Warning from Space (1956) User Reviews

Though low-budget and silly today, this is enjoyable sci-fi fun for the entire family!

[talisencrw · 6/10 · 17 April 2016]

Lately I find I have a special place in my heart for the Japanese disaster movie of days gone by. They are so much fun, and their filmmakers throw everything but the kitchen sink in, both so that there's something to please everybody and because they're frankly just so chock-full of bizarre yet interesting ideas. It seems like it would have been a great time to make movies there! I enjoyed this a lot, though many aspects weren't understandable to me, like why as the meteor got ever closer to Earth it got so incredibly hot. I can understand, since the Moon influences tides through its gravitational pulls, why there could have been flooding, but the impact on temperature...I suppose it's simply one of those aspects of watching pre-manned space flight science-fiction films in which you have to approach simply with fun and acceptance, and turn off your disbelief, to simply enjoy the ride. I have no problem with that approach for these films.

Cool ideas I really liked were the way one of the aliens altered its appearance so that the warning would be listened to, so that both worlds could be saved, and the concept that when a world crisis occurs, different countries and cultures--and various planets, for that matter--can sit down and work things out together, that all is not lost for civilization and its discontents in 2016. It's thoughts like that that help me sleep at night.

This would make a great double bill with 'Melancholia'.

People's of Earth UNITE...Danger is at hand

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 19 October 2004]

Aliens, from the planet Paila, and Earthlings work together to prevent the Earth from being destroyed by a runaway planet, Planet R, from another galaxy in this early Japanese Sci-Fi movie released in 1956 with the American title "Warning from Space".

The Pairans who's planet Paila is on the other side of the sun and undetected from the eyes of earth's astronomers sends a fleet of space ships to earth to get the people of that planet to join with them to prevent the rogue planet R from slamming into earth and destroying not only earth but the entire solar system including the planet Paila. The Pairans looking like star fish with an eyeball on their stomachs have one of them Ginko, Toyomi Karita, morphs into the popular Japanese singer Hikari Aozora, and make contact with the earthlings on the dangers they they as well as the Pairans are facing.

At first the leaders of earth don't, as usual, take Ginko's warnings seriously. But when the planet begins to get closer to earth they finally do and muster all the nuclear weapons that the earth's superpowers have together to shoot into space and blast the streaking planet off course. The attempt fails miserably and as Planet R gets closer to earth it causes death and destruction by unleashing giant tidal waves and great changes in the weather. All seems lost until Ginko tells the earthlings that only Prof. Kamura can save them with his formula for the destructive super-nuclear element Duriun. Which earlier in the movie Ginko took from Prof. Kamura and destroyed because it was too dangerous for anyone, much less those on earth, to have.

Ginko tells the people of earth that with getting the formula for Duriun from Prof. Kamura and together with the Pairans advanced technology to militarize and deliver it to the Planet R in order to knock it off it's course it will save the solar system but there's just one hitch, were is Prof. Kamura?

You have to forgive the cheap special effects since the movie was made almost fifty years ago before the invention of computer enhanced photography but the story and the acting in the movie "Warning from Space" is much better then you would have expected. It's also interesting to note that the movie was made in Japan the only country that was ever nuked and the story was about using nuclear weapons for survival instead of destruction.

Starfish civilization

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 14 December 2011]

Giving us the Warning From Space are benevolent creatures from a planet on our sun's far side called Paira. The dominant creatures of that planet are these large human size creatures that walk upright and look like starfish with a big eye in the middle of the body. What they're warning us about is a rogue planet loose in space and about to collide with the earth. The starfish civilization has developed the technology to blow up the planet.

The cheap special effects and the fact that no one could take these funny looking aliens seriously flattens out a sincere message about universal brotherhood of humankind that Warning From Space delivers. It was nice to see that all Japanese science fiction doesn't revolve around giant prehistoric creatures destroying Tokyo.

