The Mysterians (1957)

I am a big Ishiro Honda fan, may be rest in piece and the Mysterians show you why. Mogera is a great monster, a little on the bulky side. But still a cool robot monster. The only thing I don't get is what's up with the big multi-colored helmet. Did they need them to breath or what? Plus, what's the multi-colors for, is a sign of rank or what? But the story is sound but does drag on at points. What I respect more then anything else about Japanese especially about Japanese filmmakers like Ishiro Honda is the attention to detail they place in a film. I mean, the Mysterian ship has detailed blueprints, I doubt many other filmmakers around the world go to that much trouble. I always say no matter how much a movie doesn't work, I respect when they try their best. The Mysterians do more then just try, they succeed in many parts of the story and effects. A must have for Ishiro Honda fans and 7 big STARS.

well, this movie is NOT very brilliant. lots of toys, poor budget, C series acting. You get giant rockets reminiscent of those Buster Krabbe 1930's Flash Gordon movies but the overall feeling is that we're dealing with some upscale (!) version of "plan 9 from outer space". The monster MOGERA will resurface decades later in the 1990's Godzilla movies. SFX are laughable, even back in the 1950's: most scenes are either garage sales toys or regular scenes with poor superposed effects, like the burning effect or else. Overall, not a movie worth any price and not a movie i'd watch twice. The Universal horrors of the 1930's and even Abbott&Costello meet Frankenstein had in comparison sky-high super SFX.

We have always enjoyed the early Japanese Fantasy Films circa 1954-1963. During this time they took themselves and there subjects seriously. What ever their technical short comings were you could see they were in earnest. Basically after this period starting with KING KONG -vs- GODZILLA the slide down to kiddy fare began just a step above STARMAN.Though we consider the original GORJIRA/Godzilla as the first and the best THE MYSTERIANS is the one (1) we enjoyed most. This is a SPACE OPERA on a grand scale. Watching it is like seeing the old pulp Science-Fiction magazine covers of the 1930's being brought to life. Basically the team that acted and made the original Godzilla are back plus the addition of Technicolor and WideScreen. They needed a big and splashy story and THEM -vs- US for the world was the canvas that well suited this first effort.We first saw it on T.V. in the mid 1960s and were enthralled like any early teenagers by these scenes of action and massed destruction. But even then we (my brother and I) felt something was missing. It was not until the early 1990s that we saw a restored Japanese print in it's original format (WS) and subtitled in English that what happened on screen made sense. Best of all there were more scenes of destruction.It is a pity that TOHO did not make a direct sequel and made BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE instead (still a fun film). Now that they are more technically adapt it would be nice to see this film remade. The one (1) thing I would keep though (other then the basic plot line) is the exceptional musical score.

I saw this movie in the theater when I just a kid. I remember because I sat through it twice,you could in those days. The "Mysterians", as it was called here in the United States is classic Japanese science fiction. If you're a lover of classic science fiction you're going to love this movie. If you consider when this movie was made you'll find the special effects interesting. The story is a gas, "we only want a little of your land and all of your women". The print is surprisingly good but the original English voice track has been replaced by a new voice track which gives the film an odd feel. One of the joys of watching these old Japanese science fiction movies are the voice tracks, some of which I believe included the great Paul Freese. Never the less it was great to see this old film again. If you saw this movie when you were a kid you'll enjoy seeing it again. If for no other reason than that of nostalgia.