is a 1967 Japanese

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

''kaiju'' film directed by

Hajime Tsuburaya was a Japanese film and television director, producer, and cinematographer. The eldest son of Eiji Tsuburaya, he began his career on the 1954 film, ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' and its sequel, ''Godzilla Raids Again'' as an assistant speci ...

, with special effects by Koichi Takano. Produced by

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producing t ...

and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first film in the ''Ultraman'' franchise, consisting entirely of re-edited material from

the original series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distingui ...

.Multiple sources: * * * * In the film, an extraterrestrial defends Earth from giant monsters who pose a threat to humanity. ''Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature'' was released theatrically in Japan on July 22, 1967, where it was distributed by Toho as

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with their film ''

King Kong Escapes is a 1967 ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film was a Japanese– American co-production between Toho and Rankin/Bass, and stars Rhodes Reason, Linda Miller, Akira Takarada, Mie Hama, Eise ...

'', which was less popular among Japanese children upon its release. During its theatrical run, it grossed in just three theaters in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Cast

Production

''Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature'' was edited from episodes 1, 8, 26, and 27 of the television series ''

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 ...

'' originally broadcast on the Japanese television station TBS from 1966 to 1967. The episodes were blown up to 35mm from their 16mm original television prints.

Release

Marketing

Since the majority of television-owning Japanese households had black-and-white televisions at the time of ''

'''s broadcast on TBS, the film was marketed as a color production to encourage children to watch it.

Theatrical

''Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature'' was released theatrically in Japan on July 22, 1967, where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

with ''

'', which was less popular among Japanese children upon its release. During its theatrical run, it grossed in just three theaters in

. The film has never been released in the United States.

Home media

In 2006, Avex Trax released the film on

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 ...

. The film was included along with 5 other theatrical ''Ultraman'' films on a 9-disc

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

released by

on April 7, 2011, in celebration of their 45th anniversary.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Filmarks, the film has an average rating of 3.2/5 based on 229 reviews.

Notes

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * ;Online references * * * *

External links

* * * {{1960s-Japan-film-stub 1967 films Films set in Osaka Ultra Series films Japanese superhero films Toho tokusatsu films 1960s superhero films Films edited from television programs Giant monster films Kaiju films 1960s Japanese films