If you can get past the funny looking aliens this is not too bad a film.

A charming movie about aliens trying to save mankind.

[PetPost · 1 August 1999]

This film, literally titled, "Aliens Appear in Tokyo," was the first COLOR sci-fi film made in Japan. ("RODAN" would be the first giant monster film). The first part of the film is similar to "Day The Earth Stood Still" as the Pairans try to warn a scientist using a new kind of explosive he has developed. One of the assumes human form (copying the image of a famous singer)and tries to communicate with the humans. Later, the same aliens discover that a planet is on a collision course with Earth--and the only thing that can save humanity is to use the very explosive that they warned against! This takes the idea from "When Worlds Collide" as the earth goes through disasters as "Planet R" comes closer and closer. Finally the scientist is rescued from the Yakuza, and the wayward planet is destroyed. The film is a charming look at Japan, coming into its own following the Occupation after World War II.

When you wish upon a star

[synthwiz · 5/10 · 8 September 2009]

Well, I just viewed this Japanese film for the first time on the ALPHA VIDEO DVD release and was able to sit through it without being completely bored.

So, all is good with this film. But keep in mind: It's nowhere near as good as "THE MYSTERIONS" (Toho's alien film from the late fifties). There are NO GIANT MONSTERS IN THIS FILM.

I understand it's Japan's FIRST COLOR SCI-FI MOVIE; so that's something to keep in mind. The budget was quite high for this movie.

And here's an open letter to ALPHA VIDEO: What's with the video transfer that looks like it was copied from a VHS tape? It's not as bad as numerous generation dubs of some schlock I've seen because the audio and video are a bit noisy yet passable, but could your company not find a better master copy?? Just curious...

Anyways, the star creatures from some UFOs try to warn Earth that a planet is going to collide with the Earth (or something like that), and they try to help the Earthlings with this by sharing the news. The problem is that most people find human-sized Starfish to be quite shocking and won't be inviting any over for sushi anytime soon. So, the Star creatures realize that "sex sells" and decide to transform one of their own as Japan's version of Celine Dion (or Charro, depending on your preference) and this "woman" tries to warn Earth of what's happening.

If you're into this sort of thing, by all means check it out for its historical film merit.

Mom, I'm Gonna Be a Star

[Hitchcoc · 2/10 · 10 May 2006]

When these aliens, dressed in tightly sewn starfish outfits (you can see the seams, even though these are their bodies) come to earth, people go into a panic. Actually, they probably laughing so hard they might fall off a bridge. But there is a serious side. A twin planet will be destroyed if a renegade body from space collides with earth. Most of the plot has to do with trying to convince the international community to supply nuclear weapons to blow up the invading spheroid. The starfish turn one of their women into a Japanese Ginger Rogers and she comes to earth to negotiate. Of course, she gives herself away when she jumps ten feet into the air to return a tennis shot. As we all know, these things have a way of working themselves out. I guess if I saw a gigantic starfish with an eye sewn on its belly, I would have a few moments of anxiety. Another subplot has to do with the old guy who knows the secret of how to save us all. He is kidnapped by a bunch of guys who want his formula. They want to sell it to the highest bidder. The bottom line is that nothing is ever set up, nothing is ever explained, the science is rocky at best (or is it Bullwinkle?). This is just another of those really poorly put together stories to fill drive-in movie time.

Warning from space.

[michaelRokeefe · 2/10 · 31 July 2004]

Originally released in Japan as UNKNOWN SATELLITE OVER TOKYO. Astronomers in Japan discovers an extraterrestrial satellite orbiting in space. Aliens visit Earth to warn of impending doom. The visitors arrive by flying saucers first believed to be meteorites. The aliens that look like giant one-eyed starfish have the ability to assume human form. The visitors bring a desperate message concerning a runaway planet on a collision course with Earth that would by all means destroy our world. The aliens do have a plan. Tidal waves engulf cities like Tokyo and London causing chaos in the streets. Human scientists combine their technology with the exceptional alien brainpower to save this planet Earth. The special effects are somewhat comical...especially the baggy starfish costumes. Starring in this Japanese Sci-Fi are: Keizo Kawasaki, Toyomi Karita, Isao Yamagata and Bontaro Miyake.

