Attack from Space | |
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Alpha Video DVD cover art
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Directed by | Teruo Ishii |
Produced by | Mitsugi Okura |
Written by | Ichiro Miyagawa |
Starring | Ken Utsui |
Distributed by | Walter Manley Enterprises Inc. |
Release date
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1964 |
Running time
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76 min. (USA) |
Language | English (dubbed) |
Attack from Space is a 1964 film edited together for American television from the 1957 films #5 and #6 of the Japanese short film series Super Giant. It is in the public domain.
The superhero Starman is sent by the Emerald Planet to protect Earth from belligerent aliens from the Sapphire Galaxy. The Sapphireans (or "Spherions") kidnap Dr. Yamanaka and force him to use his spaceship against the Earth.
The nine Super Giant films were purchased for distribution to U.S. television and were edited into four films and cheaply dubbed by Walter Manley Enterprises for syndication by Medallion Films. The two original Japanese films that composed Attack from Space (The Artificial Satellite and the Destruction of Humanity and The Spaceship and the Clash of the Artificial Satellite) were each 39 minutes in duration. The two films were edited into one 76-minute film, resulting in only two lost minutes in the combined edit, probably consisting mostly of cast and credits. As a result, this compilation suffered least among the Super Giant films in its adaptation for American television, except in terms of cast and credits. Although Riichiro Manabe composed the music to the original two films, most of the original music was replaced by library tracks in the American adaptation, which were then credited to Chumei Watanabe. Additionally, the screen cast, which was identical to the one used for "Atomic Rulers", includes names of performers not appearing in the film, and omits those of some performers who did.
Attack from Space is currently available on two DVD releases. Something Weird Video with Image Entertainment released this film and the other compiled Starman film, Evil Brain from Outer Space on a single disc on December 10, 2002. Alpha Video also released a budget-priced disc of the film by itself on March 23, 2004.