Message from Space

This 1978 Japanese cash-in of the first STARS WARS movie is less of a rip-off and more of an effort to put its own spin on a rip-roaring and at times plain bonkers space adventure which – according to director Kinji Fukasaku of BATTLE ROYALE fame - was inspired by George Lucas’ worldwide box office smash nonetheless.

To say that MESSAGE FROM SPACE is on a par with the sheer brilliance of the American original would not only be a gross exaggeration but an outright lie, despite the fact that ‘Message from…’ (produced by the legendary Toei Studios) swallowed up almost half of the budget of Lucas’ space opera, making it the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time of its initial release. We even have a Princess Leia clone (sort of), a robot called Beba-2 and similarities to other Star Wars characters, though in ‘Message from…’ they all stand their own ground. What’s really perplexing here is the film’s international cast: apart from Japanese stars like Sonny Chiba, we have American Vic Morrow while two other Americans – Philip Casnoff and Peggy Lee Brennan were roped in from the Broadway production of ‘GREASE’!

Little time is wasted before the action kicks in and we are informed that in a galaxy far, far away lies the planet of Jillucia, once a thriving utopian paradise but now under the control of the Gavanas Empire – the Gavanas’ being a war-loving race ruled by the ruthless Emperor Rockseia (Mikio Narita). Meanwhile, the Jillucians – oddly dressed in ancient Roman-like garb with wreaths made of green leaves on their heads, desperately seek a solution to rid themselves of the Gavanas rulers, who have turned their beloved planet into a military fortress.

Kido (Junkichi Orimoto), the Jillucians’ old and wise leader, launches eight Liabe seeds into space – these seeds look like a bigger version of a walnut but are in fact glowing orbs that, according to ancient legend, will each summon a powerful warrior to come to Jillucia’s rescue. Kido’s granddaughter, the beautiful Princess Emeralida (Etsuko Shihomi) and Urocco (Makoto Sato), a loyal soldier who offers his services to protect the Princess, follow the seeds in a strange looking spaceship (which looks more like an ancient vessel) in their attempt to find those powerful warriors.

From this point onwards, the plot primarily concerns itself with introducing us to the various characters who will find a Liabe seed, even though some of these characters seem to make unlikely warriors experienced enough to come to the rescue of planet Jillucia. There is young Aaron (Philip Casnoff) and his buddy Shiro (Hiroyuki Sanada), so-called ‘rough-riders’ who play a game called ‘chicken run’ involving racing through a rocky forbidden zone simulating a meteor impact without crashing… while at the same time trying to shake off a space cop who follows them. If caught, the two young rough-riders will go to prison for three years. Luckily, a spoiled aristocrat called Meia (Peggy Lee Brennan) spots the two daredevils and her spacecraft pursues their spacecraft, though after more the-devil-may-care shenanigans all three spaceships crash though luckily no one dies. Instead, our two rough-riders find Liabe seeds among the wreckage.

Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy at the Milazeria military base, General Garuda (Vic Morrow) is sad that his faithful robot, Beba-1, has fallen victim to mandatory deactivation and orders a rocket to blow his remains into space, a noble gesture which causes a fallout between Garuda and his commanding officer. Angry, he leaves the base with his new companion, robot Beba-2, and decides to knock back a few whiskies in a tavern when he too finds a Liabe seed in his drink.

Shiro and Aaron have a tough time with their hot-headed friend Jack (Masazumi Okabe) who is in trouble because he lent the two rough-riders money so that they can fix their spaceships, but as it transpires, he borrowed the money from a dodgy source and now has trouble paying the money back. Luckily, Meia, who is used to getting her own way, agrees to help the trio out of their awkward situation if they take her to a forbidden zone where she can view so-called fireflies. Jack warns his friends to ignore Meia’s demands but they attempt to fly into the forbidden zone anyway. Shortly before entering, they all discover the wreckage of the strange-looking Jillucian spaceship which obviously has crashed, though its passengers, Princess Emeralida and Urocco, are still alive and the Princess can’t help noticing that Shiro, Aaron and Jack all have Liabe seeds on them… Cue for a spectacular battle to save Jillucia – later on they are joined by a lonesome drifter and renegade called Hans (Sonny Chiba) who is in fact a member of the Gavanas race but has left his people in disgust. And somehow, General Garuda also finds his way to our motley crew – and what a motley crew it is! Of course, there’s also an almighty showdown between Hans and Emperor Rockseia.

The costumes are all over the place, ranging from Samurai-inspired space outfits to outlandish whatever costumes, often bordering on kitsch. The special effects are impressive enough and, as actor Sonny Chiba laughingly revealed in an interview many years later: the Japanese actors spoke no English and the American actors spoke no Japanese and consequently, there were always issues with the cues because one actor never knew when the other one had finished with his sentence. And yes, Vic Morrow was always drunk on set and always demanded close-ups!

MESSAGE FROM SPACE is presented in Blu-ray format and looks out of this world. The first print run (2000 copies only) will exclusively feature an O-card slipcase and reversible poster. Other Special Features include audio commentary, appreciation of the film, stills gallery, trailers and collector’s booklet.