Japan's first color science-fiction film

[Splatterdome-AMH · 7/10 · 20 January 2002]

Weird aliens from a planet called Pairan who look a lot like man-sized starfish creatures with a huge eye in the center show up in Japan and scare people. But their real intention is not to invade earth; instead they try to warn a scientist about his newly created weapon. To do so, one of them changes his look to that of a famous Japanese singer. But then the aliens discover a giant glowing meteor heading towards Earth! Can the starfish monsters help mankind to destroy the meteor before it crashes into Earth? It soon is discovered that there's only one way to destroy it...

Made by Daiei studios (later creators of the flying turtle Gamera, a popular movie monster in Japan) in 1956, this was the fist color science-fiction film from Japan. Supported by a then huge budget it was a serious effort to compete with enemy Toho studios and their 1954 hit "Godzilla". In 1957, Toho studios even made a somewhat similar movie, "Chikyû bôeigun", also known as "The Mysterians". "Space Men Appear in Tokyo" has far less special effects footage than Toho's movies, but the relatively few special effects seen in this film are of pretty good quality, especially considering their age! Filmed in beautiful colors, the film is still well worth watching. Story-wise, it is similar to the American production "When Worlds Collide", but it's actually based on a Japanese novel by Gentarô Nakajima.

strange...

[pavo6503 · 5/10 · 31 August 2005]

Ironically, there is no irony in this review or in the movie. I bought this movie as part of a collection and didn't realize it was Japanese. The story is almost total nonsense, I would imagine that has a lot to do with it being re-dubbed in English for western audiences. The plot is typical of many "beings from a far away planet must save humanity from itself" movies, but it is almost completely lacking exposition. The humans and aliens act in an almost cryptic way, I was never quite sure of why they were doing anything they did. Had it not been for my watching the extra features on the re-release of THX-1138 I would be completely lost. For those who haven't seen THX-1138 there is an interview with George Lucas where he is explaining the style of THX. He says the Japanese don't explain anything in their movies, they just do it. Some odd little cultural aspect often comes off as a complete mystery to people not acquainted with eastern culture. This movie is one of those odd things. Imagine this... a samurai and a geisha drink tea, but go through a long and complex ritual of setting all the clocks in the house before sitting down for tea. Why the hell did they do that!?! Just drink the shizbangin' tea for God's sake! My son likes the starfish shaped aliens.

Invasion of the alien starfish

[chris_gaskin123 · 7/10 · 13 February 2006]

I've just seen Warning From Space for the first time and found it quite good. Those alien "starfish" with one eye in the middle are certainly some of the most unusual looking aliens I've ever seen.

Aliens arrive in Japan to let people know there is a planet on a collision course with Earth. Some of them change from "starfish" to normal humans so nobody will realise them as aliens. At first though, Earth people think they are invading but they then learn these aliens have come to warn Earth that there is a planet that is going to hit Earth. They come up with a way of destroying this planet and successfully do so at the end.

Warning From Space happens to be the first Japanese sci-fi movie to be made in colour.

See it just for those aliens. Great fun.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

"Good luck Number #1, the fate of Paira rests with you."

[classicsoncall · 3/10 · 12 June 2006]

Warning from Earth - you are on a collision course with your own sanity if you proceed past the opening scene. Wow, did you get a good look at those goofy starfish pajamas? We should be grateful that that was one Japanese import that didn't make it.

"Warning From Space" requires a certain something from it's viewers, in my case it was an hour and a half of nothing better to do. I can't honestly say I'm any better off for having seen it, but then again, I'm not any worse. I'll have to wait to see if those starfish pop up in a dream tonight, or a nightmare.

