The Mysterians

Starring:Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko KÃ´chi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Susumu Fujita, Hisaya Ito, Yoshio Kosugi, Fuyuki Murakami, Tetsu Nakamura, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Yutaka Sada, Ren Imaizumi, Takeo Oikawa, Tadao Nakamaru, George Furness, Harold Conway, Haruya Kato, Senkichi Omura, Shin Otomo
Director: IshirÃ´ Honda
Studio: Tokyo Shock
Product Type: DVD

Description

After a Japanese town is totally destroyed, the military arrive to investigate. They encounter a giant robot that is decimating everything in its path. A dome appears out of the ground and a group of scientists are invited to meet the alien Mysterians from the planet Mysteroid. The Mysterians have come in peace; all they ask humanity for is three-square kilometers of land and the right to interbreed with Earth women to repopulate their species. Outraged at such a suggestion, humanity declares war on the Mysterians.

Customer Reviews:

A true Toho scifi classic........2007-05-30

This film established the very first alien invasion toho film, and certainly the best. The Special effects are very good, and most still hold up today. Eiji Tsuburaya is hard to beat when it comes to matte shots and miniature destruction. IMO, he had a bigger effect on modern SFX than any other SFX director, American or otherwise. To those of you who scoff at suitmation, let me tell you this. Suitmation looks a HELL of a lot more convincing than stop motion, especially when slowed down. And filmmakers are quite lazy today. All they rely on is CG, which to tell you the truth, lacks organic illusion. At least you KNOW somethings actually there with suitmation. Sure, the Mogera was laughable in regards to it's movement. Akira Ifukube composes a great score here.

Mysterians.......2007-01-31

One of Toho's best non-Godzilla movies. While the special effects aren't the best, it was also 1957 when this was made. Ifukube's score is one of his best, especially his millitary march. Very entertaining movie.

A Very Fun Nostalgic Cinematic Fare!.......2007-01-24

"The Mysterians," is another one of those films which remind me of my childhood. I remember watching this film at quite a young age. For those who have seen, or remember viewing "Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People," this film is by the same director: Ishiro Honda. One of the funny things a like about this film, besides the memories, is the actor (Takashi Shimura) as Dr. Tanjuro Adachi. And while Takashi Shimura was in quite a few films, Kaiju included, it is still great to see him in any film. He has always been one of my favorite actors, and to think that the man whose outstanding performances in "Ikiru" [one of my favorite films] and "Seven Samurai" is in this film only makes me chuckle.

Only now we viewers get to see the film how it was meant to be viewed: Uncut, and in letterbox format. It amazed me when I first purchased this film how much was gutted on U.S. televisions. After viewing "The Mysterians" countless times on television in the 1960s and early 1970s, I was pleasantly surprised to find this film had been released on DVD. Moreover, this film has finally been restored: for now at least. Also, as a confession, I will be the first to admit that the film may not warrant the four-star rating, but more like a three-star rating. The film is obviously dated, and will in no way compare to todays films. However, it does hold quite a bit of nostalgia for me. And therefore, I may be a little biased in my rating it as high as I did.

For those who have not viewed any of Japans earlier cinematic delights, "The Mysterians," is just a fun view. It is not among the great films of Japan, but for those of us who grew up watching these types of films, they are a fun and delightful treat. Moreover, the film is pretty good for its era, and the music is terrific. It is obvious when viewing the film that director Ishiro Honda had the films "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" on his mind when filming this early Japanese sci-fi. The special effects in the film are very good, but then TOHO studios were usually on the cutting edge of film technology at the time. The reviewer in the spotlight review, COOKIEMAN 108, has given a pretty good description of the film. All in all, it's a fun film from a different era. Just relax and enjoy the fun. [Stars: 3.5]

Just like I remembered.......2007-01-05

I remember a hot summer afternoon in 1960. The newspaper was showing a picture of this huge robot with death rays shooting out of its eyes, so being thirteen years old at the time, I just had to go. What I saw just blew my mind away. Remember, this was early days in the world of special effects. George lucas was still waiting for his acne to clear up and Star trek was several years in the future. Godzilla was still fresh in everyone's memory as well as Rodan and I had been too young to see them. This movie was beyond anything that had been out before. It was a true war of the future. It had jets, strange rocket powered airships, tanks, and a weird weapon called a Markalite that fired off a fuzzy death ray against the sinister alien dome that was equipped with its own death ray. and the dome was protected by a force field that repelled all sorts of explosive shells. There was a huge earthquake that swallowed a town whole and did not even leave a dog alive. (except for a single scientist and three beautiful girls saved by the aliens for truly evil reasons) And, oh yes, that huge robot with the death ray eyes. And then there was that music score. I had never noticed a movie score before (excepting Rogers and Hammerstein), but I remembered this one! Even after forty five years, I can still hum the theme that played when the good guys attacked. It was an afternoon of pure theatre.
After that I was sure to see it every time it came up on tv, and when video tape became available, It was one of the first movies I looked for and I was elated when I finally got a poorly printed, truncated version of it. Then I found this DVD version.
This version is clear and sharp, the sound is good, and much of the original footage that had been cut out for television was restored. Then there was the audio commentary by a pair of japanese film makers. I learned that while some models were used, Those were real Japanese soldiers,tanks,and weapons for the most part. (There was, of course, no such thing as a Japanese Army at the time, but there was a so-called Self Defense Force that served the same purpose.)
This DVD is a must have, not only for the occasional nostalgia buff, but an important piece of Movie History. It was the true forerunner of Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek, and if you look closely, you will see many effects used for the first time that were to become a staple of later sci fi classics.
But most of all It's just a good old fashioned, rip roaring adventure, complete with a brave hero, damsels in distress, evil villains, repentant dupe who dies to bring on the villains defeat, and wise, clever scientists working against the clock to save the world.

The 50's brought the best out of toho.......2006-11-10

I've never seen this whole movie before. But I have to say on this high quality dvd. It was quite a pleasure. A great story line. A great feeling. Overall a great movie.

Toho Triple Feature: Mysterians, Varan and Matango

Average customer rating:

Toho Triple Feature: Mysterians, Varan and Matango
Starring: Toho Triple Feature Collection
Manufacturer: Tokyo Shock
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000QGDXHK
Release Date: 2007-08-21

Description

The Mysterians After a Japanese town is totally destroyed the military arrive to investigate. They encounter a giant robot that is decimating everything in its path. Varan The Unbelievable During an excursion to research an unusual butterfly in the mountains of northeastern Japan two explorers are mysteriously killed. The natives of the island blame the deaths on their God `Varan' who becomes enraged at the sight of humans. Matango Attack of The Mushroom People After a yacht is damaged in a storm and stranded on a deserted island the passengers; a psychologist his girlfriend a wealthy businessman, a famous singer, a writer, a sailor and his skipper take refuge in a fungus-covered boat.

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