Warning from Space

Customer Reviews:

A Warning You Can Afford To Ignore.......2007-04-11

Originally filmed in 1956 Japan, UCHUJIN TOKYO NI ARAWARU did not reach American audiences until 1967, when it was released as WARNING FROM SPACE. The plot, such as it is, combines ideas from IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, and when WORLDS COLLIDE, gives them a GODZILLA spin, adds a couple of musical numbers, and pretty much defies description.

In general, aliens come to warn us that the earth is on a collision course with another planet. Unfortunately, whenever they appear people gasp, scream, and faint. One of the aliens then assumes human form and makes contact, but do we listen? Well, not until the approaching planet is visible to the naked eye. Fortunately, a human scientist has created a super-explosive that can destroy the approaching planet; unfortunately, he has been kidnapped. Can the aliens locate him, get the formula, launch the bomb, and save the world?

Although it bombs as a science fiction thriller, you might think it would succeed as a cult film of the ultra-camp variety. After all, the aliens look like big starfish in form-fitting flannel. When they first decide to make contact, they just sort of pop up here and there at random: at a theatre, beside a ship, at the local geshia house. Then, when one assumes human form, the form she selects is that of a "popular" dancer--a nifty little plot turn that justifies the inclusion of the film's two musical numbers. There are also a host of weird lines, silly scenes, continuity errors, and more than one insult to audience intelligence along the way.

Now, I will admit that I giggled over the dance numbers. The second one is particularly ludicrous, looking for all the world like Ricky Ricardo ran afoul of Carmen Miranda somewhere over Nagasaki. But that aside, WARNING FROM SPACE is drudgery in its purest form. It has all the entertainment value of drying paint. Add to this the fact that the print is poor and the color foul. I think it might appeal to some cult film fans, and if it does more power to them--but most people will find it a warning they can afford to ignore.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Great Serious SC FI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-04-01

Warning from space is a film which differs from most Sc-Fi. It's Straight foward with little nosense. Buy this film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yawn........2006-11-06

I bought this because it looked like it might be hilariously stupid. Unfortunately, it's merely boringly stupid. Once you have a good laugh at the starfish costumes, that's about it. During the movie I found myself critiquing the quality of the dubbing (which is quite good, actually) because there just isn't anything going on worth paying attention to.

Overall, I'd say the quality of this movie is about the same as the quality of the reviews here. 'Color film wasn't perfected when this movie was made'? 'This is an early attempt at colorization'? Come on, people. It's simply a public domain movie and no one spent any effort beyond copying the first faded print they could find to DVD.

My copy, from a different company, runs nearly 90 minutes. If the Alpha Video print really is only 56 minutes long, it may actually be a better movie in shortened form. I suspect that's just a mistake in Amazon's database.

I simply have to love Alpha Video's cover art. I should add another star because the cover is so spectacular, but the movie itself really is a stinker.

Those starfish really know what they're talking about.......2006-08-31

Apparently, the Japanese really weren't sure what to do when it came to making a disaster film without Godzilla, Rodan, or any other type of monster. Warning From Space definitely has its problems, but the lame nature of the whole project makes it fun to watch (if you're a bad movie lover, anyway). You have to start with the aliens here, as Warning From Space sports one of the silliest-looking alien races the world has ever known - starfish people from a planet directly opposite Earth (on the far side of the sun). Yes, the citizens of Planet R consist of people standing spread-eagled inside cheap cloth (or, possibly, felt) costumes with five useless "arms" and a great big eyeball in the middle. They don't do anything but stand around, so you'd think they'd have plenty of time to work out their mission to Earth before they got there. But no - the movie opens with them stating flat-out that the earth must be terminated once and for all for all its blundering. Naturally, I got all keyed up for an alien invasion story with tons of Japanese models being blown to smithereens - wrong. What's really going on is this: a rogue planet from some other galaxy is coming to layeth the smacketh down on poor old Earth, a planetary catastrophe that would quickly lead to Planet R's destruction, as well. Since the aliens are all peaceniks now, they want earth to blow that onrushing planet to kingdom come for the sake of both planets.

