Virus

Firstly let me say that this review is based on the full uncut 156 minute version of the movie.

After watching this I can see why it was a financial failure when it was released and did not get more publicity. It is easy to see that the powers that be in the US and other countries featured would have preferred it never be seen. Just too close to the truth of what has happened on a smaller scale more than once.

Ironic that a virus created by the US that kills almost everyone gets labeled Italian Flu. Do some real research of Spanish Flu that killed millions and you will know what I mean.

This is a movie full of big name actors of the time, but you need to see the uncut 156 minute version to do it justice. All of the big names perform their roles well and while being very bleak the movies gets the story across with appropriate use of subtitles.

Do not expect high end CGI or special effects, there are none, just a well put together movie that IMHO stands the test and is worth seeing some 35+ years later.

Probably one of the best Armageddon movies you will see if you are prepared to sit thought it. This is not a hollywoodised movie in any way.

Solid 8/10 for me, not sure I would watch it again though, a little bit too real for comfort.

This was the most expensive Japanese film of the time. The film didn't get any USA booking and played straight to cable before landing to video. In fact, several public domain labels now carry the film, when the film actually have a copyright! I saw both version of the film, and I think the uncut version is the best. A deadly virus is loose and wipes out all the U.S. population except for a group of people in Arctic. Most of the Japanese plotline was edited out, making the early stage of the film choppy in the US version. In fact, the end was also changed. Good American and Japanese cast supported by Canadian cast. But several actors like Ken Ogata (of MISHIMA fame) and Sonny Chiba still had little to do in the long version of this film. So I suspect a longer print might have been made. There was reports that a big accident happen on the set back then and several crew was killed.

I saw the original one in cinema when it first came out in 1980 in Japan. Great adaptation of an original novel by Sakyo Komatsu. It was an epic of more than two hours, which shook my youthful soul with the power of love.

I was flabbergasted by how this epic was mutilated when I saw it again in video in USA. The one you can see in USA has no resemblance to the original version, where, I recall, much longer portion of the film was spent describing "the walk". Also all the episodes in Japan were omitted, so most of the Japanese characters in Antarctica made no sense. In a nutshell, the "American" version only talks about American people, so there is really only half the story left in the film. If you can get the original version, it is a very emotional film, 8/10. The "American" version is not worth anything, 4/10.

I was so impressed by this movie that I hunted for it on IMDB to place a comment. It boasts a stellar American cast in a delightfully international story. Rather than spoil it for a new viewer, I offer these two items of advice: 1) don't be put off by the occasionally over-the-top acting and 2) read ALL the credits at the end.

This film centers on a virus that is made by the American military and then stolen by the East Germans. On the flight from East Germany to Zurich the plane crashes which releases the virus into the atmosphere resulting in a devastating world-wild contagion. Although incredibly deadly the virus has one major flaw in that it goes dormant in freezing conditions. As a result, the people living in Antarctica are saved from its contamination provided they don't allow any infected people from the outside world in. So over 850 men and 8 women are essentially cut off from everybody else. At any rate, this is a decent post-apocalyptic film with an all-star cast. Unfortunately, except for a very few actors, none of them had the allocated screen time to really establish themselves and develop their characters. This gave the film a "paint-by-numbers" feel which I thought damaged the overall effect. Additionally, from what I understand there is a long version of this movie available which is supposedly much better than the shorter version I happened to view. If that is the case then that probably explains some of the scenes which looked like they had been cut which contributed to the choppy effect I described earlier. In any case, while the 108 minute version is okay it might be better to obtain the longer version if possible--if for no other reason than the fact that the story might flow a bit more smoothly and the actors can showcase their talents a bit more.