The Mysterians (1957)
December 28, 1957Release Date
The Mysterians (1957)
December 28, 1957Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Mysterians is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, FlixFling
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
This Movie Is About.
Cast & Crew.
Kenji Sahara
Joji Atsumi
Yumi Shirakawa
Etsuko Shiraishi
Momoko Kôchi
Hiroko Iwamoto
Akihiko Hirata
Ryoichi Shiraishi
Takashi Shimura
Dr. Tanjiro Adachi
Susumu Fujita
Gen. Morita
Hisaya Ito
Capt. Seki
Yoshio Kosugi
Cmdr. Sugimoto
Fuyuki Murakami
Dr. Nobu Kawanami
Yutaka Sada
Police Capt. Miyamoto
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Leader of the Mysterians
Ishirō Honda
Director
Tetsu Nakamura
Dr. Koda
Sōji Ubukata
Dr. Noda
Takeshi Kimura
Writer
Jojiro Okami
Writer
George Furness
Dr. Svenson
Harold Conway
Dr. De Gracia
Shigeru Kayama
Writer
Heihachirō Ōkawa
Person at Board Meeting
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Producer
Ren Imaizumi
Adachi's Assistant Hayami
Akira Ifukube
Composer
Hajime Koizumi
Cinematographer
Rikkie Sanjô
Etsuko's mother
Kôichi Iwashita
Editor
Tadao Nakamaru
1st. Lt. Yamamoto
Hideo Saeki
Gen. Emoto
Teruaki Abe
ProductionDesigner
Takuzō Kumagai
Colonel Ito
Akio Kusama
Police Station Chief Togawa
Shin Ōtomo
Policeman Kawada
Rinsaku Ogata
Policeman Ogata
Takeo Oikawa
Announcer on TV
Mitsuo Tsuda
Person at Defense Meeting
Kamayuki Tsubono
Defense Meeting Attendee
Senkichi Ōmura
Doomed Villager
Haruya Katō
Doomed Villager
Yasuhiro Shigenobu
Doomed villager
Shōichi Hirose
Detective in Etsuko's house
Eisuke Nakanishi
Detective in Etsuko's house
Keiichirô Katsumoto
Detective
Jirô Mitsuaki
Detective
Ryûtarô Amami
Policeman
Saburô Kadowaki
Policeman
Masayoshi Kawabe
Policeman
Mitsuo Matsumoto
Newspaper Reporter
Hideo Unagami
Mysterian
Katsumi Tezuka
Mysterian
Haruo Nakajima
Giant Robot [Script name: Moguera]
Jôjirô Okami
Story
Kaeko Sakamoto
Casting
Eiji Tsuburaya
Special Effects / Visual Effects
Kôji Kajita
Assistant Director
Masanobu Miyazaki
Sound Recordist
Kuichirô Kishida
Lighting Technician
Media.
Details.
Release DateDecember 28, 1957
Original Name地球防衛軍
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 29m
Genres
Wiki.
The Mysterians (Japanese: 地球防衛軍, Hepburn: Chikyū Bōeigun, lit. 'Earth Defense Force') is a 1957 Japanese epic science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first Honda-Tsuburaya collaboration filmed in both color and TohoScope, and stars Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Susumu Fujita, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Mogera. In the film, Earth's defense forces unite to combat an extraterrestrial race that desires to intermarry with human women and settle on the planet.
Inspired by the success of big-budget science fiction films in Japan and the United States, Toho executives became keen on producing a science fiction epic of their own. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka recruited science fiction writer Jōjirō Okami to develop the story, which Shigeru Kayama later adapted for Takeshi Kimura's screenplay. Honda stated that three companies were involved in the film's production, which was the most in any tokusatsu production that he directed.
The Mysterians was released theatrically in Japan on December 28, 1957, as a double feature with Sazae's Youth. It was a box office success in Japan upon its release, earning ¥193 million against its ¥200 million budget during its original theatrical run, making it the tenth-highest-grossing Japanese film of 1957, and leading Toho to produce two further space-themed science fiction epics: Battle in Outer Space (1959) and Gorath (1962). An English dub of the film was produced by RKO Radio Pictures and distributed in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 27, 1959, where it grossed $975,000 and reportedly received mostly positive reviews. Western film critics praised Tsuburaya's special effects, but some criticized the plot as confusing and juvenile.
The Mysterians is now considered among the most renowned and spectacular Honda-Tsuburaya films and has gained a cult following from science fiction film fans. It inspired the famed garage rock band ? and the Mysterians and the 1968 made-for-television film Mars Needs Women. The film's robot kaiju Mogera later became a recurring character in Toho's Godzilla franchise, notably appearing in the 1994 film Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), the television series Godzilla Island (1997–1998) as well as numerous comics and video games.