Attack from Space (1965)

You won't be disappointed!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

As Good As It Gets

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This film, the third of the anglicised Starman 'franchise', combines episodes 5 and 6 of the Japanese kid's show "Super Giant" into a tale about an attempted Earth takeover by aliens from the Sapphire Galaxy. As in the previous installments, the story opens with the benign beings of the Emerald galaxy, who are once again concerned about the state of the neighbourhood and send Starman to protect Earth against nuclear-armed aggressors. Also as in previous installments, the aliens use mind control to enslave humans, children are held as pawns to ensure cooperation, and Earth's future lies in hands of the intergalactic caped hero. While marginally better than the boring "Atomic Rulers" (the first film in the series), "Attack from Space" lacks the surreal silliness that made the second film ("Invaders from Space") so endearing. Beyond a couple of spaceship shots, some rudimentary scenes of cities being attacked, and possibly the first cinematic use of the term "Deathstar", the film does not have much to offer even the least demanding viewer. Unlike the odd but entertaining 'Salamandermen' in the previous film, the aliens in this opus are just humans in vaguely Nazi uniforms and the climactic battle between the invading horde and Starman is an interminable brawl, full of poorly choreographed 'martial arts' moves and silly 'reverse motion' shots, but with little of the gymnastics that highlighted the fights with the acrobatic 'Salamandermen'. Even by 1950's kid's show standards, the movie makes little sense and veers into complete ludicrousness when Starman rescues one of the hostages by carrying her, sans spacesuit, through space from the satellite to the Earth scientists' rocket ship. Overall, other than a checkmark on budget-tokusatsu (or 'camp') aficionados' life-lists, the film has little to offer.

Giving this movie is a bit problematic, as I saw the English-dubbed version sent to the United States. It is possible (but not likely) that the Japanese version is a lot different and not quite so silly. Additionally, I am not sure that this movie was intended to be for adults but was perhaps more of a kids' movie. If that is the case, then my not being so impressed by it is somewhat understandable.This is a Japanese sci-fi movie about the Spherions and their unprovoked attack on the Earth. It seems the bizarre creatures on planet Emerald are concerned, as the aggressive Spherions could destroy them as well. Now you really need to see these "things" as the costumes they wear are pretty funny and it's just too hard to describe how stupid they look. However, their special agent who is sent to help the Earth, Starman, is pretty easy to describe. He actually looks a lot like Duck Dodgers of the 26-1/2 Century--with the same sort of body suit and a little antenna on his head!! This guy can fly through space without a ship and beat the snot out of the lame Spherions. I call them lame because they use guns that spout a lot of smoke but don't do much harm. Heck, an Uzi or Tommy Gun could do a lot more damage! However, Starman's amazing skills and powers appear to be no match for the power of the Spherions and it looks like Starman is dead (yeah, right). So, it's up to a group of very stupid but plucky Japanese people to take on the entire Spherion empire by themselves. However, every time they are about to gain the upper hand, the Spherions take one of them prisoner--at which point they give up the fight to get that single person back--and thus lose a planet of 6 billion! Seems like a reasonable trade, huh? But, at the last minute, Starman appears once again after a long absence and he smiles as he punches, kicks, flips and shoots the baddies. And, in the end, when the ship leaves the doomed Spherion space station without one of their family members, Starman flies her through space with no pressure suit or oxygen for an extended period. And, after the baddies all die, they have a good laugh and say goodbye to the hero wearing the silly leotards.The film has decent production values, with nice uniforms and a few decent special effects. However, the story is just limp and silly throughout and will most likely make you laugh. But, because it is so limp and rather kitschy, it's also a great film to watch with friends, as you'll no doubt have a great time laughing at the absurdity of the film from start to finish.By the way, this is one of three films that were created by hacking the 1958 "Super Giant" movie series apart and splicing it into three very bizarre films. I have also seen EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE--which is even worse than ATTACK FROM SPACE.

"The Earth is threatened by the forces of the evil Spherions (sic), an alien race out to conquer the universe. The Spherions (wouldn't they be Sapphirans?) are aided in their attempt to take over the Earth by some of the world's top scientists. Standing in the way of the alien invaders and their treacherous allies is Starman, mighty interplanetary champion sent to Earth to defend the planet against galactic menaces," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Ken Utsui (as Sûpâ Jaiantsu, or Super Giant) must save Earth and the galaxy from Nazi-saluting aliens from "The Sapphire Galaxy". This compliments the films gemstone theme, as Mr. Utsui is from "The Emerald Planet"; and, the comic book characters slightly resemble DC Comics' "Green Lantern". This is the American (English edited and dubbed) version of the Japanese super-hero's fifth and sixth movies, Jinkô eisei to jinrui no hametsu (1957) and Uchûtei to jinkô eisei gekitotsu (1958). Herein, the series substitutes additional fighting, explosions, stock footage, and other paunchiness, for lost charm and direction.* Attack from Space (1964) Teruo Ishii ~ Ken Utsui, Utako Mitsuya, Junko Ikeuchi

This is another movie I wish MST3K had a chance to screen.This movie is the combination of 2 Japanese movie serials from the Super Giant series of the late 1950s.When I first saw this movie when I was a child, it scared the hell out of me, as it contains the usual 'violence against children' seen in movies like 'Invasion of the Neptune Men' and to a lesser extent, 'Prince of Space'. Even today, the scene where the Nazi-like soldiers kidnap the children is a little too edgy for anyone under 12 years old.But the allure of this movie is the innocent and almost naive story line. Even though the movie has many ridiculous ideas, the actors remain deadly serious throughout. The film opens with a bunch of ridiculous looking aliens with costumes that are right out of a 3rd grade theatre production. The aliens send 'Star Man' to protect the Earth from a invasion from the 'Spherions'.Star Man is a slightly paunchy, overacting, average-looking, middle aged Japanese man. He flails his arms around, beating up Japanese extras in highly exaggerated and very poorly choreographed fight scenes. The fight scenes alone are worth the price of admission. Many times, actors aren't even close to being hit when they do flips and pretend to be knocked out.Also, watch for the scene where Star Man disables flying saucers by bending what can only be described as a metal rack from a refrigerator.As with most early Japanese Sci Flicks, there are numerous technical errors like people being able to breathe and fly through space.But I recommend this movie to any B Movie fan. It's very campy and the shoddy production values are more than made up for by the movies goofy charm.One of the reasons the TV show 'Batman' was so successful was because the actors took their roles so seriously. This is also what makes this movie work. All of the actors take their silly roles very seriously, as if they are acting in 'Hamlet. This only makes 'Attack from Space' even more enjoyable.