Battle in Outer Space (宇宙大戦争?, lit. Great Space War) is Uchū Daisensō1959 tokusatsu film produced by Toho Company Ltd., and a loose sequel to The Mysterians. It was released to Japanese theaters on December 26, 1959 and to American theaters on July 8, 1960.
Plot[]
In the year 1965, an unknown force begins lifting objects into the sky, causing accidents. All the survivors of the events suffer from extreme frostbite. At a UN meeting, it is theorized that the attacks are of alien origin, and the frostbite is a result of freezing the objects to reduce their gravitational pull. Meanwhile, a delegate exits the building and into a courtyard, and is abducted by a red light.
The delegate reappears, and attempts to sabotage the heat ray experiment at the meeting. He is caught before he can finish, and takes a hostage. He explains that Earth will become a colony of the planet Natarl, and he attempts to escape. A Natarl saucer soon appears and kills him, the only thing left being a radio transmitter. The transmitter allows the UN to pinpoint the alien's location to the moon.
Two rockets, called SPIPs, take off for the moon. They are attacked by remote controlled meteors, but they escape. A pilot of one of the SPIPs is caught trying to sabotage the ship's engines, but he is stopped. A warning is given to the SPIPs to not land on the moon, but it is ignored. The two ships land and find the Natarl base.
The mind controlled pilot breaks free of his ropes and blows up one of the SPIPs. Meanwhile, the Natarl base is discovered. One of the crew members is captured, but he is later freed. The group begins attacking the base, and blow it up. The mind-controlled pilot is freed, and stays behind on the moon for the others to escape. On Earth, the UN prepares for a final battle. They send up Scout Ships and Atomic Heat Cannons to attack. The Earth forces defend as long as they can, but some meteors break through and hit some cities. The Natarl mothership flies down and destroys Tokyo. The Atomic Heat Cannons manage to destroy it, ending the Natarl invasion.
Staff[]
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Jojiro Okami and Shinichi Sekizawa
- Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music by Akira Ifukube and Yosaku Suma
- Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi
- Edited by Kazuji Taira
- Production Design by Teruaki Abe
- Assistant Directing by Koji Kajita
- Special Effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
Cast[]
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Ryo Ikebe as Major Chiro Katsumiya
- Kyoko Anzai as Etsuko Shiraishi
- Koreya Senda as Professor Adachi
- Minoru Takada as Commander
- Leonard Stanford as Dr. Roger Richardson
- Yoshio Tsuchiya as Iwomura
- Harold Conway as Dr. Immerman
- Hisaya Ito as Kogure
- Fuyuki Murakami as Inspector Iriake
- Leonard Walsh as Thomas Sheldon
- Nadao Kirino as Gravity Man
- Malcolm Pearce as Dr. Achmed
- Kozo Nomura as Rocket Commander
- Ikio Sawamura as Lantern Man
- Tadashi Okabe as Reporter
- Yutaka Oka as Scientist
- Yasuhisa Tsutsumi as Official
- Yukihiko Gondo as Official
- Rinsaku Ogata as Astronomer
- Shigeo Kato as Astronomer
- Koichi Sato as Astronomer
- Saburo Kadowaki as Astronomer
- Elise Richter as Sylvia
- George Whitman as Roger
- Roma Carlson as Roger's Wife
- Takuzo Kumagai as Natarl
- Katsumi Tezuka as Natarl
- Mitsuo Tsuda as Natarl
- Kisao Hatamochi as Natarl
- Yasuo Araki as Natarl
- Keisuke Yamada as Natarl
- Koji Kamimura as Natarl
- Shinjiro Hirota as Natarl
Appearances[]
Weapons, Vehicles, and Races[]
- Natarl UFO
- Space Station JSS-3
- SPIP
- Moon All Terrain Vehicle
- Natarl Mother Ship
- Natarls
- FFE Space Fighter
- Atomic Heat Cannon
Gallery[]
- Main article: Battle in Outer Space/Gallery.
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Battle in Outer Space (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles[]
- The Great Space War (Literal Japanese Title)
- The Interplanetary Battle (La Bataille Interplanétaire; Belgium)
- Worlds at War (Mundos em Guerra; Brazil)
- Battle in Space (Batalla en el Espacio; Spain)
- Alarm 1965! (Hälytys 1965!; Finland)
- War of Satellites (Guerra de Satélites; Mexico)
- The Beast from Space (Die Bestie aus dem Weltenraum; West Germany)
- Duel in the Galaxy (Duell in der Galaxis; West Germany)
- War in Space (Krieg im Weltenraum; West Germany)
Theatrical Releases[]
- Japan - December 26, 1959
- United States - July 8, 1960
- West Germany - November 30, 1960
- Finland - December 16, 1960
- Mexico - January 1, 1961
Video Releases[]
- Released: October 29, 2004
- Region: Region 2
- Language: Japanese (Mono)
- Format: Color, Dolby, Widescreen
- Other Details: 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 90 minutes run time, 1 disc
- Released: July 2, 2014
- Region: Region 2
- Language: Japanese
- Format: Color, Dolby, Widescreen
- Other Details: 2.35:1 aspect ratio, 91 minutes run time, 1 disc
Videos[]
Trailers[]
Trailer[]
- The 1977 Toho film, The War in Space was originally to be titled "Battle in Outer Space II" and was going to be a sequel to this film. This idea was scrapped during the film's production.