At least there were some novel ideas advanced in the film for it's time. Japanese rockets were dispatched into space to get a picture of the luminous bodies resembling meteors, and the shape shifting Pairan had no fingerprint pattern. I got a kick out of the admirable attempt of the Pairan Ginko to transmute into a famous Japanese entertainer in order to make contact with humans. The first batch of Earthlings that pulled her out of the pond didn't recognize her.

I wonder how much money 'Mobilgas' had to offer to get their sign in the film?

It seems to me that "Warning From Space" is largely a forgettable movie. The lack of menacing monsters and a benign association of Japanese scientists with the Pairans made for a boring picture at times. But they should have given a prize to the person who came up with that cyclops starfish design; I don't think I'll ever be the same again.

A nifty Japanese sci-fi flick

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 19 May 2008]

A group of benign aliens warn the earth's leaders about a runaway planet that's on collision course with our world. Scientists work with the aliens to avert this impending catastrophe before it's too late. Unfortunately, a bunch of no-count mobsters kidnap one prominent scientist who has a formula the aliens need to succeed with their mission. Director Koji Shima relates the compelling story at a steady pace and maintains a serious tone that becomes progressively bleaker in the last third with severe heat and natural disasters ravaging the earth. Hideo Oguni's clever and inspired script combines crime, alien and apocalyptic end-of-the-world elements together in a fresh and engaging manner. The cast all contribute sound performances, with especially commendable work by Bontaro Miyake as the wise Dr. Kamura, Isao Yamagata as the equally sage Dr. Matsuda, Shozo Nanbu as the eager young Dr. Toro Isobe, and Keizo Kawasaki as the excitable Toru. The wonderfully bizarre one-eyed starfish-shaped extraterrestrials look really neat and distinctive. Seitaro Omori's rousing score, Kimio Watanabe's sharp, vibrant cinematography, and the funky special effects are all up to speed as well. Moreover, there's a pleasant central message about not judging other creatures solely on the basis of their physical appearance and an interesting point made about nuclear weapons having the potential to be put to good use. Offbeat, intriguing and well worth a watch.

A Little Odd, But Kind Of Sweetly Endearing

[johnstonjames · 7/10 · 14 October 2011]

i enjoyed this. but i like old movies and "B" movie sci fi from the 50's. especially atomic age themes. so i'm partial to this sort of thing in the first place. if you're looking for 'Avatar' or 'Close Encounters' you should probably stick to major, mainstream movies.

it's fun to wander off the beaten path to find little known or appreciated films that aren't known as standards or are snubbed by snobbish intellectual types. i'd never even heard of this before. i was a little surprised as to how quaint it was. because i always think i've seen everything with movies and i've seen a lot of "quaint". it still intrigues me as to how many older movies can still manage to impress me as totally strange and you never hear anything about them.

this movie had many strange moments starting with the starfish get ups for the aliens. also the transformation of one of the starfish into a human was visually arresting and effective. i was a little unnerved by the scenes of animals and fish dying from the catastrophe because it really looked as if they drugged or poisoned them to get them to keel over. not cool. i'm sure PETA would have their day with this. a lot of Japanese films of the past would resort to animal cruelty to stage a scene. anyone that's seen the kiddie film 'Milo and Otis' and watched in horror at the things done to the cats will know what i'm saying here. don't know. i guess a lot of animal treatment rules were lax in Japan back then.

all in all this was a pretty entertaining little trip out. it wasn't half bad sci fi either if you can really suspend disbelief. and it definitely makes for delightful nostalgia.

Pretty good story idea undone by shoddy special effects

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 30 June 2007]

This review is for the Americanized version of this movie. I cannot really evaluate it in its original Japanese form.

