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Here's
an oddity: one of the most uniquely Japanese of daikaiju
eiga variants, Ultraman, but this time made in Australia
largely by Australians and featuring Australian actors
-- all under the auspices of Tsuburaya Productions.
Ultraman: The Alien Invasion is an
edited-together version of the Japan/Australian TV series
generally known as Ultraman: Towards the Future.
Filmed downunder, this series was never aired in its
country of origin, though it did receive a run on US
television and, of course, in Japan, and is generally
considered to be a valid part of Ultra-history, its
Ultraman appearing in on-stage shows and the like. What
is odd, however, is seeing some very Japanese-kaiju-style
events taking place in a familiar Australian context
with Caucasian actors, and with dialogue delivered in
an Australian accent.
Apparently
Ultraman: The Alien Invasion incorporates
material from episodes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, and, I must
say, does a surprisingly good job of converting them
into a coherent storyline. Apart from one obviously
overzealous scene jump, its episodic nature is hidden
behind a developing tale of alien invasion and leads
to a satisfyingly climactic third-act confrontation.
The
story begins on Mars, with redundant narration intended
to ease us into the proceedings, supplied by none other
than Gus Mercurio (of Turkey Shoot, The
New Adventures of Flipper and Doing Time for
Patsy Cline, among other things). The first two
Earth astronauts to land on the red planet (and here
it is almost surreally red) find themselves witnesses
to a titanic struggle between a huge tentacled monstrosity
(Goudis) and Ultraman. Unfortunately they soon find
themselves more than mere spectators; one is killed
when their Mars probe gets whacked, while the other
is left stranded. This latter, Jack Shindo, later appears
back on Earth, much to the bemusement of his colleagues
-- only now, unbeknown to them, he is able to channel
Ultraman. This proves useful, as the annihilation of
Goudis on Mars has caused the kaiju's lifeforce to journey
to Earth in the form of a virus that creates monsters
of any living matter it encounters. Terran life is,
as a result, under threat of being totally subsumed
by Goudis and his monstrous shadow forms.
 
Above:
Goudis attacks the Mars probe,
while being attacked in turn
by Jack Shinto
Various
weird kaiju rampage, buildings crumble, Jack becomes
Ultraman and fights the monsters, divisions appear in
the military ranks and events escalate toward the re-incarnation
of Goudis itself. This climax comes with a final battle
on the outback plains of Australia, where the desolation
is evocative of the Martian landscape where it all began.
With
good effects, decent actors and reasonably controlled
dramatic pacing (all things considered), Ultraman:
The Alien Invasion transcends its origins as a TV-series
compilation and proves to be an exciting and subtly
different Ultraman adventure.
Above: Ultraman faces the final form of Goudis
somewhere in the Australian outback |
Ultraman: The Alien Invasion
[based on the TV series "Ultraman: Towards the Future" [aka "Ultraman Great"] |
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Japan/Australia, 1990
Running Time: 90 minutes
Colour
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Tsuburaya Productions presents
Director: Andrew Prowse
Executive Producer: Noboru Tsuburaya
Producers:
Kiyoshi Suzuki
Sue Wild
Cast:
Dore Kraus -- Jack Shindo
Gia Carides -- Jean Echo
Ralph Cotterill -- Arthur Grant
Grace Parr -- Kim Shaomin
Rick Adams -- Lloyd Wilder
Lloyd Morris -- Charles Morgan
Robert Simper -- Ultraman
Steve Apps -- Ultraman
Matthew O'Sullivan -- Voice of Ultraman
Jay Hackett -- Stanley Haggard
Peter Raymond Powell -- General Brewer
David Grybowski -- Ike
Fiona Jarvis -- Rachael
Hamish Fletcher -- Jimmy
Raymond Jurgens -- Archaeologist
Brian Knott -- Site Foreman
Paul Coulsen -- Technician
Nicki Patterson -- Technician
Debbie Little -- Technician
Chris Kemp -- Technician
Gus Mercurio -- Narrator
Mike Read -- Stunt Performer
Johnny Halliday -- Stunt Performer
Original Story:
Sho Aikawa
Hidenori Miyazawa
Chiaki Konaka
Akinori Endo
Satoshi Susuki
Writer: Terry Larsen
Director of Photography: Paul Dallwitz
Production Designer: Andrew Blaxland
Effects Supervisor: Alan Maxwell
Ultraman Design: Hirtsugu Murayama
Monster Design: Joh Yoshida
Action Vehicle Design: Kunio Aoi
Monster Fabricator: Bob McCarron
Monster Fabricator: Fright
Monster Manipulator: Hisashi Ogasawara
Monster Manipulator: Ichiro Yasukura
SFX Supervisor: Paul Nichola
SFX Consultant: Koichi Takano
[technical listing incomplete]
Music: Shinsuke Kazato
Music Director: Kazuo Kogure / Kevin Roper
Music performed by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
"The Ultraman Series was made in association with the South Australian Film Corporation, with the assistance of SAFIAC -- ADELAIDE"
© 1990 Tsuburaya Productions Co. Ltd.
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