Ido zero daisakusen (1969)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Warren Lewis (additional dialogue)
Shinichi Sekizawa (writer)

Release Date:

26 July 1969 (Japan)

Genre:

Family | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Fantasy

Tagline:

Discover the incredible world of tomorrow... 15 miles straight down at LATITUDE ZERO

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Giant Monster | Biology | Transplantation | Utopia | Family

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Capt. Craig McKenzie / Cmdr. Glenn McKenzie
Cesar Romero	...	Dr. Malic / Lt. Hastings
Akira Takarada	...	Dr. Ken Tashiro
Masumi Okada	...	Dr. Jules Masson
Richard Jaeckel	...	Perry Lawton
Patricia Medina	...	Lucretia
Tetsu Nakamura	...	Dr. Okada
Mari Nakayama	...	Tsuruko Okada
Akihiko Hirata	...	Dr. Sugata
Wataru Omae	...	Advisor
Hikaru Kuroki	...	Capt. Kroiga
Linda Haynes	...	Dr. Anne Barton
Susumu Kurobe	...	Chin
Burr Middleton	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Haruo Nakajima	...	Flying Lion / Giant Rat

Also Known As:

Atragon II (International: English title)
Ido 0 daisakusen (Japan) (alternative spelling)
Kaitei Daisenso - Ido Zero Daisakusen
Latitude Zero (USA)
Latitude Zero Military Tactics
Latitude Zero: Big Military Operation

Runtime:

Japan:108 min | USA:99 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | USA:G

Company:

Ambassador Productions

Trivia:

When the television syndication contracts had expired this film became unavailable, reportedly due to a dispute over the rights.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious wires visible when the bat creature swoops down to attack the heroes during the climactic battle in the laboratory.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wakusei daisenso (1977)

LATITUDE ZERO (Inoshiro Honda, 1969) **

This is a bigger budgeted film than usual for genre director Honda (with more evidently elaborate sets) – though the special effects still have that distinctive cheesiness to them (witness the giant bats and rodents on display). It also utilizes a surprising number of American actors: Joseph Cotten playing the visionary scientist looks ill-at-ease and frail (but, then, his character is supposed to be 204 years old!), an innocuous Richard Jaeckel is the photographer hero while, as chief villains, we get Cesar Romero and Patricia Medina (both essentially campy). As I've often said, I grew up watching English-language films dubbed in Italian…but hearing Hollywood actors in Japanese is another thing entirely!

LATITUDE ZERO feels like a juvenile version of a typical Jules Verne adventure, and is fairly entertaining on that level; indeed, it's preferable to Honda's low-brow variations on the monsters-on-the-rampage formula because of the inherent quaint charm of the set-up in this case. The plot involves the kidnapping of a famous scientist by Romero – he was intended to establish himself in the underwater, technologically advanced city devised by Cotten (to which the world's foremost minds are being recruited). We're treated to plenty of silly battles between the rival subs, but the most amusing scenes are certainly the raid on Romero's cave – in fact, Cotten doing somersaults and fending off men in rubber suits (via flames and laser emitted from his glove!) must surely count as the nadir of his acting career; the other elder in the cast, Romero, is more in his element – after all, he had been The Joker in the BATMAN TV series and movie of the 1960s! Cotten has a scantily-clad blonde physician on his team, and is assisted by a hulking Asian; Romero, on the other hand, is flanked by an Oriental femme fatale – who, however, ends up getting a raw deal for her efforts (the girl's brain is eventually transplanted into a hybrid of lion and condor…which is among the phoniest-looking creatures you ever saw!). Apparently, a 2-disc set of this one from Media Blasters streets on this very day!!