Atragon

, is a 1963 Toho tokusatsu film based on a series of juvenile adventure novels under the banner "Kaitei Gunkan" by Shunrō Oshikawa (heavily influenced by Jules Verne) and the illustrated story "Kaitei Okoku" ("The Undersea Kingdom") by illustrator Shigeru Komatsuzaki, serialized in a monthly magazine for boys. Komatsuzaki also served as an uncredited visual designer, as he had on "The Mysterians" (1957) and "Battle in Outer Space" (1959). visualizing the titular super weapon, among others.

The film was one of several tokusatsu collaborations of director Ishirō Honda, screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. It features Jun Tazaki, an authority figure regular to tokusatsu, in his largest genre role as the conflicted Captain Jinguji of the super-submarine "Gotengo" ("Atragon" in the English-language American version).

As was the case in several other 1960s tokusatsu eiga (visual effects films), producer Tomoyuki Tanaka insisted that a daikaiju be incorporated into the storyline for marketing purposes, to which Tsuburaya designed Manda—a Chinese dragon-like sea serpent that would subsequently appear in several films in the Godzilla series. The "Atragon" itself would reappear in several other movies, including "".

Synopsis

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 (Takashima) and Yoshito (Yu Fujiki) witness a car drive into the ocean. While speaking with a detective (Hiroshi Koizumi) the next day they spot Makoto Jinguji (Fujiyama), daughter of deceased Imperial Captain Jinguji, who is also being followed by a suspicious character (Yoshifumi Tajima). Her father's former superior, retired Admiral Kosumi (Ken Uehara), is confronted by a peculiar reporter (Kenji Sahara) who claims contrarily that Captain Jinguji is alive and at work on a new submarine project. The threads meet when a mysterious taxi driver (Akihiko Hirata) almost abducts Makoto and the Admiral, claiming to be an agent of the drowned Mu Empire. Foiled by the ensuing photographers, he flees into the ocean.

During another visit to the detective, a packaged 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 (Tazaki) greets the visitors, though he is cold toward his daughter and infuriated by Kosumi'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 daughter and boyfriend are abducted by the reporter (a disguised Mu agent) and the base crippled by a bomb, Jinguji consents to Kosumi's request and prepares "Atragon" for war against Mu.

The Mu Empire executes a devastating attack on Tokyo and threatenes 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 (Tetsuko Kobayashi). 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 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.

Production and Distribution

A final draft Sekizawa's script was approved on 1963-09-05, merely three months before Toho demanded the film be theatrically released (concurrent with the fruitful Winter holiday season). On this unusually tight schedule, production was divided into one more than the usual two teams (drama and special effects) of tokusatsu production—Unit A for dramatic filming and Units B and C for special effects. Visual Effects Director Tsuburaya and Assistant Visual Effects Director Teruyoshi Nakano began work in October and concluded within four weeks, a third of the usual time granted to effects work. While the effects of "Atragon" are generally praised, minor stock footage of buildings collapsing from "Mothra" (1961) were used as inserts during the scene where Tokyo's Marunouchi business district collapses (as well as shots of emergency vehicles responding before the collapse). Two other instances of stock footage were merely used in montages of satellite surveillance taken from "The Mysterians" and "Battle in Outer Space" and another montage of the world's capitals, taken from Shuei Matsubayashi's "The Last War" (1961).

"Kaitei Gunkan" became Toho's top box office earner during its month-long run in Japanese theaters and is a popular feature on TV and at film festivals. In fact, it was so popular that it was re-released in 1973. It was the 1964 Japanese entry at the Trieste Science Fiction Film Festival. [Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. "The Great Science Fiction Pictures."]

American International Pictures afforded the film a successful U.S. 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 "Atlantis dragon", a description of the serpent Manda; however, AIP's dubbed dialogue refers to the "Goten-go" by the name "Atragon", preserving the name "Manda" for the giant monster. While "Kaitei Gunkan" 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 U.S. until the early 1980s).

Nationalism

The predominant themes of "Atragon" are nationalism, patriotism, and pride. Unchecked affirmation of these principles manifests in the central character of Captain Jinguji, who built the "Atragon" for the sole purpose of reviving the Empire of Japan; and in the Empress of Mu, whose motive to reestablish her nation's global dominance parallels Jinguji's. Much as the aggressive policies of Japan secured the nation's defeat in World War II, the former Empire of Mu continues its siege on the surface world even after "Atragon"—their only feared adversary—rises to challenge. Both leaders vehemently reject the notion of peaceful surrender, and even international cooperation, but while Jinguji is ultimately persuaded to suppress his 20-year vendetta, the young Empress sees her defeated nation through to annihilation. Whereas Jinguji revolted in order to prepare a counterattack, the Empress acts differently on her nationalistic resolve by abandoning the "Atragon" to die with her people.

Cast

Production Credits

*Executive Producer - Tomoyuki Tanaka

*Screenplay - Shinichi Sekizawa (Based on "Kaitei Gunkan" by Shunro Oshikawa)

*Director - Ishiro Honda

*Visual Effects Director - Eiji Tsuburaya

*Cinematographer - Hajime Koizumi

*Production Designer - Takeo Kita

*Assistant Director - Koji Kajita

*Sound Recordist - Masanao Uehara

*Lighting - Shoshichi Kojima

*Music - Akira Ifukube

*Sound Editor - Hisashi Shimonga

*Assistant Director - Koji Kajita

*Film Editor - Ryohei Fujii

*Sound Effects - Minoru Kaneyama

*Film Development - Far Eastern Laboratories

*Production Manager - Shigeru Nakamura

*Visual Effects Photography - Sadamasa Arikawa and Sokei Tomioka

*Optical Photography - Yukio Manoda and Yoshiyuki Tokumasa

*Visual Effects Production Designer - Akira Watanabe

*Conceptual Designer - Shigeru Komatsuzaki (uncredited)

*Composites - Hiroshi Mukoyama

*Assistant Visual Effects Director - Teruyoshi Nakano

*Visual Effects Production Manager - Tadashi Koike

Footnotes

References

*Godziszewski, Ed (1995). "Atragon: A Toho Classic Revisited". " [http://www.g-fan.com/ G-Fan] " #21: 18–33.
*cite book|author=Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts|year=1977|title= The Great Science Fiction Pictures |publisher=Scarecrow Press|location = Lanham, Maryland|id=ISBN 0-8108-1029-8
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*Ragone, August (2007). [http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/main,book-info/store,books/products_id,6725/ "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters"] San Francisco, California: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-6078-9.