Attack from Space (1965)

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Why am I just now discovering Starman? And there are four of these movies? I can't believe I've never heard of this before. Attack from Space may be my introduction to Starman, but it won't the last time I pay him a visit.In Attack from Space, the Earth is threatened by a race of aliens known as the Spherions. They show they mean business by blowing up one of the mountains in the Himalayas (odd choice, but whatever). A benevolent race of aliens from the Emerald planet send their superhero, Starman, to Earth to help defeat the Spherions. Starman discovers that one of the Earth's top scientists and his family have been abducted. Can he rescue the Earthlings and save the planet?Rating and writing about a film like Attack from Space is difficult because, honestly, it's a train wreck of a film. Special effects, dubbing, lighting, acting, plot, logic, and just about anything else you can name is so bad it's impossible to put into words. It's bad, but it's also bizarrely fun. Things like the crazy looking council on the Emerald planet, the Nazi-esque aliens dressed like 1940s era US Navy officers, Starman's lumpy superhero suit, and, most of all, the ridiculous fight choreography – I can't describe what joy these things brought to me. Even though the fight scene between Starman and the Spherions overstayed its welcome by what seemed like hours, it's still the real highlight of the film. Starman has a style of fighting I've never seen before. He reminded me of the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz trying to do Kung Fu. Hysterical. The use of silly looking guns, reversed camera shots, and the most obvious dummy I've ever seen only added to the fun. Seriously, this is truly one of those "so bad it's good" type movies. I'm looking forward to the others in the series.

"The Earth is threatened by the forces of the evil Spherions (sic), an alien race out to conquer the universe. The Spherions (wouldn't they be Sapphirans?) are aided in their attempt to take over the Earth by some of the world's top scientists. Standing in the way of the alien invaders and their treacherous allies is Starman, mighty interplanetary champion sent to Earth to defend the planet against galactic menaces," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Ken Utsui (as Sûpâ Jaiantsu, or Super Giant) must save Earth and the galaxy from Nazi-saluting aliens from "The Sapphire Galaxy". This compliments the films gemstone theme, as Mr. Utsui is from "The Emerald Planet"; and, the comic book characters slightly resemble DC Comics' "Green Lantern". This is the American (English edited and dubbed) version of the Japanese super-hero's fifth and sixth movies, Jinkô eisei to jinrui no hametsu (1957) and Uchûtei to jinkô eisei gekitotsu (1958). Herein, the series substitutes additional fighting, explosions, stock footage, and other paunchiness, for lost charm and direction.* Attack from Space (1964) Teruo Ishii ~ Ken Utsui, Utako Mitsuya, Junko Ikeuchi

I hear that this is based on a really old TV show, Starman. I heard good things about it. But it's like this movie I think I'd rather pass on the TV show. This movie has terrible production value, the story was boring and repetitive. The dubbing was God Awful and basically it's one big stink fest. Anyone who calls GAMERA or GODZILLA cheesy, don't know what cheesy is. Look up cheesy in the dictionary and you'd find a picture of this movie. Look at the costume for a second, goofy with that antenna. The evil aliens were just humans. Not one monster except for the council. I love Japanese stuff, and I'm the one defending Japanese sci-fi when other people call it crap. But this is one of those rare times when the Japanese dropped the ball big time and didn't care. I give ATTACK FROM SPACE...THE NOOSE!

This is another movie I wish MST3K had a chance to screen.This movie is the combination of 2 Japanese movie serials from the Super Giant series of the late 1950s.When I first saw this movie when I was a child, it scared the hell out of me, as it contains the usual 'violence against children' seen in movies like 'Invasion of the Neptune Men' and to a lesser extent, 'Prince of Space'. Even today, the scene where the Nazi-like soldiers kidnap the children is a little too edgy for anyone under 12 years old.But the allure of this movie is the innocent and almost naive story line. Even though the movie has many ridiculous ideas, the actors remain deadly serious throughout. The film opens with a bunch of ridiculous looking aliens with costumes that are right out of a 3rd grade theatre production. The aliens send 'Star Man' to protect the Earth from a invasion from the 'Spherions'.Star Man is a slightly paunchy, overacting, average-looking, middle aged Japanese man. He flails his arms around, beating up Japanese extras in highly exaggerated and very poorly choreographed fight scenes. The fight scenes alone are worth the price of admission. Many times, actors aren't even close to being hit when they do flips and pretend to be knocked out.Also, watch for the scene where Star Man disables flying saucers by bending what can only be described as a metal rack from a refrigerator.As with most early Japanese Sci Flicks, there are numerous technical errors like people being able to breathe and fly through space.But I recommend this movie to any B Movie fan. It's very campy and the shoddy production values are more than made up for by the movies goofy charm.One of the reasons the TV show 'Batman' was so successful was because the actors took their roles so seriously. This is also what makes this movie work. All of the actors take their silly roles very seriously, as if they are acting in 'Hamlet. This only makes 'Attack from Space' even more enjoyable.