Underplayed Gems

Warning from Space (1956)

Warning from Space poster
Original title
宇宙人東京に現わる
Directed by
Koji Shima
Genre
adventure film, science fiction film
Country
Japan
Runtime
1h 27m
Rating
5.3 of 10 from 39 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like thisWatch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

Alien creatures shaped like starfish come to Earth in disguise to warn humans about a rogue planet on a collision course. Scientists race to build a nuclear device to destroy the approaching world before it is too late.

dateddramaticsuspensefulseriousnostalgicslow-pacedearnestvisually quirky

What happens

Warning from Space (Japanese: 宇宙人東京に現わる, Hepburn: Uchūjin Tōkyō ni arawaru; lit. 'Spacemen Appear in Tokyo') is a 1956 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Koji Shima. It was written by Hideo Oguni based on Gentaro Nakajima's novel. In the film's plot, starfish-like aliens "Pairan" (Japanese: パイラ人, Hepburn: Pairajin) disguised as humans travel to Earth to warn of the imminent collision of a rogue planet and Earth. As the planet rapidly accelerates toward Earth, a nuclear device is created at the last minute and destroys the approaching world. Produced and distributed by Daiei Film under Masaichi Nagata, it was the first colored Japanese science fiction film, and was also the nation's first full-scaled science fiction film to feature an extraterrestrial race. The film also predates Daiei's most iconic tokusatsu characters, Gamera and Daimajin. Its special effects director was Toru Matoba, a notable figure among the tokusatsu genre who contributed in Ultraman-related contents and Spectreman after the 1956 film, and the prominent avant-garde artist Tarō Okamoto was Pairan's designer. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.