Nearly seventy years after its release, it is still difficult to find a genre film that remains as popular and influential as the original Godzilla. Our favorite nuclear lizard changed the game when it comes to monster movies, and his immense success back in 1954 spurred many projects into production. While nowhere near as popular as the big man himself, the first Japanese science fiction film to be produced in color was Koji Shima’s 1956 monster flick Warning From Space. As with many films of the time, Warning From Space tackled the themes of atomic bombs, which were top of mind for the Japanese people after the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While the common man felt nearly useless when speaking out against the horrific attacks, cinema could at least provide a platform which could showcase the folly of such endeavors wrapped in the coating of science fiction. This particular film is not known for being an essential entry into the genre, but there is an inherent charm about it that makes it worthy of your own appraisal.
In Warning From Space, a scientist named Dr. Komura (Bontarô Miake) works at an observatory where his assistant, Toru Itsobe (Keizô Kawasaki), has been tracking what seem to be a horde of unidentified flying objects, clearly visible through the site’s telescope. An intrepid journalist tries to get Dr. Komura to comment on the sightings in the sky, but he refuses to indulge in such conjecture until all of the appropriate facts can be gathered. Around the same time that smaller objects seemingly start breaking off to various points on Earth, the alien visitors start showing up in numerous places like bodies of water which sends a panic through all who lay eyes upon them. These alien present as starfish-like beings of human size with a single eye in the middle. Honestly, they are kind of cute in all of their DIY plushy glory, but these earthly individuals are just not having it. Why are these visitors here, and what can we do to get rid of them? These are the questions of the day, as we are ill equipped to fathom anything beyond what we know to be true about the world.
The hilarious thing about these questions is that they are so completely off the mark of what we should be asking. These particular aliens are the Pairan, and they are trying to get an important message to us about the impending demise of our planet. Every time they try to do us a solid, we freak out at their mere appearance, which leads them to taking a different approach. One of the aliens secures a photo of a famous celebrity, Hikari Aozora (Toyomi Karita), whose appearance they adopt to make communicating with humans a smoother proposition. After she finally gets someone to listen, she is able to reveal that she is on Earth to warn of an imminent collision of a rogue planet, which is dubbed “Planet R” by the media. In a bit of mixed messaging, the aliens criticize earthlings for the poor job we have done keeping our planet safe, especially with the nuclear attacks, but the key to solving this issue at the end of the day is a nuclear missle? These ideas clash somewhat, but you learn to just role with some of the strained logic of this film.
Warning From Space is not a particularly amazing film, but it is very entertaining in its quaint cheesiness. The scattershot nature of the plot and human behavior in general is enough to have you laughing out loud. Plus, the practical special effects are just plain delightful, especially the alien designs that will put a smile on your face every time they are on screen. When this film was released internationally, the editors did a number on the film by rearranging things for English-speaking audiences. The careful reveal of the aliens that is so delightful a decent way into the Japanese version is moved up to the beginning in the English version, which I feel spoils whatever small amount of mystery the film is able to conjure before things get silly. Both version are included in the particular release, but I would recommend sticking with the Japanese version for your first go around. Warning From Space may be slight and cheesy, but it remains a good deal of fun as an entry into the science fiction genre.
Video Quality
This new Blu-Ray from Arrow Video gives Warning From Space an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.34:1 optimized from the best available elements. As stated by Arrow, due to the conditions of the original film material, the picture suffers from some density fluctuation and flicker. The film has a pretty chunky grain structure that distracts occasionally from the details in the production design. The color timing, while quite strong when stable, veers back and forth between warmer and cooler hues. Black levels showcase some decent depth within the image, but there are obvious source related issues. Many shots contain noticeable softness, but are not a constant source of distraction. Arrow Video gets credit for attempting to make these problematic elements look as strong as possible, but this will not be a flawless viewing experience. Nevertheless, the fact that the film is even able to be released in high definition is a minor miracle.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with an LPCM 1.0 mono track in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). Dialogue sounds perfectly clear without sound effects or the score trouncing on important information. The whirring of the alien spaceship and other foreign noises are given the appropriate weight within the mix. Some of the more bombastic cues suffer a minor bit of distortion in the most intense moments, but nothing too harsh. This is not a particularly dynamic presentation, but it presents everything accurately without much in the way of damage or other unwanted issues.
Special Features
- Select Scene Commentary: Film historian Stuart Galbraith IV provides a track for the first 65 minutes of the film in which he gives a good deal of historical background as well as details on the production of the film. There is pretty much no wasted moment in this track, as audio pieces are stitched together to provide a constant flow of information.
- Warning From Space US Version: An alternate version of the film that restructures the story somewhat with scenes presented in a different order and slightly differing translations at times. As noted above, I would stick with the original Japanese version first before exploring this one.
- Theatrical Trailers: A teaser and theatrical trailer are presented here totaling nearly six minutes. I’m always fascinated to see how different countries cut classic trailers, so these are a real gem.
- Image Gallery: A selection of stills from the film along with promotional materials are provided here.
Final Thoughts
Warning From Space is not an all-time great monster movie, but that does not stop it from being a very entertaining production with its joyously practical costumes and offbeat humor. The film may not connect with everyone, but I found the film to be charming, flaws and all. Arrow Video has done its best to provide the strongest A/V presentation available to them along with some worthwhile special features. If you have a soft spot for this period of Japanese monster films, you owe it to yourself to at least familiarize yourself with this one.
Warning From Space is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Arrow Video has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