This film really surprised me. In the first ten or fifteen minutes, I really thought it was your standard aliens coming to invade the Earth type of movie and it sure looked that way. However, through some creative writing, it turns out that the aliens are coming to help us by warning of impending doom for the planet, as a rogue planet is streaking through the galaxy on a collision course with the Earth.

There are two problems, though, with this plot. First, it was actually done five years before in the great George Pal classic WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. This Japanese variation in no way improves on the near-perfect original. Second, the aliens look like giant starfish with a single huge eye in the center!! It's obvious that they sewed giant star outfits and had people inside them and it makes for one of the silliest and cheesiest aliens in movie history. Making them nice aliens was good, as you just couldn't feel afraid of walking starfish! Also fortunate was that the aliens were able to copy human form so the people didn't laugh themselves silly when the aliens arrived! Unfortunately, like WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, this movie also proves that basically people are stupid, as the world's governing body "the international congress"(?) refuses to take action to try to destroy the rogue planet AND some criminals kidnap a scientist who is the only person who knows how to create a bomb stronger than an H-bomb!! Will we survive or face total oblivion? Well, if you ignore the silliness of the alien costumes and don't mind that they ripped the story off from WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, then you can find out for yourself!

What's a guy in a silly starfish outfit to do?

[boris-26 · 19 December 2000]

My family and I always watched this wacked out- one-of-a-kind treat when it came on WPIX SCI-FI THEATRE. There are these aliens, thier costumes are big baggy starfish outfits with a big cardboard eye duct-taped to the center. They waddle around a minimalist spacecraft and twiddle their thumbs. They need to comminicate with earth scientists about a planet on a runaway coarse about to collide with Earth. The film is silly, completely without logic.

What I sincerely love about this gem is the atmosphere. Night skies alive with darting flying saucers are quite beautiful, the sort of postcard-look of the advancing burning planet is rather neat, and the staggering heatwave that hits a seemingly doomed Earth gets rather discomforting. You'll giggle AT the film, but will be in awe WITH the film.

Hilariously stupid!

[soulexpress · 4/10 · 22 August 2017]

The citizens of Tokyo are shocked and afraid when they see a U.F.O. above their city. However, the aliens (called "Pairans") mean us no harm. Indeed, they've come to warn us that a runaway planet is on a collision course with the Earth. As the approaching Planet R makes our weather hotter and hotter, humankind works with the scientifically advanced Pairans to find a means to destroy it before time runs out on the human race.

The Pairans look like baggy, human-sized starfish with one huge, glowing blue eye in the middle. They waddle about a minimalist spaceship, speaking in heavily modulated voices while trying desperately to convince us humans that we're in grave danger. Finally, one of the Pairans (named "Number 1") assumes human form and comes to Earth.

There's little here by way of logic. For example, why evacuate Tokyo if Planet R is going destroy the entire Earth? Why take refuge in an underground shelter when the increasingly hot weather has caused the rivers to rise, flooding places like the underground shelters?

There's also a sub-plot in which the Yakuza kidnaps Dr. Matsuda, who developed a formula for a super-atomic bomb that can blow Planet R to smithereens. Matsuda is kept bound and gagged in an old warehouse for a month (Yes, a month!) before anyone thinks to look for him. Talk about unmotivated!

Ultimately, WARNING FROM SPACE is a message movie—that message being, if we of different races and cultures can overlook our differences and work hand-in-hand, we can build an atomic weapon powerful enough to blow an entire planet to bits. Gosh, how inspiring!

Memorable Japanese Sci-Fi goof-ball from the 50's

[Vomitron_G · 3/10 · 10 January 2008]

Memorable for most of the very wrong reasons coming from 50's Sci-Fi... but not all of them, because it somehow turned out not as hopelessly inept as I thought it would be.

