The Mysterians

When Godzilla with its American scenes with Raymond Burr made it to the USA it started a run of Japanese science fiction that lasted well over a decade. When I was a lad I well remember the TV commercials for this film and how I just had to go see it.

60 years later The Mysterians holds up rather well. A group of aliens arrive and demand a small tract of land for use. We have to grant it because these folks are way technologically superior to us earthlings. But when a big robot starts doing to Japan what live monsters usually do it's time to resist.

What I remember best from this was the rather quick end the USA and the USSR terminate the Cold War to fight these aliens. They also start researching and move quickly up the scale in weaponry.

They are a mysterious group these Mysterians. We never do see their faces.

It's always been a pet theory of mine that a lot of cultural differences will melt rather quickly if earth ever did face an alien invasion. The Mysterians is one of those few films that support that thesis.

I wish they'd show this thing. Back in my younger days after its theatrical release it was constantly on local TV in New York City.

The Japanese tape begins with an overture. The music with the overture is the greatest film score ever written by Akira Ifukube. So this film concerns hooded aliens who come to Earth with plans to capture and have sex with Earth women. So they release a huge bird-like robot named Mogera (it later returned renovated in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) to prove they mean buisness. The army manages to defeat it by booby trapping the bridge and blowing it up while the monster is using it. Then the battle for the cosmos begins with the Mysterians and their ray firing ships and the humans and their markalite lasers. This is another film I believe inspired the film Independence Day. It's certainly the most colorful of any of the fifties invasion flicks. A must. Eiji Tsuburaya also did an exellent job with his marvelous miniatures and special effects.

I just rented "The Mysterians" which seems to be called "Earth Defence Force" in the Japanse version. The movie holds up well because it seems that the people involved treated the story seriously. When I was young I remember that the "Marcolights" were pretty cool and the music was very dramatic. The music still sounds good today but the sound quality on the tape wasn't that good.

I am glad to see the writers took the job seriously and had the characters ask the questions we asked from the audience. Can the Mysterians be trusted even though they say they are peaceful? Should we ask for a nuclear strike? The Marcolights have a limited range, how can we get around that? Should we wait for the Electronic Cannon or attack right now with the giant airships and Marcolights?

There were a few flaws. For example one of the characters mentioned that a fixed base was a weakness. I assume that is because you can't depend only on a defensive shield. A base must be defended by mobile fighter craft as well. The flying saucers performed that function until they unexpectedly retreated to the base during the climatic battle. The other weak point was the giant airships Alpha-1 and Beta-1. They moved like zeppelins and the standard cannon seemed weak. I guess their plot purpose was to be shot down so that Beta-2 could built for a second attack on the Mysterian base.

If you saw this movie as a kid it is still enjoyable as an adult. If you've never seen it then it is probably only of interest to those who want to see the early days of Japanese monster movies. You may be pleasantly surprised to see the leader of the Seven Samurai as the head scientist.

Although best known for their Godzilla series, Japan's Toho Studios made many other sci fi and fantasy films. This was the first of many that would be about aliens from another world invading Earth {that idea would be later incorporated into quite a few Godzilla films}. It's dated in some respects but still pretty good fun and must have seemed quite impressive at the time of it's western release. Before that the only major film that dealt with alien invasion on a "full scale,open war" kind of level was The War Of The Worlds, and The Mysterians attempts even more, if not quite succeeding, in the way of spectacle.

The first half hour is terrific, the characters are briefly introduced, strange things happen and a large bird-like robot goes on the rampage in Godzilla fashion. After this,things go downhill a little bit, too much time is taken up with meetings and the lengthy battle scenes between the aliens and the humans are a bit static and go on a little too long. Nevertherless there is a charming toy-like nature to these scenes, as various futuristic weapons are employed against the invaders.

Special effects are occasionally poor {watch out for the awful superimposed explosions} but generally better than most Hollywood sci fi films of the time. Filmed in very garish colour {which particularly highlights the alien's costumes} and with a tremendous main march theme by Akira Ifikube, the Mysterians has it's dull bits, but is still worth watching for some childish fun. Toho would perfect the alien invasion idea two years later with the incredible Battle In Outer Space.

This is a pretty decent invasion film. This time around, Honda seems to have been inspired by the films "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and does a good job in conveying a lot of themes that pretty much permeate a lot of his films, fear of nuclear war and the world unifying for a common cause. Also, Akihiko pretty much built on his portrayal of the tragic hero that sacrifices himself at the end to save humanity and did his usual good job.

The only complaint I have about the film is the fact that the appearance of Moguera takes place too early in the film and his destruction is much too early. They do return him to the end, but I would have preferred to see him as the weapon of last resort that the aliens use to try to deliver the crushing blow. Other than that, this is a pretty good movie.