Atragon

Atragon (海底軍艦, Kaitei Gunkan, lit. 'The Undersea Warship') is a 1963 Japanese science fiction film produced and distributed by Toho. It is based on The Undersea Warship by Shunrō Oshikawa and The Undersea Kingdom by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film is directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and stars Jun Tazaki, Tadao Takashima, Yōko Fujiyama, Yū Fujiki, and Ken Uehara.

Atragon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIshirō Honda
Produced byTomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay byShinichi Sekizawa[1]
Based on
  • The Undersea Warship
    by Shunro Oshikawa
  • The Undersea Kingdom
    by Shigeru Komatsuzaki
StarringJun Tazaki
Tadao Takashima
Yōko Fujiyama
Music byAkira Ifukube
CinematographyHajime Koizumi
Edited byRyohei Fujii
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
December 22, 1963 (Japan)
Running time
94 minutes[2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office¥175 million[3]

The film was released in Japan on December 22, 1963, and in the United States in 1965 via American International Pictures. A two-episode anime OVA titled Super Atragon, based on the same novels, was produced by Phoenix Entertainment in 1995.

Plot

The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.

While on a magazine photo shoot one night, photographers Susumu and Yoshito witness a car drive into the ocean. While speaking with a detective the next day they spot Makoto Jinguji, daughter of deceased Imperial Captain Jinguji, who is also being followed by a suspicious character. Her father's former superior, retired Rear Admiral Kusumi is confronted by a peculiar reporter, who claims contrarily that Captain Jinguji is alive and at work on a new submarine project. The threads meet when a mysterious taxi driver attempts to abduct Makoto and the Admiral, claiming to be an agent of the drowned Mu Empire. Foiled by the pursuing photographers, he flees into the ocean.

During another visit to the detective, a package inscribed "MU" arrives for the Admiral. Contained within is a film depicting the thriving undersea continent (with its own geothermal "sun") and demanding that the surface world capitulate, and prevent Jinguji from completing his submarine Atragon. The UN realizes that Atragon may be the world's only defense and requests that Admiral Kosumi appeal to Jinguji. Concurrently, Makoto's stalker is arrested and discovered to be a naval officer under Jinguji. He agrees to lead the party to Jinguji's base but refuses to disclose its location. After several days of travel, the party find themselves on a tropical island inhabited only by Jinguji's forces and enclosing a vast underground dock.

Eventually Captain Jinguji greets the visitors, though he is cold toward his daughter and infuriated by Kusumi's appeal. He built Atragon, he explains, as a means to restore the Japanese Empire after its defeat in World War II, and insists that it be used for no other purpose. Makoto runs off in anger, later to be consoled by Susumu. Atragon's test run is a success, the heavily armored submarine even elevating out of the water and flying about the island. When the Captain approaches Makoto that evening they exchange harsh words; again Susumu reproaches the Captain for his selfish refusal to come to the world's aid. After Makoto and Susumu are kidnapped by the reporter, and the base crippled by a bomb, Jinguji consents to Kusumi's request and prepares Atragon for war against Mu.

The Mu Empire executes a devastating attack on Tokyo and threatens to sacrifice its prisoners to the monstrous deity Manda if Atragon appears. Appear the super-submarine does, pursuing a Mu submarine to the Empire's entrance in the ocean depths. Meanwhile, Susumu and the other prisoners escape their cell and kidnap the Empress of Mu. They are impeded by Manda, but soon rescued by Atragon, which then engages the serpent and freezes it using the "Absolute Zero Cannon". Jinguji offers to hear peace terms, but the proud Empress refuses. The Captain then advances Atragon into the heart of the Empire power room and freezes its geothermal machinery. This results in a cataclysmic explosion visible even to those on deck of the surfaced submarine. Her empire dying, the Mu Empress abandons the Atragon and, Jinguji and company looking on, swims into the conflagration.

Cast

Production

Atragon is loosely based on The Undersea Warship by Shunrō Oshikawa and The Undersea Kingdom by Shigeru Komatsuzaki.[4] Komatsuzaki also served as an uncredited designer for the film, as he had with The Mysterians and Battle in Outer Space.[3]

Screenwriter Sekizawa wrote a scene where Jinguji learned of his daughter's kidnapping and was prepared to sacrifice her in order to save the world, which triggered an argument between Jinguji and Kosumi. Director Honda choose to cut this because he saw the story as a parable of global problems rather than personal problems. Producer Tanaka also insisted that a monster, Manda, be included in the film.[5]

Honda had no idea whom to cast as the Empress of Mu but met Tetsuko Kobayashi by chance, who was working on a TV show in Toho's lot. Honda found her to be "hard working and very energetic". Kobayashi also applied the Empress' makeup herself.[3]

The film's production schedule was shorter than usual, with production beginning September 5, 1963, targeted for a December release of that same year. This resulted in effects director Eiji Tsuburaya scaling back some effects. Honda originally wanted to show towns and residual areas for the Mu Empire but did not have enough money in the budget.[3]

Release

Atragon was released in Japan on December 22, 1963. It became the 13th highest grossing domestic film of the year, grossing ¥175 million.[3]

Atragon became a popular feature on TV and at film festivals. In fact, it was so popular that it was re-released in 1968 as the support feature for Honda's Destroy All Monsters. It was also the 1964 Japanese entry at the Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival.[6]

American International Pictures afforded the film a successful US theatrical release in 1965 with minimal changes and quality dubbing by Titra Studios. The new name Atragon, derived from Toho's international title Atoragon, is presumably a contraction of "atomic dragon", a colorful moniker for the titular juggernaut; however, AIP's dubbed dialogue refers to the Goten-go by the name "Atragon". This shortening from four to three syllables was the choice of AIP, since several European markets released the film as Atoragon (Italy) and Ataragon (France). While Atragon became Toho's first tokusatsu eiga (visual effects film) released on home video in 1982, and though the film is exceptionally popular among western tokusatsu fans, Atragon was not released on home video in the United States until Media-Blasters' DVD in 2005 (although the film was in constant television syndication in the US until the early 1980s). Media Blasters had intended to use the original Titra Studios dubbing, but Toho forced the company to use its international version. This alternate dubbed version syncs up perfectly with the Japanese video, but fans generally consider these international dubs to be inferior. Its enduring popularity in Japan is evident in the number of plastic model kits, garage kits and adult-targeted toys based on the Goten continually on the market.

Other appearances

Manda later appeared in the 1968 Godzilla film, Destroy All Monsters. Manda and the Gotengo, the original and an updated version, were featured in Godzilla: Final Wars.[7][8] The Scottish Metal band Atragon took their name from the film.[9]

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References
  1. Galbraith IV 1998, p. 137.
  2. 海底軍艦
  3. Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 204.
  4. Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 201.
  5. Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 203.
  6. Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. The Great Science Fiction Pictures.
  7. Kalat 2010, p. 250.
  8. Solomon 2017, p. 290.
  9. Schafer, Joseph (October 2, 2017). "Top Ten Kaiju Metal Crossovers". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved June 8, 2018.

Bibliography
  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (1998). Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo: The Incredible World of Japanese Fantasy Films. Feral House. ISBN 0922915474.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Godziszewski, Ed (1995). "Atragon: A Toho Classic Revisited". G-Fan #21: 18–33.
  • Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd Edition). McFarland. ISBN 9780786447497.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (1977). The Great Science Fiction Pictures. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-1029-8.
  • Ragone, August (2007). Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-6078-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 9780819570871.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Solomon, Brian (2017). Godzilla FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the King of the Monsters. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 9781495045684.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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