But first off, the alien effects should probably receive an award for "Silliest Monster Design Ever". The aliens are supposed to be giant starfish creatures, but they just look like an actor wrapped around in bed sheets with their arms and legs spread and then the designer just knitted it all together. And they come with a glowing eye-ball (or something) in the middle. And man, you should see them walk, with their legs spread and all... Unbelievable. And you get to see all this in the first 5 minutes of the movie already. So, yeah, you immediately start thinking "Okay, it's gonna be *that* kind of picture...". However, WARNING FROM SPACE indeed might be a goof-fest the size of Tokyo, inexplicably it does turn into a better movie progressively.Though never as good to redeem itself completely. Not by a long shot even.

Now the first scene on earth, has an astrologist looking though a telescope at some... white dot in space. Then characters get introduced, all this inter-cut with shots from more astrologists looking through telescopes at strange white dots in outer-space. Then things start really happening. The starfish aliens invade Japan, terrifying the population, causing panic, it's all in the news and papers and after 30 minutes into the movie those scientists are still looking through their telescope at white dots in space without having a clue what's going on outside? First rate chuckles provided.

The two main things that make it painfully inept are (aside from the starfish aliens), the dialogue (and how the actors bring that to the screen) and the plot that just can't decide where it wants to go. Strangely, that last aspect is also one of the assets that keeps the movie going, because the focus on the plot just keeps on changing: First there's alien starfish invading Japan, causing terror and fright amongst the people. Then we learn that they are after a scientist's formula, which supposedly is a weapon of mass destruction in development. So the alien starfish are here to heed mankind from our own mistakes, thus preventing the annihilation of our race. They transform a starfish into a human female, modeled after Japans most famous cabaret singer. So there's two of them running around. One's the real one, the other one's an alien, has no fingerprints, jumps about as high as a building during tennis and walks through closed doors and walls. Eventually, she just rips the formula out of the scientists notebook, basically says that it's a bad invention and just disappears through a wall again. And just when it seems the movie is about to end, we learn that a rogue planet "R" is on a collision course with planet earth. Then a group of gangsters (for lack of a better word) is out to steal the scientists formula. I'm guessing by then, Planet "R" is getting mighty close, because giant floods are washing away the city. Then the alien starfishes come up with the plan to use the formula to save the world: Just shoot the weapon in a rocket towards Planet "R" and blow it up. Great! I was shook up all over the place like a milkshake while trying to follow that plot. But it was a fun ride.

Like I said, the actors (and the dubbed dialogue) caused me to chuckle quite a bit. The conversations between the starfish aliens are hilarious (just read some of the other user-comments). While in human form, they can also talk with their minds, so no humans can hear them. Now why was that one alien (talking to that famous female alien with his mind powers) whispering then? Whispering??? Like anybody could be eaves-dropping. The sheer stupidity of that scene alone...

There's also a lot of laughing going on in WARNING FROM SPACE. Most of the (human) characters just keep on laughing for no reason. Here's an example (scientist is still working and that one guy enters the room):

• Scientist (looking at his watch): "Hmm... Is it really so late?"

• That one guy: "For dinner yes, but for supper we're still early. Hahaha!"

• Scientist: "Hahahaha!"

• That one guy + Scientist: "Hahaha... Hahahaha... Haha!"

I was like "Okay, what's with the laughing? It wasn't that good of a joke." Also imagine every actor speaking English with a Japanese accent, because they have to, since this is a Japanese movie. You just can't take this movie serious on any level, really. And yet they try so hard to be serious.

And what's with the Japanese always asking for a Geiger-counter the second they see something strange. There's some slime at the shipping docks discovered, they go: "Geiger counter!". There's a weird light shining on the wall, the scientist goes "Geiger counter!". Spilled some soup? "Geiger counter!"

