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Message From Space
is a 1978 Japanese space opera film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It stars Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, and Vic Morrow. Produced by Toei with a cost between the equivalent of US$5 and 6 million, it was the most expensive film made in Japan at the time. Upon release in the United States, ''Message from Space'' received generally negative reviews from critics who not only found many similarities with the previous year's ''Star Wars'' (1977), but also felt the special effects were poorly executed in comparison to the American film. It was however nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 7th Saturn Awards in 1980. Plot The peaceful planet of Jillucia, in the Andromeda galaxy, has been conquered by the steel-skinned warriors of the Gavanas Empire, who have turned the planet into a military fortress. Kido, leader of the tribes of Jillucia, sends out eight Liabe Seeds to seek help in liberating their planet. Kido's granddaughter, Princess Emeralida, and the warrior Urocco follow the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinji Fukasaku
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking," Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the ''Battles Without Honor and Humanity'' series (1973–1976). According to the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, "his turbulent energy and at times extreme violence express a cynical critique of social conditions and genuine sympathy for those left out of Japan's postwar prosperity." He used a '' cinema verite''-inspired shaky camera technique in many of his films from the early 1970s. Fukasaku wrote and directed over 60 films between 1961 and 2003. Some Western sources have associated him with the Japanese New Wave movement of the '60s and '70s, but this belies his commercial success. His works include the Japanese portion of the Hollywood war film ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970), ''jidaigeki'' such as ''Shogun's Samurai'' (1978), the space opera ''Mes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Saturn Awards
The 7th Saturn Awards were awarded to media properties and personalities deemed by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to be the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror released in the year 1980. They were awarded on July 26, 1980. Winners and nominees Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in bold. Film awards Special awards Hall of Fame * ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' Life Career Award * Gene Roddenberry * William Shatner George Pal Memorial Award * John Badham Most Popular International Performer * Roger Moore Outstanding Achievement to the Academy Robert V. MichelucciWilliam G. Wilson Jr. External links 1980 Awardsat IMDb Official Saturn Awards website {{DEFAULTSORT:Saturn Awards, 07 Saturn Saturn Awards ceremonies Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New American Library
The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishes trade and hardcover titles. It is currently an imprint of Penguin Random House; it was announced in 2015 that the imprint would publish only nonfiction titles. History 20th century New American Library (NAL) began life as Penguin U.S.A. and as part of Penguin Books of England. Because of complexities of exchange control and import and export regulations—Penguin made the decision to terminate the association, and the company was renamed the New American Library of World Literature in 1948 when Penguin Books' assets (excluding the Penguin and Pelican trademarks) were bought by Victor Weybright and Kurt Enoch (formerly head of Albatross Books). Enoch served as president of New American Library from 1947 to 1965. He later served as h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steven Bach
Steven Bach (April 29, 1938 – March 25, 2009) was an American writer and lecturer on film and a former senior vice-president and head of worldwide productions for United Artists studios. Career Starting out at Pantheon Films he worked on ''The Parallax View ''The Parallax View'' is a 1974 American political thriller film produced and directed by Alan J. Pakula, and starring Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss. The screenplay by David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr. was based ...'' and the original ''The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974 film), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'', going on to produce ''Mr. Billion'' and ''Butch and Sundance: The Early Days''. Moving on to United Artists he was responsible for highly successful films like ''Raging Bull'', ''The French Lieutenant's Woman (film), The French Lieutenant’s Woman'', ''Stardust Memories'', ''Manhattan (1979 film), Manhattan'', ''Annie Hall'', ''Eye of the Needle (film), Eye of the Needle'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1980 In Film
The following is an overview of events in 1980 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1980 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Worldwide gross revenue The following table lists known worldwide gross revenue figures for several high-grossing films that originally released in 1980. Note that this list is incomplete and is therefore not representative of the highest-grossing films worldwide in 1980. Events * April 29 – Sir Alfred Hitchcock, known as "the Master of Suspense", dies at his home in Bel Air, California, at the age of 80. * May 21 – ''The Empire Strikes Back'' is released and is the highest-grossing film of the year (just as its predecessor, '' Star Wars'', was three years prior). * June 9 – Richard Pryor sets himself on fire while free-basing cocaine and drinking 151-proof rum. Pryor ran down his stre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virus (1980 Film)
