Kaitei gunkan (1963)

Country of Origin: Japan
Year of Production: 1963
Running Times: 89 mins (USA)     96 mins (Japan)
Format: Eastmancolor     35mm     Tohoscope
Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: mono

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Toho
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
US Version Presenters: Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson

SCRIPT
Script: Shinichi Sekizawa
Novel: Kaitei okaku by Shigeru Komatsuzaki, Shunro Oshikawa

DIRECTION
Director: Ishirô Honda
Chief Assistant Director: Koji Kajita

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Hajime Koizumi
Lab: Tokyo Laboratory Ltd

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Ryohei Fujii

MUSIC
Music: Akira Ifukube

SOUND
Sound Effects Editor: Minoru Kaneyama

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Director of Special Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya
Assistant Director of Special Effects: Teruyoshi Nakano
Special Effects Set Direction: Akira Watanabe

VISUAL EFFECTS
Directors of Special Effects Photography: Teisho Arikawa, Sokei Tomioka
Special Effects Lighting: Kuichiro Kishida
Special Effects Camera Assistant: Yukio Manoda
Matte Photography: Hiroshi Mukoyama

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Takeo Kita
Conceptual Artist: Shigeru Komatsuzaki

CAST
Tadao Takashima (Susumu Hatanaka)
Yôko Fujiyama (Makoto Jinguji)
Yu Fujiki (Yoshito Nishibe)
Ken Uehara (Retired Admiral Kosumi)
Jun Tazaki (Captain Hachiro Jinguji)
Kenji Sahara (journalist / Mu agent)
Hiroshi Koizumi (detective)
Yoshifumi Tajima (Tome 'Amano' Amanoshome)
Akihiko Hirata (Mu agent 23)
Eisei Amamoto (High Priest of Mu)
Tetsuko Kobayashi (Empress of Mu)
Hisaya Ito (Shindo)
Minoru Takada (government official)
Susumu Fujita (defense commander)
Ikio Sawamura (taxi driver)
Akemi Kita (sneezing model)
Nadao Kirino (kidnapped scientist)
Tetsu Nakamura (warship captain)
Yukihiko Gondo (military official)
Yutaka Nakayama (sailor)
Shin Otomo (soldier)
Wataru Omae (officer)
Shoichi Hirose, Katsumi Tezuka (Mu henchmen)
Koji Uno (bystander)
Yutaka Oka (man on bus)
Teruzo Okawa

PLOT SUMMARY

The crew of a hi-tech submarine take on invading forces of the lost continent of Mu. They unleash the monster Manda against the humans in a last ditch effort to conquer the world.

AVAILABILITY

USA
Theatrical Distributors: AIP

TIMELINE

1963
December
22: Japan – theatrical release

1965
March
11: USA – theatrical release

POSTER TAGS

Ride the JUGGERNAUT of destruction from the depths of the Seven Seas to the Outer Limits of Space!

An adventure beyond your wildest dreams - as a Super-Weapon meets Super-Force with the fate of the Universe at stake!

See! The terror swath of the deadly Astral Disks

See! The Exotic Rites and Groitesque Passions of the Kingdom of Mu

See! Underwater Juggernauts of Destruction!

See the JUGGERNAUT of Destruction Challenge the Incredible EMPIRE Beneath the Sea!

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Agente 04 del imperio sumergido - Spanish title
Atoragon: Flying Supersub
Atragon - Italian / US title
Flying Supersub Atoragon
U 2000 - Tauchfahrt des Grauens - West German title

LINKS

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
City Under the Sea (1965)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Oriental Cinema no.8 pp.10-11 (USA)
review

BOOKS

Ghastly Beyond Belief p.174
quotes

Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.202
credits, review

The Illustrated Dinosaur Movie Guide by Stephen Jones
credits, review

KEYWORDS

battleships, book into film, dragons, kaiju eiga, lost continents, submarines

Last Updated: 1 January, 2009