Customer Reviews

Latitude Zero

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This late Sixties tokusatsu film has acquired a bit of a legendary status among Japanese sci-fi fans in the West, as it has never before been available in the U.S. Fortunately for us, Tokyo Shock has done their usual first-rate restoration job on this East-West mashup that features one of the most unusual casting combos you'll ever see. It's also a bold stretch by Toho to have their A-list actors trying to speak English phonetically--albeit with mixed results. The film itself actually falls somewhere into the "it's so ridiculous it's great" category, as this is wildly fun schlock in the same vein as "Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero" (same director, crew and SFX team), and that's definitely not a knock against it. I mean, where else can you find Cesar Romero transplanting a human brain into the body of a lion/hawk hybrid? Classic! The crew interviews also provide some highly desired insights into the making of the film, although their omissions are somewhat telling--they go into no detail about how the American funding for the film fell through, and how Joseph Cotten was taking a perilous chance by making the film while suffering from severe liver disease. One look at Joe's face during certain scenes and you can see how he was struggling to keep himself propped up. All in all, a long-awaited (and long overdue!) filling in of a big hole in Toho's sci-fi canon.

Oh, and BTW, I got both English & Japanese versions :)

Can you really rate these films on a 1 to 5 scale? They're all 5's in my book. This is a rather rare Japanese take on that whole "secret" place where everything is better located somewhere on earth, in this case latitude zero. This film is somewhat "normal" until the last 1/3 when it explodes in a burst of insanity right around the time Cesar Romero - in a wonderfully crazy scene only the Japanese can pull off, "creates" a griffin with a human brain. Miniatures galore - this time futuristic submarines; assorted monsters - a giant sized one (though small by Toho standards) and human-sized ones; explosions, explosions, explosions; Akira Ifukube score (not his best - lots of rehashed themes from earlier movies but it's still Ifukube); typically uneven but always way fun "old school" Eiji Tsburaya effects; directed by Ishiro "the keeper of the grain" Honda (Kurosawa's dubbed him this name when Honda was an assistant director working under him); an insane trippy plot. What can I say? Only saw this one once - on UHF TV many a moon ago. It never re-aired for some reason and just popped up on DVD this year. Beautiful transfer, and this rare film is really a treat for Tohophiles. Instead of dubbing, the Japanese actors (see if you can spot "Hiata" in a bit role) including "Miko's dad from Space Giants" all spoke English - didn't know a lick of what they were saying. Great stuff and a "must see". If you bothered to look up this obscure title on Amazon, ya know ya gotta.

My original review was more of an alert to the fact that I had gotten 2cds of the US version and wanted to let people know just in case it became a widespread issue.. Amazon quickly corrected tht problem. So I wanted to retract the 1 star I origianlly gave it and state that having never seen the movie ever, one of the few Toho productions to escape me since its release I have to say its a rousing good old fashioned Science Fiction story, carried along well by Joseph Cotten and a great Japanese cast to boot. Its different, and Cesar Romero as the villian was not cheesy at all but playfully menacing, which makes for a as a good old popcorn and coke session. I was impressed also by the dubbing which felt natural and fit the actors persona very well and didnt sound silly like the dubbing can be in the early Toho releases. Worth your time.

Wow, this is what i called restored. Great job. The movie looks like it
was just made a few years ago. We have action, monsters, Cesar Romero
as the bad guy...he's good at that and so many things that makes this
movie enjoyable to the end. It looks better now than when i saw it ...many
many years ago. Its a Keeper. Enjoy

Over the past few years, Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock has treated tokusatsuphiles to some mighty fine goodies, and its release of Latitude Zero has been among my most anticipated. I first saw this 1969 Toho film in August, 1978, during a memorable visit with Japanese Giants guys, Ed Godziszewski and Bill Gudmundson, and I was immediately taken with its action-packed storyline, colorful cinematography, and superb musical score. A somewhat underrated film, Latitude Zero has remained one of my favorites from Toho, so a first-rate U.S. release on DVD is a welcome thing indeed.

Latitude Zero's screenplay, written by Ted Sherdeman, based on his original radio dramas, Tales of Latitude Zero, is typical of action-oriented science-fiction films of the era--fast-paced, weak in science but high in fantasy, with well-defined protagonists and villains. The direction is classic Ishiro Honda--dramatic staging, effective cuts, and the distinctive theme of humanity's potential for greatness (and its frequent perversion) running like an undercurrent behind the action. The film is very much a classic comic-book story adapted to live action.

Latitude Zero was not the first Toho production to feature English-speaking actors alongside the studio's ensemble of regulars, but it was unique in that the film was shot mostly in English, the Japanese actors speaking their lines phonetically, with varying degrees of success. In an unusual twist, it is the Japanese version that is dubbed, in Japanese, rather than its American counterpart. In general, the cast members and their performances are of Toho's typically high caliber, and Joseph Cotten deserves special credit for playing his role while suffering from acute liver disease. Richard Jaeckel and Linda Haynes turn in rather wooden performances, but in spite of themselves are adequate for their parts since they are only a portion of a very capable ensemble. As Malec, Cesar Romero brings much of the same sinister exuberance he brought to his role as the Joker in the Batman TV series from a few short years before.

