Uchûjin Tôkyô ni arawaru (1956)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Koji Shima

Writers:

Jay Cipes (English dialogue)
Gentaro Nakajima (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

29 January 1956 (Japan)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

UFO's are seen around Tokyo. Because they look like giant starfish the aliens cannot approach us without creating panic...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Alien | UFO | Telescope | Super Explosive

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Keizo Kawasaki	...	Toru
Toyomi Karita	...	Hikari Aozora / Ginko
Bin Yagasawa	...	No. 2 Pairan
Shozo Nanbu	...	Dr. Toro Isobe
Bontarô Miyake	...	Dr. Kamura (as Bontaro Miake)
Mieko Nagai	...	Taeko Kamura
Kiyoko Hirai	...	Mrs. Matsuda
Isao Yamagata	...	Dr. Matsuda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gai Harada

Directed by
Koji Shima

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jay Cipes		English dialogue (as Jay H. Cipes)
Gentaro Nakajima		novel
Hideo Oguni		writer
Edward Palmer		English dialogue

Produced by
Masaichi Nagata	....	producer

Original Music by
Seitaro Omori

Cinematography by
Kimio Watanabe

Film Editing by
Toyo Suzuki

Art Direction by
Shigeo Mano

Art Department
Taro Okamoto	....	color designer

Special Effects by
Kenmei Yuasa	....	special effects director

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Daiei International Films (1956) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (1967) (USA) (TV)
• Dark Dreams Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Titra Sound Corporation  sound post-production (English version)

Also Known As:

Space Men Appear in Tokyo (informal literal English title)
Spacepeople Appear in Tokyo (informal literal English title)
The Cosmic Man Appears in Tokyo
The Mysterious Satellite
Unknown Satellite Over Tokyo
Warning from Space (USA)

Runtime:

87 min | USA:88 min (dubbed version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Daieicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

The enormous popularity of Toho's giant monster films led Daiei to issue publicity stills showing the Pairans as gigantic creatures that towered over buildings. In the film, the Pairans are human sized.

Movie Connections:

References Metropolis (1927)

strange...

Ironically, there is no irony in this review or in the movie. I bought this movie as part of a collection and didn't realize it was Japanese. The story is almost total nonsense, I would imagine that has a lot to do with it being re-dubbed in English for western audiences. The plot is typical of many "beings from a far away planet must save humanity from itself" movies, but it is almost completely lacking exposition. The humans and aliens act in an almost cryptic way, I was never quite sure of why they were doing anything they did. Had it not been for my watching the extra features on the re-release of THX-1138 I would be completely lost. For those who haven't seen THX-1138 there is an interview with George Lucas where he is explaining the style of THX. He says the Japanese don't explain anything in their movies, they just do it. Some odd little cultural aspect often comes off as a complete mystery to people not acquainted with eastern culture. This movie is one of those odd things. Imagine this... a samurai and a geisha drink tea, but go through a long and complex ritual of setting all the clocks in the house before sitting down for tea. Why the hell did they do that!?! Just drink the shizbangin' tea for God's sake! My son likes the starfish shaped aliens.