Latitude zéro

As was the norm in the 60's, Japanese filmmakers used old-time American actors to help market their films in the US and Europe. Such Hollywood classics such as Raymond Burr ("Godzilla"), Nick Adams and Robert Horton ("The Green Slime") made a second career by appearing in Japanese sci -fi.

Joseph Cotton ("Citizen Kane"), Cesar Romero (TV "Batman's" original Joker) and Richard Jaeckel ("The Dirty Dozen", "Spenser:For Hire", "The Green Slime"), were another three who appeared in this offbeat blend of sci-fi and fantasy.

Cotten has his hands full as a Captain Nemo-esque commander of the super sub Alpha (an odd coincidence, since he later played the famous submariner in MGM's "Captain Nemo and the Underwater City"), fighting against a mad scientist (Romero) with a penchant for splicing together mutant creatures to rule the world. Jaeckel plays the reporter tossed into this crazy conflict, which has little or no plot or character development, but is just your average no-brainer popcorn flick perfect for the fanboy in all of us.

A strange twist was the marketing of this film as a sequel to the live action version of the anime movie "Atragon", another super sub movie that bears absolutely no resemblance in design or plot to "Latitude Zero".

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Latitude Zero; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.25

TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00

I don't know which movie came out first, as both got released in 1969, but the similarities between Latitude Zero and Captain Nemo and the Underwater City are astounding. Though I will admit, I prefer the more fantastical Latitude Zero.

One reason is the script. The writers give the audience more plot, extra intrigue, and additional science fiction elements. When the story begins, we watch a bathysphere containing two researchers and a journalist get lowered into the ocean to study the Cromwell Current. But an underwater volcano has other plans for our intrepid trio when it erupts and tears the sphere away from its tether. Luckily for the threesome, a high-tech submarine is in the area, and Captain McKenzie dispatches divers to save them. But the waters don't run calm for our accidental tourists as McKenzie subs them to his submerged Utopian city. Unfortunately, the mad doctor Malic spots the Alpha on his radar and dispatches his attack sub, the Black Shark, to intercept. But thanks to Captain Mckenzie's and his second in command's skills, they reach the safely of the city. Once in the metropolis, their eyes behold wonders that stagger their minds. The overabundance of diamonds grabs the greedy attention of reporter Perry Lawton. While the two scientists are interested in the technological advancements that Latitude Zero possesses. Though the question is, will our human-weary Captain give our three explorers the chance to go topside? And, what has Dr Malic got in mind for the good Captain and his underwater haven? The one element of the story that could have been more robust is the individual's characteristics. For example, the Captain is a stoic and steadfast man whose opinions are tough to change. Yet, his traits aren't as strong as his ideals; his personality needed to be tough and less of a playful pussycat in his dandy apparel. And the two scientists needed more substance to their personalities. But as an adventure story goes, it's not too shabby.

Where Latitude Zero excels over the Hollywood flick is the imaginative use of special effects. Director Ishero Honda has a superb eye for detail, and the SFX interweave beautifully with the live-action sections. There's a lot of modelling work; this is on par with Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds and has a similar style. One scene stood out to me most. When the Captain docks the Alpha, you see the model submarine moored against the harbour wall, and in front of them is a real ambulance and performers. This mixing of two distinct media types was tricky to pull off credibly in the 60s. And though the scene is only a few seconds long, the effect is flawless. The worst creations are the mutated flying bat-people. They're not scary, not in the slightest - you only want to set them free to fly away. It's also funny that Malic engineered this Bat-Man and Bat-Woman because Cesar Romero plays Malic - think about it - The Joker Made Bat-Man and Bat-Woman! However, I did love the flying lion. This pussy cat really can bank and dive. I was waiting for him to complete a loop-de-loop or a victory roll. The best came when he landed and began his growling attack. You can tell it's a bloke in a costume, but the garb is that good, and the bloke's actions aren't too terrible that the outrageous scene actually works - I loved it. Honda keeps everything bright and colourful throughout all the onscreen mayhem and inventiveness. For the most part, he uses a standard filming style but will slip in one or two gems, like the montage of the city, we see both genuine and model buildings, and then we zoom out and see we're looking at a model of the metropolis, as we then pan to our heroes and the Captain. His pacing of the movie keeps the storytelling at an agreeable tempo.

The actors aren't the best thing about the movie. In fact, I only chose to watch the picture because Richard Jaeckel and Cesar Romero stared. And these two actors are the best in their portrayals. Romero is ideal as the mad-scientist Malic - and his performance isn't that reminiscent of The Joker. His insanity is more sedate and a little scarier. And, Jaeckel does a decent job at portraying the reporter Lawton. He adds a smug kindness to his character that works well. Patricia Medina, who plays Malic's other half, Lucretia, surprised me. She was strong, sexy, and a woman you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of - good thing her bo was mad.

Everything considered I would joyfully recommend Latitude Zero to anybody looking for a movie to put a smile on their face. And if you're a Sci-Fi B-Movie fan and have yet to watch LZ, run and find a copy as this is a film you guys and galls shouldn't miss.

Shoot that darned flying lion, then take a look at my IMDb list - The Final Frontier to see where I ranked Latitude Zero.

Take Care & Stay Well.

This is one of the finest of the non-Godzilla epics by Ishiro Honda and Toho. It definitely has all the elements that make for a great film great story, great action and an interesting twist at the end. What really stands out is the fact that Honda pretty much took a near impossible situation in working with several American actors who didn't speak Japanese and was able to do a decent job in directing them. However, the thing that really was interesting about this film was the fact that this film marks what probably is the first and only time that Akira Takarada and the late, great Akihiko Hirata are heard speaking English with their own voices after years of being dubbed. This film is definitely one of the finest to come from Toho.

Interesting note: "Suitamation" acting Legend Harou Nakajima play the Winged Lion in this Film, Nakajima was Godzilla for the first 20 years of Godzilla Movies, He also portrayed such Giant Monster legends as, Rodan, Varan, Mougera (The Mysterians) and the front section of Mothra.

That's what I love so much about this film, what other Movie can have the same actors that portrayed Godzilla & the Joker in the same scene!

I agree with the above Review, I have been a Daikaijuologist my whole life, and have seen just about every suitamation film Toho ever made, the suit work and miniatures in Latitude Zero have no rival & this is INDEED one of Toho's most underrated works.

Another memory from my childhood! I was about 7 or 8 years old when I saw this film and it really freaked me at this time! Recently, I watched "Ido zero daisakusen" again and it had great nostalgia-values!! Giant rats, bat-like creatures... this flick directed by Godzilla´s spiritual father Ishiro Honda has everything a great Japanese monster movie needs! Plus the great performances of Richard Jaeckel, who made some extraordinary alien-experiences in "The Green Slime" as well as Cesare Romero, unforgettable as sneering bad guy Joker in the 1960s Batman-series! The biggest surprise however was the appearance of Joseph Cotten, an actor that also starred in the Orson Welles-classic "Citizen Kane" or Carol Reed´s "The 3rd Man"... so he´s next to Russ Tamblyn or Raymond Burr a further US-actor who can add a Japanese Sci-fi movie to his filmography. "Atragon II" may be a little bit cheesy compared to nowaday´s standard (Which Asian monster flick from those days is not?!?), but all the multimillion Dollar CGI-F/X can´t deal with the great naive charm this film delivers! A cult classic!!!