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Franz Gruber (actor)
Franz Gruber (born February 10, 1930) was an actor who played in the Japanese Tokusatsu movie/TV productions (e.g. Ultraman, Ultra Seven, Mighty Jack). Early life Born in New York City in 1930. He was the son of German-American doctor Fredrick Gruber (1883-1960) and his wife Maria (1886-1961). Franz attended the Columbia University and graduated in 1949. After getting a job as a journalist for The New York Times, Franz traveled to Japan to wrote about Japanese culture and religion. In 1957, he starting his filming career and played the foreign character in many kaiju films. His acting career lasted from 1963 to 1974. Returning to the USA, he became a teacher at Brooklyn College Academy until he retired in 1989. He married Jennie Rosa in 1955 and had two children (Mark 1960 and Elizabeth 1962). Filmography * '':ja:%E9%A2%A8%E3%81%8C%E5%91%BC%E3%82%93%E3%81%A7%E3%82%8B%E6%97%8B%E9%A2%A8%E5%85%90, A Whirlwind Child Called by The Wind'' (風が呼んでる旋風児, Nikkatsu 1963 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such technology but is sometimes dubbed a genre itself. The most popular subgenres of include ''kaiju'' such as the ''Godzilla (film series), Godzilla'' and ''Gamera'' series; superhero such as the ''Kamen Rider Series, Kamen Rider'' and ''Metal Hero Series, Metal Hero'' series; and mecha like ''Giant Robo (tokusatsu), Giant Robo'' and ''Super Robot Red Baron''. Some television programs combine several of these subgenres, for example the ''Ultra Series, Ultraman'' and ''Super Sentai'' series. is one of the most popular forms of Japanese entertainment, but only a small proportion of films and television programs are widely known outside of Japan. Nevertheless, certain properties have attained popularity outside of Japan; ''Godzilla'' is featu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genocide (1968 Film)
is a 1968 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction horror film directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu. Cast Production ''Genocide'' was co-written by Susumu Takaku, an anime and live-action screenwriter. The films staff includes Shizuo Hirase as the cinematographer who also worked on the Shochiku films ''The X from Outer Space'' and '' Goké, Body Snatcher from Hell''. Release ''Genocide'' was released in Japan on 9 November 1968. It was released as a double feature with '' The Living Skeleton''. The film was released in the United States by Shochiku Films of America in 1969. The film was promoted under the title ''War of the Insects'' on this release. The Criterion Collection released ''Genocide'' on DVD in a compilation set titled ''When Horror Came to Shochiku'' through their Eclipse label. The box set was released on November 20, 2012. Reception Slant Magazine described the film as "appropriately harrowing" and one where women "come under the most direct indictment". The review opi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living People
Related categories * :Year of birth missing (living people) / :Year of birth unknown * :Date of birth missing (living people) / :Date of birth unknown * :Place of birth missing (living people) / :Place of birth unknown * :Year of death missing / :Year of death unknown * :Date of death missing / :Date of death unknown * :Place of death missing / :Place of death unknown * :Missing middle or first names See also * :Dead people * :Template:L, which generates this category or death years, and birth year and sort keys. : {{DEFAULTSORT:Living people 21st-century people People by status ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ESPY (film)
is a 1974 film based on a story by Sakyo Komatsu. The film was directed by Jun Fukuda from a screenplay by Ei Ogawa. It stars Hiroshi Fujioka, Masao Kusakari, Kaoru Yumi, Tomisaburo Wakayama and Eiji Okada. Plot The International Psychic Power Group is a covert organization financed by the United Nations. Made up of clairvoyant supermen under the guise of the International Pollution Research Center, they wage a private war against enemies that threaten world peace and the total annihilation of the human race. With hostility between the East and West reaching a boiling point, four Eastern European delegates are assassinated aboard the Milan-Geneva International Express on their way to the United Nations for the Mediation Committee of International Dispute. The Baltonian Prime Minister is the next to be targeted for termination. A ruthless psychic assassin named Goro hunts down the psychokinetic saviors, themselves marked for death by an anti-ESPY group led by the insidious and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prophecies Of Nostradamus