Now I did say the movie gets better, right? Well, what I meant was: it becomes more watchable. There's an occasional crane-shot to be admired. Charming miniatures are being used when the city floods. Some buildings collapse. And not to forget that spectacular morphing scene when a starfish alien transforms into that Japanese female singer. But the silly acting and plot stupidity remains. The ending is marvelous. Planet "R" goes "Booom!", and bunny rabbits crawl out of their holes, turtles go for a swim, birds are singing and children run into their parents arms. And then... they just glued on that morphing scene again, but played it backwards (making it look like the female turns into a starfish again)... and the movie just stops after that. Warped stuff, man. Just warped.

Not exactly a 5-"star" movie

[dstillman-89383 · 4/10 · 24 April 2019]

Aliens who look starfish with a giant eye in their middle arrive to try to warn the Earth about the dangers of test detonations. One of them agrees to assume the form of a popular singing star to try to communicate with them. It's a decent story despite the ridiculous form of the aliens. The dubbing is not bad for Japanese language films. Acting is good but the script is corny. All in all, this a very forgettable movie.

Very cheesy - and that's the fun

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 4 May 2018]

WARNING FROM SPACE is a rather cheesy and laughable science fiction effort from Japan, in which Earth is attacked by aliens which look like giant starfish (the cheap costumes have to be seen to be believed). In order to cut down on budget, one of the aliens disguises itself as a female singer and it turns out that the aliens aren't bad at all, but rather wishing to help mankind by warning them of an impending meteor strike. The action is made up of the usual disaster set-pieces achieved with miniature effects and guys in suits arguing in official rooms in a bid to make things right. Sadly, the only version I managed to find was a dubbed version with poor picture quality, which lessened my enjoyment somewhat.

NB. Arrow have put out a lovely subtitled HD version of this film and inevitably the enjoyability factor increases when watching it. No classic, but an intriguing and creative slice of Japanese sci-fi from the classic era.

A Warning You Can Afford To Ignore

[gftbiloxi · 1/10 · 12 April 2007]

Originally filmed in 1956 Japan, UCHUJIN TOKYO NI ARAWARU did not reach American audiences until 1967, when it was released as WARNING FROM SPACE. The plot, such as it is, combines ideas from IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, and when WORLDS COLLIDE, gives them a GODZILLA spin, adds a couple of musical numbers, and pretty much defies description.

In general, aliens come to warn us that the earth is on a collision course with another planet. Unfortunately, whenever they appear people gasp, scream, and faint. One of the aliens then assumes human form and makes contact, but do we listen? Well, not until the approaching planet is visible to the naked eye. Fortunately, a human scientist has created a super-explosive that can destroy the approaching planet; unfortunately, he has been kidnapped. Can the aliens locate him, get the formula, launch the bomb, and save the world? Although it bombs as a science fiction thriller, you might think it would succeed as a cult film of the ultra-camp variety. After all, the aliens look like big starfish in form-fitting flannel. When they first decide to make contact, they just sort of pop up here and there at random: at a theatre, beside a ship, at the local geshia house. Then, when one assumes human form, the form she selects is that of a "popular" dancer--a nifty little plot turn that justifies the inclusion of the film's two musical numbers. There are also a host of weird lines, silly scenes, continuity errors, and more than one insult to audience intelligence along the way.

Now, I will admit that I giggled over the dance numbers. The second one is particularly ludicrous, looking for all the world like Ricky Ricardo ran afoul of Carmen Miranda somewhere over Nagasaki. But that aside, WARNING FROM SPACE is drudgery in its purest form. It has all the entertainment value of drying paint. Add to this the fact that the print is poor and the color foul. I think it might appeal to some cult film fans, and if it does more power to them--but most people will find it a warning they can afford to ignore.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Warnings froms spaces

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 20 June 2014]

Forgive me please-not the first English. What Japan when threatened and if Starman is not available? Well Japan in the 1950s, was inhabited by the researcher Dr. professors, so it takes them to the grill to speculate what's going down.

Over some Starfish eyes on their bellies are planning to go and, in particular, the contact with the ground of the doctor. Why? Well, that's not revealed so far, but if they are going to speak directly to people than frightening about crap of them flying around in space or emerges from the water and blue glowing does not seem to be the best idea.

