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Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:42 am
by Legion1979
I mean, the thing could transform into two completely sperate vehicles and it could fly into outer space. I'd definitely say it's the more advanced robot.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 2:16 pm
by edgaguirus
It was a very effective mech.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 10:26 am
by Gailah 1966
Too bad they didn´t leave a hint in the 1994 movie. I like the idea that the new Moguera was built from the old one left after the failed invasion of 1957.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 10:31 am
by Legion1979
Gailah 1966 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 10:26 am Too bad they didn´t leave a hint in the 1994 movie. I like the idea that the new Moguera was built from the old one left after the failed invasion of 1597.
Wait wait wait, is there something official that outright says The Mysterians is canon with the Heisei Godzilla series.

Because....what?

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:14 pm
by edgaguirus
mikelcho wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:58 pm LSD, here's something from Wikizilla that you probably didn't know about The Mysterians. It's from their thread "List of Godzilla film continuities".

In the Toho book Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Super Complete Works (1994), it says that MOGUERA was built using records of the original Moguera left behind from the Mysterians' unsuccessful 1957 invasion of Earth. This means that it's possible that there are two vintage tokusatsu films that are included in the 1984-1996 Heisei Godzilla Series: Godzilla (1954) and this film from 1957.

Just thought you'd like to know.
It's from a book.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 4:48 pm
by mikelcho
edgaguirus wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:14 pm
mikelcho wrote: Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:58 pm LSD, here's something from Wikizilla that you probably didn't know about The Mysterians. It's from their thread "List of Godzilla film continuities".

In the Toho book Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla Super Complete Works (1994), it says that MOGUERA was built using records of the original Moguera left behind from the Mysterians' unsuccessful 1957 invasion of Earth. This means that it's possible that there are two vintage tokusatsu films that are included in the 1984-1996 Heisei Godzilla Series: Godzilla (1954) and this film from 1957.

Just thought you'd like to know.
It's from a book.
Oh sure, I know it's a book, but it's a Toho-published book. That should count for something.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 5:54 pm
by LSD Jellyfish
I have a digital copy of the book. Maybe later I'll post the exact page and a machine translation in the Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla thread. Or maybe I'll post it here. While the idea that a version of the Mysterians took place in the Heisei Universe is absurd no matter how you slice it, I do appreciate the silly attempt to not forget about the Mysterians, considering this film is one of Toho's early epics. In my opinion, The Mysterians is up there, or very slight under, Godzilla 1954, Rodan, of early Toho magic.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:45 pm
by edgaguirus
Does anyone here think that the Mysterian dome had any influence on DAM? Both aliens used underground domes, but one was just better protected.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 8:41 am
by JAGzilla
I'm starting my first viewing of The Mysterians right now, dubbed, via (what else?) the Media Blasters DVD. I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. I think I first became aware of the movie through Rodan's Roost, circa 2002 or so. It's always surreal, finally getting to one of these classic Toho kaiju/adjacent movies I've waited over half my life for. There aren't many left that I haven't seen, now. Time to lose and gain another one.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 8:48 am
by HedorahIsBestGirl
JAGzilla wrote: Wed May 03, 2023 8:41 am I'm starting my first viewing of The Mysterians right now, dubbed, via (what else?) the Media Blasters DVD. I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. I think I first became aware of the movie through Rodan's Roost, circa 2002 or so. It's always surreal, finally getting to one of these classic Toho kaiju/adjacent movies I've waited over half my life for. There aren't many left that I haven't seen, now. Time to lose and gain another one.
I've only seen this movie all the way through once, half a lifetime ago. Let me know what you think, I'm overdue for a rewatch. I'm with you on the surreal feeling of finally watching a movie I've heard about for years. To my knowledge, the only classic Toho sci-fi/tokusatsu movies I haven't seen yet are Prophecies of Nostradamus, The Last War and Secret of the Telegian.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Wed May 03, 2023 8:55 am
by JAGzilla
Well, the transfer is awful. The dub is, too, so I'm switching to subs. It's interesting that it opens with the festival scene. You don't see a ton of traditional Japanese culture in Toho movies of this time. They're mostly concerned with the modern or futuristic.

EDIT: BIG round of applause for the initial Mogera attack and military battle! It's very '50s, very early, prototypical kind of stuff, and it's awesome. The Mogera has a great suit, such a silly retro design that still manages to be chillingly intimidating as it lurches inexorably forward. I love that we get that rarest of rarities, infantry engaging a kaiju! Machine guns, mortars, anti-tank guns, rocket launchers, flamethrowers! Freaking flamethrowers! So cool and unique. Beautifully shot, too, because Honda. Very tense and exciting. Good stuff.

EDIT: And done. It's... fine. Tsuburaya and Honda were firing on all cylinders, so the effects and spectacle were great, and everything was filmed very well. The characters were dull as dishwater, though, with Shiraishi being a bare-minimum saving grace. It's one of the weakest Toho movies in this genre as the story and human end of things go. In particular, I feel like a lot more could have been done with the plot to kidnap women. It's super bland and tacked on as-is, and it wouldn't have taken much to give it some real emotion and interest. Oh well. The movie gets by fine on flash.

