''Atomic Rulers of the World'' (or just ''Atomic Rulers'') is a 1965 film edited together for American television from films #1 and #2 of the 1957 Japanese short film series ''

Super Giant is a Japanese superhero featured in a successful series of serial-like tokusatsu short feature films produced between 1957 and 1959 by Shintoho (the non-union branch of Toho). He is also known in Japan as , is known in The United States as Star ...

''.

Plot

The story involves the superhero Starman (Super Giant in Japan) who is sent by the Emerald Planet to protect Earth from the

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...

threatened by the country of Metropol.

Principal cast

Ken Utsui (24 October 1931 – 14 March 2014) was a Japanese actor who worked on stage, film, and television from the 1950s to the 2010s. Career and death Born in Tokyo, Utsui entered the Haiyūza theatre troupe in 1952 and was soon selected to star in ...

as Super Giant a.k.a. Starman * Reiko Seto as Reiko Okamoto *

Shōji Nakayama (February 26, 1928 – December 1, 1998) was a Japanese film actor. Selected filmography * ''Kenpei'' (1953) * ''Senkan Yamato'' (1953) * ''Anatahan'' (1953) - Nishio * ''Yasen Kangofu'' (1953) - Nemoto * ''Waga koi no lila no kokage ni'' (195 ...

as Detective Okamoto *

Ryo Iwashita Ryo may refer to: * Ryō, a gold currency unit in pre-Meiji Japan Shakkanhō system * Ryō (actress) (born 1973), Japanese model, actress, and singer * Ryō (given name), a unisex Japanese given name * Ryo, Georgia Ryo is an unincorporated communit ...

as Masao - Boy with Briefcase *

Noriko Katsuma is a Japanese given name for females. Possible writings * 徳子, "benevolence child" * 法子, "method, law child" * 則子, "rule child" * 紀子, "chronicle child" * 教子, "teach child" * 範子, "pattern child" * 典子, "rule, precedent, c ...

as Yoshiko - Orphan Girl *

Yukihiko Ōsawa Yukihiko is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukihiko can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸彦, "happiness, elegant boy" *幸比古, "happiness, young man (archaic)" *行 ...

as Hiroshi - Kidnapped Boy *

Junko Ikeuchi is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Junko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean any of the following: *純子, "pure, child" *順子, "order, child" *淳子, "pure, child" *潤子, "rich/favor/wet, child" ...

as Sister Toshiko - Nun

Production

American adaptation

The 9 ''Super Giant'' films were purchased for distribution to U.S. television and edited into 4 films by Walter Manley Enterprises and Medallion Films. The 2 original Japanese films which went into ''Atomic Rulers of the World'' (''Super Giant'' and ''Super Giant Continues'') were 49 minutes and 53 minutes in duration. The two films were edited into one 83-minute film. The original films were two parts of a complete story, but a total of 19 minutes was cut during the re-editing, dropping elements from both films. Also, most of the original music was scrapped and replaced by library cues. The result was a product considerably different from the Japanese originals.

Release

Home media

''Atomic Rulers of the World'' is currently available on two DVD releases.

Something Weird Video Something Weird Video is an American film distributor company based in Seattle, Washington. They specialize in exploitation B to Z films, particularly the works of Harry Novak, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman and Herschell Gordon Lewis. Ins ...

with

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

released the film and another Starman film, ''

Invaders from Space ''Invaders from Space'' is a 1964 film edited together for American television from films #3 and #4 of the 1957 Japanese short film series ''Super Giant''. Plot The story involves the superhero Starman who is sent by the Emerald Planet to protect ...

'' on a single disc on December 10, 2002. Alpha Video also released a budget-priced disc of the film by itself on June 22, 2004.

Sources

* Ragone, August. ''THE ORIGINAL "STARMAN": The Forgotten Supergiant of Steel Who Fought for Peace, Justice and the Japanese Way'' Originally published in ''Planet X Magazine'', included in

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atomic Rulers Of The World 1965 films 1960s science fiction films 1960s Japanese-language films Super Giant films 1960s Japanese films