is a 1974 disaster film by Toshio Masuda, based on a 1973 novel by Ben Goto, itself inspired by the prophecies of Nostradamus. Plot In 1853, Genta Nishiyama begins preaching the prophecies of Michel de Nostradame using a copy of his book ''Centuries''. When Nishiyama is executed by the Tokugawa Shogunate for supposed heresy (after discussing the arrival of " black ships" that will end Japan's long isolation), his wife and son flee with the book in hand, passing down the knowledge to future generations. At the onset of World War II, his descendant, Gengaku, is interrogated by an Imperial Japanese Army officer about the family's continued preaching of the prophecies, which predicted the rise of Nazism and the defeat of the Axis powers. In the present day of 1999, biologist Dr. Ryogen Nishiyama is called in to analyze recent scientific phenomena, such as the appearance of large mutant slugs, children wielding advanced abilities after drinking water near a zinc mine, and large ic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gamera Vs
is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film series. Since then, Gamera has become a Japanese icon in his own right, appearing in a total of 12 films produced by Daiei Film and later Kadokawa Daiei Studio, and various media. Gamera is depicted as a giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster, mutated by exposure to nuclear weapons. In the first film, Gamera is portrayed as aggressive and destructive, though he also saves a child. As the films progressed, Gamera took on a more benevolent role, becoming a protector of humanity, and especially children, from extraterrestrial races and other giant monsters. To date, ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'' is the only film to be released theatrically in the United States; however, it was heavily localized and retitled ''Gammera the Invin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultraman
''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one of the most prominent ''tokusatsu'' superhero genre productions from Japan, along with the Toei-produced series '' Kamen Rider'', ''Super Sentai'' and the ''Metal Heroes''. The series is also one of the most well-known examples of the '' kaiju'' genre, along with Toho's ''Godzilla'' series and Daiei Film's ''Gamera'' series. However, the series also falls into the ''Kyodai'' Hero subgenre of ''tokusatsu'', a subgenre it also helped popularise. In Japan, the Ultraman brand generated in merchandising revenue from 1966 to 1987, equivalent to more than adjusted for inflation. Ultraman was the world's third top-selling licensed character in the 1980s, largely due to his popularity in Asia. References to Ultraman are abundant in Japanese po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The X From Outer Space
is a 1967 Japanese science fiction '' kaiju'' film that was directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu and stars Eiji Okada and Toshiya Wazaki. Guilala returned in a 2008 Shochiku sequel of sorts called '' Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit''. Plot The spaceship ''AAB Gamma'' is dispatched from Japan to the planet Mars to investigate reports of UFOs seen near the Red Planet. When the spaceship arrives, it encounters one of the UFOs, which suddenly sprays the ''AAB Gamma'' with spores. A sample of the spores is returned to Earth, where one of them begins to develop. The spore is accidentally exposed to acid, and grows grows into a giant, lizard-like creature that is named "Guilala". It continues to feed on any kind of energy source, and grows bigger and more powerful. The monster begins a reign of destruction through Tokyo. It spits fireballs, feeds on nuclear fuel, turns into a flaming orb to travel great distances by air in mere minutes, and destroys all aircraft and tanks in it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terror Beneath The Sea
is a 1966 science fiction horror film directed by Hajime Sato. An international co-production of Japan and the United States, it stars Sonny Chiba, Peggy Neal, Franz Gruber, Andrew Hughes, Tadashi Suganuma, and Hideo Murota. Plot The story follows reporter Ken Abe and photographer Jenny Gleason as they attend a missile test and stumble upon a mysterious swimming creature with a human silhouette. Their investigation leads them to a cave inhabited by individuals clad in absurd silver fish-man suits. These suits may be one of the film's most entertaining aspects, as they are elaborate but don't fit very well, leading to comedic situations. The pair is eventually taken to the underwater base of the enigmatic Professor Moore, who has created these fish-men or "water cyborgs." Moore's plan is shrouded in mystery, but it appears to involve transforming people into fish-people and launching a global war. The film introduces the underwater Illuminati, who seem to have a plan even if ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