The dome, simple as it was, looked really good, and featured in some really standout shots. I love the Markalite cannons and their deployment from the GYRO rocket. That scene was a big highlight. The cannons trading beams with the dome made for an epic and visually unique sci-fi battle.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sun May 07, 2023 6:38 am
by HedorahIsBestGirl
I also just rewatched this one and the short version is good, not great. The unfortunate part is that the first act IS great. I share JAGzilla's high opinion for the sequence featuring Moguera. It's well-shot, well-paced and full of great special effects. Honestly, purely from an effects standpoint, The Mysterians is probably the best tokusatsu film of the 50s. No wonder stock footage from it made it into so many Godzilla movies! I'd like to give a particular shoutout to the scene of homes disappearing beneath the ground during the landslide, which ranks right up there as one of the most impressive scenes in any of these films. In general, the first 25 minutes are pretty excellent and it's a shame that the film loses momentum as soon as Moguera takes a tumble.

The remainder of the movie may as well be called "Attack the Dome" because that's all it is, three long scenes of increasingly advanced weapons firing on the Mysterians' dome while it spams lasers back, broken up by the main characters trying to think of a better way to attack. The effects work is still good (though there's nothing as impressive as the landslide and pyrotechnics from the first act) but it does get a bit tedious. It's really a shame the film makes almost no effort to explore what the Mysterians are all about. We know they nuked their own planet into oblivion and they have trouble making babies and that's about it. To be fair, Xiliens aside, most future aliens in Toho movies were no better developed but all those movies had kaiju action to make up for the one-dimensional baddies... well, except for BIOS, which kinda sucks.

I mentioned the other day that I feel like Rodan is where Honda really honed his visual style, but I'm gonna amend that to say it was Rodan AND The Mysterians. The shot composition and general look of these two movies, as well as the way in which the stories are paced and scenes unfold, created the framework everything Honda made thereafter.

All in all, this is a mixed bag of a movie with fantastic effects and music but also a repetitive plot and forgettable characters. I had hoped this would be one I reevaluated with age but I feel about the same as I did at 16. At least I think I appreciate Moguera and the opening destruction scenes even more now.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Sun May 07, 2023 8:43 am
by StardustGenius
I'mma add my two cents and say that Tsuburaya's contributions (and sfx directors in general) are just as important to the visual of a tokusatsu movie, as the ground person director and have just as much or even more of a role in the aesthetics of the overall movie. I think this is Tsuburaya's movie more than Honda's, the same way WotG is more Tsuburaya's movie.

I also think this movie is good, but not great. The first act is pretty darn good. There's some real good shots of Mogera in the village.

The EDF stuff is where I think the movie slows down a bit, but picks up greatly when they start attacking the dom

The sfx are pretty damn fun to watch, tho there are several "why" moments. I do appreciate the effort going the distance of the soldier jumping from his tank when his tank sinks into a hole.

Also, I'm not bothered by one dimensional villains. Puss In Boots The Last Wish did the right thing in having villains who are just badguys because they are. More like him and Frieza please. I wanna see them lose!

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Mon May 22, 2023 2:39 pm
by Godzilla21
Just watched the subbed and RKO dubbed back to back the precious two nights. I had seen the movie a few times a while ago (I have two VHS tapes of the movie) but needed to revisit.

The film is sort of a mixed bag for me. Some thoughts:

- As many have said, the first act is pretty good notwithstanding a few issues (how exactly where those 3 guys in the beginning going to fight that fire with no equipment??).

- The movie just drags in the 2nd and 3rd act and the final battle in particular could have been tightened up. I like the Markalite attack on the dome but the battle just kind of gets static after a while.

- The RKO dub is excellent for an early dub so I really enjoyed it. Never heard the Media Blasters one and don't intend to!

- The version I have has a commentary track with Higuci and Kawakita which is definitely worth a listen.

- Why after the Mysterians made their demands of 3 km of land the women did the Earth officials not think "Hey whats in it for us!?!?". If someone wants to stay in my house you need to pay rent to use my property. It seems they just jumped to war which I thought was hasty.

- Moguera is my favorite 50s mech. His scene feels genuine and not shoe horned in like Tanaka tended to do later on.

- I enjoyed the gratuitous bath scene. I always love ground shots up to the monster (through the window) and a naked Yumi Shirakawa (who didn't mind showing some skin in these movies) is a bonus!

- I noticed in the original sub version there is a slight mumbling sound beneath the Mysterian voice which I assume is their actual voice being translated to English. Nice touch. The RKO dub did not have this.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:44 am
by KingSkeetorah
This movie starts so strongly. The Moguera sequence and everything building up to it are so perfect. The Mysterians and their lair are super cool. The music is great. The characters aren't very strong, but the cast is enjoyable. Yumi Shirakawa's bare shoulders, wow!!

The last half of the movie where they're basically just shelling the dome for 45 minutes (or discussing shelling the dome) really falls flat though. The stuff happening inside the dome is fun, all five minutes of it, but none of it comes close to the glory of the first act.

I will have to watch this again later and see if my opinion changes. Really wish I'd watched these non-Godzilla Toho films early in life too so that I could've developed the same "love blind" relationship with them that I have for G-flicks.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 2:11 pm
by edgaguirus
You can be love blind without having seen it early on. I first saw this one 5 years ago or so, and I still enjoyed it.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:46 pm
by KingSkeetorah
Yeah you're right. I do feel that way about Frankenstein Conquers the World and Varan, just saw those and love them. I just couldn't fully give myself over to this one for whatever reason.

Re: Talkback: The Mysterians (1957)

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2024 10:09 am
by Major sssspielberg!
My favorite thing about the Media Blasters DVD is having the commentary by Kawakita and Higuchi. It's probably my favorite movie commentary ever.