of the sun and undetected from the eyes of earth's astronomers sends a fleet of space ships to earth to get the people of that planet to join with them to prevent the rogue planet R from slamming into earth and destroying not only earth but the entire solar system including the planet Paila. The Pairans looking like star fish with an eyeball on their stomachs have one of them Ginko, Toyomi Karita, morphs into the popular Japanese singer Hikari Aozora, and make contact with the earthlings on the dangers they they as well as the Pairans are facing.

At first the leaders of earth don't, as usual, take Ginko's warnings seriously. But when the planet begins to get closer to earth they finally do and muster all the nuclear weapons that the earth's superpowers have together to shoot into space and blast the streaking planet off course. The attempt fails miserably and as Planet R gets closer to earth it causes death and destruction by unleashing giant tidal waves and great changes in the weather. All seems lost until Ginko tells the earthlings that only Prof. Kamura can save them with his formula for the destructive super-nuclear element Duriun. Which earlier in the movie Ginko took from Prof. Kamura and destroyed because it was too dangerous for anyone, much less those on earth, to have.

Ginko tells the people of earth that with getting the formula for Duriun from Prof. Kamura and together with the Pairans advanced technology to militarize and deliver it to the Planet R in order to knock it off it's course it will save the solar system but there's just one hitch, were is Prof. Kamura?

You have to forgive the cheap special effects since the movie was made almost fifty years ago before the invention of computer enhanced photography but the story and the acting in the movie "Warning from Space" is much better then you would have expected. It's also interesting to note that the movie was made in Japan the only country that was ever nuked and the story was about using nuclear weapons for survival instead of destruction.

This film, literally titled, "Aliens Appear in Tokyo," was the first COLOR sci-fi film made in Japan. ("RODAN" would be the first giant monster film). The first part of the film is similar to "Day The Earth Stood Still" as the Pairans try to warn a scientist using a new kind of explosive he has developed. One of the assumes human form (copying the image of a famous singer)and tries to communicate with the humans. Later, the same aliens discover that a planet is on a collision course with Earth--and the only thing that can save humanity is to use the very explosive that they warned against! This takes the idea from "When Worlds Collide" as the earth goes through disasters as "Planet R" comes closer and closer. Finally the scientist is rescued from the Yakuza, and the wayward planet is destroyed. The film is a charming look at Japan, coming into its own following the Occupation after World War II.

Lately I find I have a special place in my heart for the Japanese disaster movie of days gone by. They are so much fun, and their filmmakers throw everything but the kitchen sink in, both so that there's something to please everybody and because they're frankly just so chock-full of bizarre yet interesting ideas. It seems like it would have been a great time to make movies there! I enjoyed this a lot, though many aspects weren't understandable to me, like why as the meteor got ever closer to Earth it got so incredibly hot. I can understand, since the Moon influences tides through its gravitational pulls, why there could have been flooding, but the impact on temperature...I suppose it's simply one of those aspects of watching pre-manned space flight science-fiction films in which you have to approach simply with fun and acceptance, and turn off your disbelief, to simply enjoy the ride. I have no problem with that approach for these films.

Cool ideas I really liked were the way one of the aliens altered its appearance so that the warning would be listened to, so that both worlds could be saved, and the concept that when a world crisis occurs, different countries and cultures--and various planets, for that matter--can sit down and work things out together, that all is not lost for civilization and its discontents in 2016. It's thoughts like that that help me sleep at night.

This would make a great double bill with 'Melancholia'.

Well, I just viewed this Japanese film for the first time on the ALPHA VIDEO DVD release and was able to sit through it without being completely bored.

So, all is good with this film. But keep in mind: It's nowhere near as good as "THE MYSTERIONS" (Toho's alien film from the late fifties). There are NO GIANT MONSTERS IN THIS FILM.

I understand it's Japan's FIRST COLOR SCI-FI MOVIE; so that's something to keep in mind. The budget was quite high for this movie.

And here's an open letter to ALPHA VIDEO: What's with the video transfer that looks like it was copied from a VHS tape? It's not as bad as numerous generation dubs of some schlock I've seen because the audio and video are a bit noisy yet passable, but could your company not find a better master copy?? Just curious...

Anyways, the star creatures from some UFOs try to warn Earth that a planet is going to collide with the Earth (or something like that), and they try to help the Earthlings with this by sharing the news. The problem is that most people find human-sized Starfish to be quite shocking and won't be inviting any over for sushi anytime soon. So, the Star creatures realize that "sex sells" and decide to transform one of their own as Japan's version of Celine Dion (or Charro, depending on your preference) and this "woman" tries to warn Earth of what's happening.

If you're into this sort of thing, by all means check it out for its historical film merit.