Thanks to some fancy alien equipment, one of the alien leaders is able to transform herself into a reasonable human facsimile, and she comes down and insinuates herself into the life of Dr. Kamura (Mieko Nagai). This part of the film turns out to be fairly irrelevant, so let's fast forward to the moment the alien tells Japan's most esteemed scientists that Earth is doomed - unless the "World Council" will agree to launch all of the earth's nuclear weapons at the rogue planet in an attempt to break it up or alter its course. Apparently, Russia and China are on the Council because Japan's plea to save the Earth is flatly rejected.

Things get a little weird here. The scientists are all camped out at the observatory waiting for the predicted appearance of the rogue planet in the sky, days before it will be viewable to the naked eye, yet we watch people on the streets all pointing to it up in the sky. Almost immediately, the mayor of Tokyo orders a mandatory evacuation of the town - a whole 50 days before an impact that will destroy all life on Earth, anyway. Dozens of parents take off, leaving their children to wait out the disaster with their teacher inside the observatory (I'm guessing this was done to fulfill the Japanese science fiction requirement that annoying children must always be present to annoy the viewer). By this point, things are starting to drag, so much so that the rogue planet actually accelerates itself, which is physically impossible but much appreciated by the audience. As things literally heat up, Earth's goose looks to have been cooked. The aliens are nowhere to be found, and the one scientist who came up with a secret formula for a brand new super-powerful bomb is kidnapped, then left tied up and gagged for no less than 30 days.

This 1956 film is in color, but the print isn't in the best of shape - and, actually, this movie really would have played better in black and white. I can't see any reason for wasting the money for color film on this laughable story. I also have to question the dubbing of the film into English - some of the dialogue just doesn't make sense, and I have to believe the problem lies in the translation. Even if you could throw some cosmetic improvements at this film, though, it would never be anything more than a bad science fiction movie. For some of us, that's more than enough reason to watch it; most filmgoers, however, will not want to heed this Warning From Space.

3 for the price of 1.......2006-05-28

get this in the triple feature its a beter deal look for triple feature scifi voyages in outer space classics its the same movie plus 2 others same quality same company for a beter value it includes warning from space with voyage to the prehistoric planet,and assighnment outerspace all 3 worth buying and saves space in collection.

The Sci-Fi Invasion! (Cosmos- War of the Planets, Assignment Outer Space, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Warning From Space)

Average customer rating:

Wouldn't Be Worth It Even At Half The Price
Buy at WalMart for $1.00
Hilariously cheesy collection of films all on one DVD

The Sci-Fi Invasion! (Cosmos- War of the Planets, Assignment Outer Space, Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Warning From Space)
Director: Alfonso Brescia , Antonio Margheriti , Curtis Harrington , and Koji Shima
Manufacturer: Digiview Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
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This Island Earth

ASIN: B000FJNYCC

Product Description

Cosmos- War of the Planets (1977): Astronaut Mike Leighton has just been given an assignment to travel to an unexplored planet. His mission is to investigate an intercepted message that originated there. While exploring the unknown territory, Mike and his crew discover an alien civilization that is being enslaved by a giant robot in a maze of subterranean tunnels. Now our hero must prepare for a confrontation with the robot, with the fat of an entire civilization in his hands. Assignment Outer Space (1960, aka Space Men): In the 21st century Ray Peterson, reporter for the Interplanetary News gets an assignment to write a story from aboard a space station. Tension mounts between Peterson and the station commander when the crew realizes that a space ship has just entered the solar system and is radiating enough heat to destroy Earth. Peterson is the one who must enter the ship and disable its generators before he suffocates and Earth is history. Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965): A crew of cosmonauts, led by Professor Hartman and Marcia, is sent to Venus with a highly sophisticated robot to explore its surface. However, when a volcanic eruption threatens to engulf the planet in lava and prehistoric beasts begin to attack the crew, they must figure out a way to escape. Will they find a way off this alien planet, or will this dangerous mission be their last? Warning From Space (1956): When a small planet enters into a collision course with Earth, giant, starfish-like aliens come to warn the humans. Their appearance causes worldwide panic, making it difficult for them to deliver the message. When they finally do, they commission a scientist to develop a bomb to destroy the planet, but the bomb is stolen by a rogue group who intend to use it for their own purposes. Can they recover the weapon in time, or will the Earth be destroyed?

