Dogora (1964 film)
| Dogora, the Space Monster | |
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 Original Japanese poster |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Yasuyoshi Tajitsu Tomoyuki Tanaka Samuel Z. Arkoff (USA) James H. Nicholson (USA) |
| Written by | Jojiro Okami (story) Shinichi Sekizawa |
| Starring | Yosuke Natsuki Yōko Fujiyama Hiroshi Koizumi Nobuo Nakamura Robert Dunham Akiko Wakabayashi Jun Tazaki Susumu Fujita Seizaburô Kawazu Eisei Amamoto |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Hajime Koizumi |
| Editing by | Ryohei Fujii |
| Distributed by | Toho United Artists |
| Release date(s) |  August 11, 1964 December 20, 1966 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese English (Dubbed) |
Dogora or Dagora, the Space Monster, released in Japan as Uchū Daikaijū Dogora (宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ, lit. "Giant Space Monster Dogora"), is a tokusatsu science fiction film produced and released by Toho Studios in 1964. It was directed by the "Golden Duo" of director Ishirō Honda and special-effects director Eiji Tsuburaya.
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[edit] Plot
Several satellites are destroyed and only a few days later, diamond thieves find that the gems they stole are suddenly gone. The two incidents are linked as scientists discover that giant jellyfish-like creatures, mutated due to high levels of radiation over Japan, are consuming all carbon based matter. The creatures begin attacking buildings, bridges and ships. The scientists must find a way to stop the creatures before it is too late.
The film is unusual for Toho's giant monster series in that the creature is non-anthropomorphic and not presented by an actor in a costume.
[edit] Cast
- Komai - Yosuke Natsuki
- Mark Jackson - Dan Yuma (Robert Dunham)
- Dr. Munakata - Nobuo Nakamura
- Kirino - Hiroshi Koizumi
- Masayo Kirino - Yoko Fujiyama
- Hamako - Akiko Wakabayashi
- Iwasa - Susumu Fujita
- Boss - Seizaburou Kawazu
- Tada - Yoshifumi Tajima
- Maki - Eisei Amamoto
- Sabu - Haruya Katou
- Chief - Jun Tazaki
- Nitta - Jun Funado
- Diamond robber - Nadao Kirino
- Diamond robber - Akira Wakamatsu
- Journalist - Hideo Shibuya
- Truck driver - Haruya Sakamoto
- Truck assistant - Yasuo Araki
- Chief - Yutaka Oka
- Driver - Tyoutarou Tougin
- Dr. Munakata's assistant - Kouji Iwamoto
[edit] English Version
As with its release of Attack of the Mushroom People, American International Television bought the rights to Toho's international dub in 1965 for television syndication. Since the film wouldn't play in US theaters, AIP-TV left Toho's English dub intact and added a new Dagora, the Space Monster title card. Allegedly, the name of the monster was changed to "Dagora" so that audiences wouldn't think the monster was a dog. Beyond the removal of the opening credits, the film was unedited. This version played for many years on late night TV and was released on home video by Video Yesteryear in 1983. The Media Blasters DVD uses the same dubbing featured in the AIP-TV version, but the edits are not retained.
[edit] Credits
- Teruyoshi Nakano- Director of Optical Effects
- Sadamasa Arikawa- Special Effects Cinematographer
- Takeo Kita- Special Effects Set Director
- Ken Sano- Assistant to the Director
[edit] References
- Variety Weekly. August 4, 1965.
- Sanford and Son. 1973. In the episode "Home Sweet Home for the Aged" Fred laments about missing this movie while out on a Sunday drive.
[edit] External links
- "宇宙大怪獣ドゴラ (Uchū Daikaijū Dogora)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1964/cn002200.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
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