The production values for Latitude Zero are generally excellent, with special effects that rank among Toho's best to date--particularly the underwater scenes with the Alpha and the Black Shark, most of which were filmed on a soundstage, the illusion of being underwater provided by expertly rendered optical effects. The "Tohoscope" widescreen cinematography is put to excellent use, especially in scenes that show the submarines in profile. On occasion, one can glimpse the wires suspending the vessels, but the subs' movements are so natural, without a trace of wobbling or swaying, they actually appear to be maneuvering underwater.

The undersea volcano and the climactic destruction of Bloodrock also rate highly in Toho's history of spectacular explosion effects. As in Atragon, the former effect was achieved by dumping dye into a water tank and filming it with the camera inverted, giving it the appearance of erupting upward. Combined with high-speed camera work and perfect lighting, the dye effect makes for one of the most convincing volcano eruptions Toho ever achieved.

Unfortunately, it's the monstrous critters that are the weakest link in the film. The bat mutants, the giant rats, and the lion/gryphon are all costumed actors, and none of the creature suits comes close to the excellence of the miniature effects work. They are, in fact, utterly laughable, and their poor designs can't help but diminish the quality of the effects as a whole. It's a shame that in this film, Toho falls so far short in the area where it so often excelled-creating monsters that, if not thoroughly believable, excited the imagination.

Akira Ifukube's score, to my mind, is one of his all-time best. A wealth of distinctive compositions are inserted strategically into the film; the same few themes are not just repeated over and over, as in Space Monster Dogora, Terror of MechaGodzilla, or Space Amoeba. A muted harpsichord theme plays as a backdrop to scenes of Latitude Zero, accentuating the antiquity, despite its advanced science, of the underwater society. The action themes bring to mind a number of Ifukube's most memorable pieces from Atragon, Frankenstein Conquers the World, and War of the Gargantuas, but none are merely derivative; each possesses a unique identity. For a most satisfying stand-alone listening experience--if you can find a copy--I highly recommend the Latitude Zero soundtrack CD (Futureland TYCY-5506).

Tokyo Shock provides the English and Japanese versions on two separate DVDs, and the package also includes a separate disc of trailers for other Media Blasters releases. The restored prints are beautiful--so clear that the aforementioned wires on the Alpha occasionally appear where I've never been able to see them before. Extra features include deleted scenes (some from Latitude Zero, others from Atragon, The Grand Fleet, and what appears to be Submersion of Japan), a stills gallery, and commentaries by assistant director Seiji Tani and special effects directors Teruyoshi Nakano, Koichi Kawakita, and Motoyoshi Tomioka.

Despite its oftentimes-juvenile character, Latitude Zero manages to be an exhilarating, imaginative picture, and Tokyo Shock finally gives it a most worthy release on our side of the water. A+ for the overall package.

I've waited more than 40 years to see this forgotten classic, This film boasts many "Best" awards, best transfer from film to Dvd, excellent crystal clear colours, superb dubbing unlike any in the history of Toho sci-fi's, a script cleaverly written for adults but not forgetting the kids, torn from todays newspaper headlines, when viewed on a giant screen plasma or Lcd with surround sound, filmed in cinemascope my god it is totally awesome, Thank you Tokyo Shock Thank you.

I love this movie!!(it's kinda a geek thing)cool widescreen too..if you are a big fan of old school effects done the fun way..models, rubber suits, big screen little screen effects ( think Bert I.Gordon "Food of THE GODS", "KING DINSAUR" kinda stuff..Japanese style(TOHO) very cool submarine model designs,Cool Creature suits..and action figures(you know for safe stunts HAHA!)acting & Effects "B+" above average in my Book.. Cesar Romero ( Joker from 60's tv series Batman)as the villain (same set up as on the tv show)him and a bimbo ahem,.. I mean trophy wife.. WAAAYY COOLL!!the story has an intelligent concept of a nation's existence with out politics or personal wealth..creatures fun to look at..sometimes silly..will get a chuckle out of you..Bought it, collected it,sits between my "Lost Contineint"dvd and "War Gods of THE DEEP"/ "At the EARTH'S CORE" double feature dvd

I saw this film when i was about 14. It was called "U4000-Panik unter dem Ozean" in german which has absolutely nothing to do with the english title or even the name of the submarine which is called "alpha". I looked for years and now finally it is on dvd.

The 2 disc version is a bit misleading, because on one disk there is the japanese version without subtitles and on the other cd the english version, there are hardly sone extras-but this is common for an old film like that.

The film itself is good, you fell totaly warped to your childhood back in time. i enjoyed it very much!

This movie is a great example of a variety of late 60's fashions, ideas, mixed with spy-movie derring-do. The visual effects for the flame and especially the part where the little bats attack the main characters are a bit cheesy.

However the actors (including some of the best Toho actors) carry the movie along well, even though there isn't a major kaiju in the movie.

The fortress of the villain Malic is really interesting from the variety of weapons and architectural styles you see in there.

Entertaining stuff.

Tokyo Shock has done it again. Within the past few years Toho monster fims are being release one after another. I saw this movie when I was a kid. Never own a bootleg. This film has all the actors speaking english without the dubbing. Stongly recomend this title. Hopefully Classic Medea will finish their release.