Customer Reviews:

Wouldn't Be Worth It Even At Half The Price.......2007-05-07

This double-sided DVD offers four films: COSMOS--WAR OF THE PLANETS; ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE; VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET; and WARNING FROM SPACE. And not a one of them is worth the cost of shipping, much less the expense of purchase.

Released in the United States in 1979, COSMOS--WAR OF THE PLANETS is a badly dubbed Italian film that has had as many name changes as a starlet in search of a career--but it hardly matters, because a weed by any other name still stinks. The plot is so horrifically disjointed that it more or less defies description; suffice to say that it involves a planet gone bad, crazy computers, and lots of Italians in skin-tight caps. Although the transfer is reasonably good, it is actually the worst of the four films offered, and that is saying a great deal indeed.

Like COSMOS, ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE is a badly dubbed Italian flick; unlike COSMOS, ASSIGNMENT: OUTER SPACE isn't quite so horrendously bad. Released in the early 1960s, this time the story concerns a satelite gone bad, and while it's not going to win any prizes it does occasionally have an interesting idea or two--not that any of them go anywhere special. The transfer is pretty bad as well.

VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET began life as a Russian movie so bad that not even the Soviets would watch it. At some point in the 1960s, drive-in dreck master Roger Corman came across it, edited it, dubbed it, and then sweet-talked Basil Rathbone and Faith Domergue into filming a few scenes that he hoped would give the whole thing some coherence. It didn't. There are two interesting things about this movie: Faith's beehive hairdo, which completely defies description, and the robot, which is essentially a riff on Robbie from FORBIDDEN PLANET but with less personality and really big toenails. And the transfer is so awful you might well come away from it with a migraine.

As for WARNING FROM SPACE... well, it has to do with starfish-shaped creatures who descend on Japan to tell the world that we're about to have a collision with a rogue planet. No one believes them, of course, until the planet is actually visible to the naked eye. Throw in two very odd musical numbers (one of which looks like Ricky Ricardo and Carmen Miranda collided somewhere over Tokyo), plot devices that are an insult to the intelligence of a five year old, and lots of bad acting, and you'll find this 1956 flick drudgery in its purest form. And dare I say it? The transfer is even worse than VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET.

This is the sort of thing you come across in the bargain-bin at your local superstore--but frankly it doesn't matter how cheap it is, it isn't worth it. Now and then a bad film is so awful that it becomes funny, but that isn't the case here. The warning from this particular space is to avoid the thing like the plague.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Buy at WalMart for $1.00.......2006-10-22

These movies are so bad, they are fun to watch. Go ahead and spend the money! Had more fun then some of the overhyped Sci-Fi movies that cost me 80 times as much. (I look at it as if I spent a quarter a movie.

Hilariously cheesy collection of films all on one DVD.......2006-06-06

The Sci-Fi Invasion is a very inexpensive way to obtain four obscure, low-budget foreign films, all on one DVD. The DVD disc is region free, meaning it should play on any DVD player, even PAL and NTSC. Of course, I live in America, so I have a Region 1 NTSC player, and this disc works just fine. The packaging simply says "This DVD is compatible with all DVD players" with no mention of regions or formats. Unfortunately the DVD don't have a scene selection feature, but you can skip to whatever film you wish to see.

