Kaitei gunkan (1963)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Shigeru Komatsuzaki (novel)
Shunro Oshikawa (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

11 March 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Ride the JUGGERNAUT of destruction from the depths of the Seven Seas to the Outer Limits of Space!

Plot:

Several strange occurrences are taking place all over the world including the disappearance of two engineers...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | U Boat | Battleship | Submarine | Sunken Continent

Cast

Tadao Takashima	...	Commercial Photographer Susumu Hatanaka
Yôko Fujiyama	...	Makoto Jinguji, the Captain's Daughter
Yu Fujiki	...	Yoshito Nishibe
Ken Uehara	...	Retired Admiral Kosumi
Jun Tazaki	...	Captain Hachiro Jinguji
Kenji Sahara	...	Journalist / Mu Agent
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Detective
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Tome 'Amano' Amanoshome
Akihiko Hirata	...	Mu Agent #23
Eisei Amamoto	...	High Priest of Mu
Tetsuko Kobayashi	...	Empress of Mu
Hisaya Ito	...	Shindo, Kidnapped Scientist
Minoru Takada	...	Government Official
Susumu Fujita	...	Defense Commander
Ikio Sawamura	...	Taxi Driver
Akemi Kita	...	Sneezing Model
Nadao Kirino	...	Kidnapped Scientist
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Warship Captain
Yukihiko Gondo	...	Military Official
Yutaka Nakayama	...	Sailor
Shin Otomo	...	Government Official
Wataru Omae	...	Police Officer
Koji Uno	...	Police Officer
Shoichi Hirose	...	Mu Henchman
Katsumi Tezuka	...	Mu Henchman
Yutaka Oka	...	Man on Bus
Teruzo Okawa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ted Rusoff	...	Yoshito Nishibe (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Osman Yusuf	...	Muan Submarine Crewman (uncredited)

Directed by
Ishirô Honda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shigeru Komatsuzaki		novel "Kaitei okaku/The Undersea Kingdom"
Shunro Oshikawa		novel
Shinichi Sekizawa		screenplay

Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Akira Ifukube

Cinematography by
Hajime Koizumi

Film Editing by
Ryohei Fujii

Production Design by
Takeo Kita

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koji Kajita	....	chief assistant director

Art Department
Shigeru Komatsuzaki	....	conceptual artist

Sound Department
Minoru Kaneyama	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Teruyoshi Nakano	....	assistant director of special effects
Eiji Tsuburaya	....	director of special effects
Akira Watanabe	....	special effects set direction

Visual Effects by
Teisho Arikawa	....	director of special effects photography
Kuichiro Kishida	....	special effects lighting
Yukio Manoda	....	special effects camera assistant
Hiroshi Mukoyama	....	matte photography
Sokei Tomioka	....	director of special effects photography

Other crew
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	presenter (USA release)
James H. Nicholson	....	presenter (USA release)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)
• Toho Company

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)

Other Companies

• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Atoragon: Flying Supersub
Atragon (USA)
Flying Supersub Atoragon
Undersea Battleship (International: English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

96 min | USA:89 min (English dubbed version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Tanaka may have been inspired by "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" but the actual story behind "Kaitei Gunkan" dates from the late 1880's when electricity and Jules Verne were both in vogue in Japan. It was a fantasy story called "Denki-Kai" - "The Electric Light Ship."

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In some of the scenes were Atragon (aka. Gotengo) is flying, the strings holding the model are visible.

Quotes:

Captain Hachiro Jinguji: Let her go. Let her die with her nation.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gojira: Fainaru uôzu (2004)

Fair sci-fi effort from Toho.

THE MYSTERIANS was about a big battle with aliens that takes place on Earth, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE was about a big battle with aliens in outer space. So I suppose following that logic, it was inevitable that Toho would follow up those films with one that takes place beneath the sea.

This time Earth is threatened by inhabitants from beneath the sea who are descendants of the lost continent of Mu. Much of what is "known" about Mu comes from the speculative works of William Churchwald. Mu is said to be a lost continent like Atlantis, except Mu was in the Pacific. Like Atlantis, Mu was according to Churchwald at least, the home of an advance race that perished eons ago beneath the waves when world wide disaster struck.

ATRAGON (Aka KAITEI GUNKAN) is a fairly entertaining science fiction from Toho, but its one of their lesser efforts. There is not as much spectacle as can found in THE MYSTERIANS and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE. The special effects and miniatures are not as colorful and detailed as in previous Toho epics. The big world threat promised by the Muians never materializes, about all they do is sink a Japanese merchant vessel and sink an American navel sub. They also try to kidnap a few surface people, but all that is hardly a reason to destroy a whole civilization. When the submarine Atragon attacks Mu, the Muians make a feeble attempt to protect themselves. Overall, the Muians bark is worse than their bite.

THE MYSTERIANS and BATTLE IN OUTERSPACE are very well paced and exciting films and are recommended to fans of Japanese science fiction. ATRAGON however, was a film I sat through with only mild interest and little enthusiasm.