''Virus'', known in Japan as , is a 1980 Japanese post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Based on Sakyo Komatsu's 1964 novel of the same name, the film stars an international ensemble cast featuring Masao Kusakari, Sonny Chiba, George Kennedy, Robert Vaughn, Chuck Connors, Olivia Hussey, Edward James Olmos, Glenn Ford, and Henry Silva. At the time of its release, the film was the most expensive Japanese film ever made. Plot In 1982, a shady transaction is occurring between an East German scientist, Dr. Krause, and a group of Americans involving a substance known as MM88. MM88 is a deadly virus, created accidentally by an American geneticist, that amplifies the potency of any other virus or bacterium it comes into contact with. The Americans recover the virus sample, which was stolen from a lab in the US the year before, but the virus is accidentally released after the plane transporting it crashes, creating a pandemic initially known as the "Italian F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1977 In Film
The year 1977 in film involved some significant events. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1977 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * February 23 – During a press conference at Sardi's in Manhattan, it is officially announced that Christopher Reeve will be playing the role of Superman. * March 28 – At the 49th Academy Awards, ''Rocky'' picks up the Academy Award for Best Picture. Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight all win Oscars for their performances in ''Network'' for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, while Jason Robards wins for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''All the President's Men.'' He will win again the following year, becoming the only person to win two consecutive Best Supporting Actor awards. * May 25 – ''Star Wars'' opens in theatres and becomes the highest-grossing film of the year. The film revolutionises the use of special effects in film and television pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shotaro Ishimori
was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), and the ''Kamen Rider'' series. He was twice awarded by the Shogakukan Manga Awards, in 1968 for ''Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae'' and in 1988 for ''Hotel'' and ''Manga Nihon Keizai Nyumon''. He was born as in Tome, Miyagi, and was also known as prior to 1986, when he changed his family name to Ishinomori by adding the character in katakana. Career In December 1954, Ishinomori published his first work, ''Nikyuu Tenshi'', in ''Manga Shōnen''. In 1956, he moved to Tokyo and became an assistant to Osamu Tezuka. During his time working under Tezuka, Ishinomori worked on ''Astro Boy'' and ''Alakazam the Great''. In 1960, Ishinomori published ''Flying Phantom Ship'', which was later turned into an animated feature film in 1969. ''Cyborg 009'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junkichi Orimoto
was a Japanese actor. Orimoto often worked with Kinji Fukasaku and Sadao Nakajima. He started his acting career at the Shinkyō theatre company in 1949. His first film appearance was in the 1952 film ''Yamabiko Gakkō'' directed by Tadashi Imai. In 2019, he died of old age at the age of 92. His final film appearance was in the 2018 film ''blank13''. Filmography Films * ''Yamabiko Gakkō'' (1952) * '' Gakusei Shinjū'' (1954) * ''The Eternal Breasts'' (1955) as Shigeru Anzai * ''Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) as Sugita * ''Jun'ai Monogatari'' (1956) as Detective * ''The Rice People'' (1957) as Fisherman * ''Planet Prince'' (1958) as Colonel Matsuda * ''Three Outlaw Samurai'' (1958) as Kurahashi * '' The Human condition Part1'' (1959) as Sai * ''Gang vs. G-Men'' (1962) as Yuichi Noguchi * ''Assassination'' (1964) as Kamo Serizawa * ''Revenge'' (1964) * ''Kwaidan'' (1965) * ''Live Today, Die Tomorrow!'' (1970) as Owner of rice store * '' Tora-san's Forget Me Not'' (1973) as Kurihara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hideyo Amamoto
was a prolific Japanese actor from the Wakamatsu ward of Kitakyūshū best known for portraying Dr. Shinigami in the original '' Kamen Rider'' series as well as many other characters in tokusatsu films and the ''Godzilla'' series. Amamoto also used the pseudonym of Eisei Amamoto for most of his career, Eisei being a misreading of the kanji in his real name, Hideyo. He died on March 23, 2003 of complication from pneumonia at the age of 77. Film and television credits 1950 *''Nijushi no hitomi'' (1954) as Hisako's husband *''The Garden of Women'' (1954) as Professor (uncredited) *''Twenty-Four Eyes'' (1954) as Ôishi Sensei no Otto *''Ai wa furu hoshi no kanata ni'' (1956) as Chen LongCheng *''Yûwaku'' (1957) as Kyôzô Ikegami *''Kunin no shikeishû'' (1957) as Takao Nakamura *''Yatsu ga satsujinsha da'' (1958) *''Mikkokusha wa dare ka'' (1958) as Nakao *''Jinsei gekijô - Seishun hen'' (1958) * (1959) *'' Songoku: The Road to the West'' (1959) *''Aru kengo no shogai'' (1959) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiroyuki Sanada
is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Genbu in ''Ninja in the Dragon's Den'' (1982), Ryuji Takayama in ''Ring'' (1998), Seibei Iguchi in ''The Twilight Samurai'' (2002), Ujio in ''The Last Samurai'' (2003), Kenji in ''Rush Hour 3'' (2007), and Scorpion in ''Mortal Kombat'' (2021). His role as 'The Fool' in the Shakespeare play ''King Lear'' also gave him notable theatrical notice in the United Kingdom. In Japan, Sanada is also known for songs he recorded for movies he was in as well as songs he has performed for the public. He made his first major Hollywood appearance portraying Ujio in ''The Last Samurai'' (2003), later appearing in such films as '' Sunshine'' (2007), ''Speed Racer'' (2008), '' The Wolverine'', ''47 Ronin'' (both 2013), '' Minions'' (2015), ''Life'' (2017), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), ''Army of the Dead'' (2021), and ''Bullet Train'' (2022). He also had a recurring role on the HBO series ''Westwo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