Are you sick of all those overproduced, slick and hyped Hollywood films? Had enough of Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.? Think George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are overrated? Want some cheesy low-budget fun that should have been destined to be ridiculed on Mystery Science Theater 3000? Then you come to the right place with The Sci-Fi Invasion, which packs four films on to one DVD, Cosmos: War of the Planets (apparently released in Italy in 1977, but not in America until 1978), Assignment: Outer Space (1960), Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965), and Warning From Space (1956). Not sure where these films came from, other than Cosmos: War of the Planets from Italy and Warning From Space, which was Japanese. The first film, Cosmos: War of the Planets had me completely laughing. This movie looks so horribly dated even for 1977 standards. Here you get treated with synthesizer renditions of classical music throughout the film (as well as cheesy synthesizer sound effects) with really bad costumes, and a spaceship whose interior looks like the instrument panels of the TARDIS from Doctor Who and the Starship Enterprise, and the crew wearing uniforms with a triangle-shaped insignia that look like it was stolen from Star Trek. The crew of this spaceship explores a desolate planet and gets attacked by an alien that looks more like a truck than any alien you can think of. If it weren't for the very '70s sounding synthesizer music, this could easily pass for a real bad '50s sci-fi, with special effects that look more '50s than '70s. What's even more hilarious, as the planet they were exploring disintegrates, the producers of this film starts using stock footage of volcanoes erupting and even footage of a nuclear bomb test explosion. The acting, costumes, the computers and instrument panels are simply out of this world! This film has got to be seen to be believed.

Next one is Assignment: Outer Space. The acting is more believable here, but because the movie is from 1960, expect '50s type of special effects, with flames coming out of a rocket that look like Bunsen burners. I was really laughing at the hilarious inaccuracies of this film. Especially in regards to landing on Venus. I am certain that even back in 1960, astronomers, and the public in general, knew that Venus consists of heavy amounts of carbon dioxide and extremely thick clouds, and tempuratures around 800 degrees Fahrenheit, but on this film, they depict Venus to be as free of clouds as the moon. In real life, even if astronauts could visit other planets (which we still can't to this day), no one would dare attempt to land on Venus because the climate and the pressure is way too great, and only able to send unmanned space probes there.

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet is another one of those flicks where astronauts embark on voyage to Venus, with nothing but inaccuracies. No mention that Venus is 800 degrees with thick clouds with virtually zero visibility. The skies are clear, but looking more like that on Earth. And there's monsters to be found too. There's also a robot, everytime it talks, it sounds like the instrument panel of the Starship Enterprise, but then the original Star Trek series did recycle sounds used on other sci-fi films and television for their sound effects at the time. Let's not forget that Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet did come out in 1965, a year before Star Trek.

Warning From Space, the Japanese flick, starts off deceiving you that this was going to be another alien invasion flick (with starfish-like aliens with one eye), it ends up being more of a Japanese version of When Worlds Collide (1951), as the aliens warn the people of Earth of an oncoming planet that's about to collide. The acting is cheesy and the overdubbing into English leaves a lot to be desired, but it's no more worse than the monster flicks that came from that country around the same time like Godzilla.

These films will guarantee to get you laughing at how hilariously bad films can get. Not recommended for those who want a professional Hollywood production on the scale of Lucas or Spielberg, but for those who get a kick off low-budget B-films.

Warnings From Space - Zontar/Slipstream/Sci-Fighters

Average customer rating:

Waenings from Space

Warnings From Space - Zontar/Slipstream/Sci-Fighters
Starring: Warnings from Space
Manufacturer: Vintage Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A2XD5W
Release Date: 2005-08-16

Description

Zontar: The Thing from Venus - Keith Ritchie (Anthony Houston) helps an alien named Zontar travel from Venus to Earth in order to help solve the problems of our world. Unfortunately, Zontar has other ideas, using "injectopods" to take over the minds of locals. Keith's associate Dr. Curt Taylor (John Agar) is soon pitted against his misguided colleague, as well as former friends under Zontar's control. It seems that only Curt can put an end to Zontar's world domination!

Slipstream - Post-apocalyptic cop Will Tasker (Mark Hamill) and his partner Belitski (Kitty Aldridge) capture a wanted man named Byron (Bob Peck). Unfortunately he has a price on his head, and bounty hunter Matt Owens (Bill Paxton) is determined to be the one to collect. He tricks the cops and kidnaps the prisoner. In an attempt to escape he flies into the slipstream — a highly dangerous and unpredictable wind pattern. Determined to recapture Byron, Will and Belitski put themselves in danger and follow him in.

