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66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DOGORA: THE SPACE MONSTER returns to America!!!, May 23, 2005
Its been about twenty years since DAGORAH- THE SPACE MONSTER played on US television, and its a welcome return for this very original and clever thriller. This Giant monster epic was created in Japan by Toho pictures, the creators of Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. The film was
distributed to US TV by American International in the 1970s where the name was changed from DOGORA to DAGORA so viewers wouldnt think it would be about a giant dog. Actually its about a giant , levitating , ever growing and multiplying space entity. It looks like a translucent jellyfish and feeds on earths carbons. Aside from the monster plot, there is a sub-plot dealing with Interpol agents hunting diamond smugglers (remember the whole carbon connection). It all intermingles very well
and plays like a plot out of Ultraman, but with no Ultraman. First, there is the mystery. Then the investigation. A monster is discovered. the Military attacks. Scientists speculate. A super weapon is devised. The monster is
attttacked again. The good guys catch the criminals. You get the picture.
This one has really clever monster effects utilising puppets, water and animation making this one very different from the other Toho monster movies. But still alot of fun. Dogora (or Dagora) never returned in another monster movie.
Special thanks to Tokyo Shock for releasing this line of legendary and lost japanese monster films in america. I hear Yog may be next in line.
If you like Dogora, please perchase Varan- The Unbelievable, The Mysterians and Matango- Attack of the Mushroom People.
In recent years it has been almost impossible to get your hands on any Toho monster movie that doesnt have Godzilla as the star. This is probably due to having younger executives at the distributors who dont even know that these other fims, and characters, even exist. There are alot of great Toho films, many with giant monsters, still not available in the US. And unseen since the early 1980s.
Amoung them are:
BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE a sequel to The Mysterians with very cool pre Star Wars/ Aliens space drop and combat sequences.
GORATH about an asteroid with a huge gravity well about to colide with Earth and featuring a giant walrus.
DAIGORA VS. GOLIATH about a friendly creature avenging the death of his mother against a horned evil monster, Has never been seen in america.
THE HUMAN VAPOR about a master criminal who can become a literal gas.
SECRET OF THE TELEGIAN about teleportation is a color film that was only distributed in B&W in the US.
ESPY is about spys with ESP.
THE INVISIBLE MAN is a modern scifi take on the old concept.
HALF HUMAN is about a Yeti protecting its young.
THE H-MAN is about hydrogen based creatures invading Tokyo through the sewers.
MOTHRA, yes Mothra, the original is still not available on DVD.
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3 featuring Mothra time traveling to battle King Ghidorah has never been released on DVD in america.
MOTHRA, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE, H-MAN, AND REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 3 are owned by Sony/tristar/Columbia in the US.
Several of the other titles I mentioned were known to have been distributed by United Productions of America. Wonder who owns them now?
Some other Toho monsters that never returned:
1) FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER, giant version from Frankenstein Conquers the World
2) MEGALON cyborg beetle from Godzilla vs. Megalon
3) GEZORA and GANIMES giant Cuttlefish and crab from YOG- MONSTER FROM SPACE.
4) TITANOSAURUS long necked dino from TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA.
5) MEKANIKONG robot King Kong from KING KONG ESCAPES
6) BIOLLANTE plant monster from GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE
7) BATTRA giant moth from Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth
8) MECHAKING GHIDORAH three headed cyborg from GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH
9) SPACE GODZILLA alien clone from Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
10) DESTORAYAH mutant crab from GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH
11) ORGAH alien from Godzilla 2000
12) KROIGA huge winged lion from LATITUDE ZERO
13) MAGUMA giant prehistoric walrus from GORATH
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Short on thrills, but visually imaginative, July 14, 2008
Dogora is one of the most unusual monsters I've yet seen in a Toho 'kaiju' film. It's not given to wanton urban destruction like the rampaging beast that was Ghidorah. It's a hungry jellyfish-like creature, whose origins are never quite explained, who just wants the carbon it needs by plundering coal deposits and diamonds where it can find them. There's an intriguing array of strange phenomena building up to the monster's first major sighting and sufficient suspense until we get a handle on what kind of monster it is and what it looks like. When it finally makes a full-fledged assault on the coal deposits of Kyushu, the resultant collateral destruction is quite picturesque indeed. (The bridge-pulling scene is just breathtaking.) And the special effects scenes of Dogora hovering over Kyushu are among the most beautifully composed shots I've seen in any of the films for which Eiji Tsuburaya directed the effects.
However, such a monster doesn't quite provide the unabashed thrills we expect from a Japanese monster movie. Without a "good guy" monster like Godzilla or Gamera to oppose Dogora, there are only standard-issue military battles, with Japanese SDF troops firing artillery endlessly and uselessly at the sky. And when a diligent professor finally devises a scientific method to combat Dogora, it's pretty far-fetched and not terribly cinematic, leading to a distinctly anti-climactic finale. To make matters worse, too much of the action is taken up with a subplot involving a clichéd band of gangster movie diamond thieves who try to take advantage of Dogora's diamond-grabbing activity. During the final stage of the effort to neutralize Dogora, the movie shifts to a much less interesting shootout on a beach between the diamond thieves and the police. It's as if, during the climactic monster battle in a Godzilla film, the action suddenly shifted to a lover's quarrel on the outskirts of Tokyo. It might be interesting in another movie, perhaps, but not this one.
One bonus of DOGORA for longtime kaiju fans is the chance to see American actor Robert Dunham in a major role, as Japanese-speaking insurance investigator Mark Jackson. Dunham appeared in a handful of Japanese monster and sci-fi films whenever a westerner was called for (e.g., MOTHRA, GODZILLA VS. MEGALON, as well as the all-western cast in THE GREEN SLIME), but we almost never heard his real voice. Thanks to the inclusion of the original Japanese soundtrack on this DVD, we get to hear him speak Japanese in his own voice, since the dialogue was recorded sync-sound. There's even a funny line by a Japanese detective questioning him who declares, "I don't know where you learned Japanese, but you had a vulgar teacher."
Also on hand is the beautiful Akiko Wakabayashi, known to western audiences for playing Aki, first of the two Japanese Bond girls in the fifth James Bond film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967). Here she plays a sexy, duplicitous member of the robbery gang. The obligatory good girl counterpart is Masayo, the pretty assistant to the elderly scientist who takes the job of analyzing Dogora, and she's played by Yoko Fujiyama, who, alas, is given too little to do.
I liked the mix of extensive location shots with occasional studio sets and effects sequences that sometimes combine the two. It's visually well-crafted throughout and the print used for this DVD is very high quality. Overall, I just wish there'd been more of an emphasis on the monster and less on the diamond thieves.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Akiko Is All You Need to know, January 12, 2008
Since none of the other reviewers mentioned her, I will because the mere presence of Akiko Wakabayashi alone, as the femme fatal, in Dagora is well worth the price. As James Bond's wife in You Only Live Twice she was the best part of that film too so get Dagora and enjoy her all over again. Anyhow, you can dismiss a number of the other reviewers comments as worthless since they obviously have not really watched Dagora but rather just enjoy seeing their names on the internet. I say that because some of them mention Dagora sucking up diamonds and that is simply not true. The space alien critter actually sucks up massive amounts of coal then ejects huge diamonds, we assume as waste. It matters not because Akiko is running around looking super sexy and that's what really counts throughout this fun film from Toho. Her co-star is American B actor Robert Dunham whose character as an international jewell cop is superfluous but also fun in a campy sort of way. The whole film is a hoot and while we don't get to see Akiko in a bath tub like in the Bond film she is still an eyeful.
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