Sci-Fighters - Convict Adrian Dunn (Billy Drago) gets into an altercation with another prisoner. After he kills him, something bursts from the corpse's face, lands in a wound in Dunn's arm and apparently kills him as well. While en route for an autopsy Dunn revives, escapes and wanders the city raping women at random — infecting them with a virus that causes the them to breathe out methane. Black Shield cop Cameron Grayson (Roddy Piper) takes the case, eventually leading to the discovery that the virus was bio-engineered by aliens to terraform our world.

Customer Reviews:

Waenings from Space.......2005-10-17

The movies were entertaining but the video transfer to DVD was really bad.

Average customer rating:

Warning From Space

Manufacturer: Echelon Entertainment 2
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000BT3JXU

Product Description

Astronomers discover an extraterrestrial satellite that is sending out meteorites down at the earth. Then turn out to be special space craft to land on our planet, transporting star shaped aliens to tell us that both our world's are in danger. A giant planet is tearing through space headed stright for a collision course with earth. Can the humans and aliens work together and save boith our worlds? Only if the United Alliance agrees for the use of nuclear wepons to destroy the planet!! This movie is definitely one of the greatest alien cult movie classics!!

Average customer rating:

Warning From Space
Director: Koji Shima
Manufacturer: Miracle Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
Product Features:

Interactive Menu Option

ASIN: B000OWH7E6

Product Description

From 1956 comes the English dubbed version of WARNING FROM SPACE Japan's first Sci Fi film in color. UFO's are seen in the Tokyo area because they look like giant starfish the aliens cannot approach humans without creating panic in the streets. One of them however sacrifices itself and takes the form of a popular female singer while bringing a message of impending doom to Earth.

Sci-Fi: Rocketship/Warning From Space/The Incredible Petrified World/The Phantom Creeps

Average customer rating:

Sci-Fi: Rocketship/Warning From Space/The Incredible Petrified World/The Phantom Creeps
Starring: Great Sci-Fi Classics
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002OXV3W
Release Date: 2004-08-24

They Came From Beyond Space / Warning From Space

Average customer rating:

They Came From Beyond Space / Warning From Space
Starring: Robert Hutton; Toyomi Karita
Director: Multi
Manufacturer: Dollar Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007P0YJU
Release Date: 2005-03-22

{9 Movies / Over 13 Hours} Gamera Vs. Monster X / Gamera Vs. Gaos / Yongary, Monster From the Deep / Warning From Space / Destroy All Planets / War of the Monsters / Gamera the Invincible / the Giant Gila Monster / Monster From a Prehistoric Planet

Average customer rating:

Gamera Strikes Again
a great collection of old japanese and other big monster movies

{9 Movies / Over 13 Hours} Gamera Vs. Monster X / Gamera Vs. Gaos / Yongary, Monster From the Deep / Warning From Space / Destroy All Planets / War of the Monsters / Gamera the Invincible / the Giant Gila Monster / Monster From a Prehistoric Planet

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Cult Movies | Genres | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

Gamera Strikes Again.......2006-06-24

If memory serves, 4 or 5 of these are Gamera movies from the 70's. (He was the flying turtle with those two big teeth.) Yongary was Korea's answer to Godzilla, and Warning from Space was a Toho Studio space opera. Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, I believe, was the other name for Gappa, the triphibian monster, this was a family monster movire with a mamma, daddy and baby. If you liked the giant rubber-suited monsters of the 70's this looks like a good collection. While I have seen all these movies, I have not previewed this set so I have no idea what the quality might be like. Since these, Gamera and Godzilla (no big-G movies in this collection) have grown up and there are much better outings filmed in the late 90's and 00's.

a great collection of old japanese and other big monster movies.......2006-05-09

growing up i would have loved to of had this set of movies. they are silly but fun movies and as cheese as i remember them. these bring back the days of rushing home after school and watching the afternoon movie.
the best thing about this collection is the transfers,they look very good and the company that puts out these sets put extras with them and that makes them even better. give these a try,the price is right.

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