Our three heroes are all the doctor or scientist or something, including tobacco, sugar cane, the guy is working on a new formula to create energy and tobacco, sugarcane driving guy who works at the Observatory, and flogging, smoke, keeping the other guy, who did a few other things. You guys are like ' Wow, this is a spaceship, and then further then the then the next minute they are like 'obcy? Toshiba! '. They all had families and children and all that, but for God this three interchangeable average age of men we're talking about here, so don't ask me to go into the specifics.

When you are dancing/singing routine starring some of the famous lady, one of the alien gets her photo (nice photo archive, no less), and somehow assume that her character. What follows is a stranger to cheating in the game of tennis, walking through walls and the oncoming threat of terrible sounds of the planet.

Warning: the space is not the most action movie you will ever see, but it has a bunch of randomness and strange visuals, as well as the scene where some picnickers yelling at some foreigners that absolutely leads nowhere. The alien Starfish get ups are quite funny (also appear in the film Starman and can have some cultural significance of oil, which is passed my by), and the second part of the approach is the planet's movie feel more suspenseful. It is also necessary to introduce song and gets bonus points from me.

Awful! And not "in a good way", either!

[adlanders · 1/10 · 13 August 2007]

I am generally a fan of B-grade and even Z-grade sci-fi, but I should have stuck with my gut feeling on this one. I bought it as part of a four-movies-on-one-disc DVD at Walmart, and my gut told me not to because these movies were in "color", almost always a bad sign with dollar dvds. Furthermore, sci-fi from the 1950s generally does NOT work in color, even if the print is passable. Movies about aliens should be in black & white, IMO, because it gives a better feel for the time in which they were made. Even so, I could forgive a bad print, color or B&W, if there was something redeemable about the film. I don't ask for much in my dollar dvds, just some requisite cheesiness at the very least, and an end-of-the-world scenario that is suitably terrifying.

This movie, I am sorry to report, has none of that. It is just plain rotten on all fronts, and the doomsday scare consists of a guy staring through a telescope at a planet that approaches Earth, giving reports as it closes in.

"Warning From Space" has nothing to recommend it whatsoever, and if it were not for the hottie who walks through walls and dematerializes herself, I would not have made it through the film.

This one makes "Plan 9 From Outer Space" look like it was directed by Tarkovsky.

Entertaining space epic

[tday-1 · 10/10 · 31 July 2006]

Neat little epic about starfish shaped aliens coming to Earth to warn it of impending Clayson with another planet. Oddly enough,viewers complains about the cheap costumes of the aliens,if they listened to the story,the aliens wore protective costumes to function in Earth's atmosphere because their actual shape would horrify the earth people. The special effects are very good,par for the course for fifties sci-fi. Definitely a must for your video shelf. The color is a bit faded but it's still a nice film to watch. The dubbing is well done and the musical numbers are fun. Probably not the classic film one would like but it still good. I'm a big fan of Japanese sci-fi.so it goes well with my collection.

Starfish Troopers

[stmichaeldet · 6/10 · 20 February 2006]

First, I'd like to have a word with the folks at Alpha Video - could you have possibly found a crappier print to transfer? Film dirt so bad it makes you want to floss, and an equally ragged soundtrack. But, if you can wade through the muck, there's quite a trippy little film going on here.

The plot is fairly typical - enlightened aliens come to Earth to tell us what bad housekeepers we are, and warn us of an impending catastrophe. The hook that makes this movie unique, though, is that the aliens look like giant starfish with a giant, glowing blue eye at their center. (OK, actually, they look like giant rayon starfish costumes with a gift-shop novelty lamp in the stomach, but work with me, here.)

Wacky hijinks ensue as the StarFish attempt to infiltrate human society, only to find that humans react to the presence of six-foot walking invertebrates by screaming, running away, or shooting. Just because the invertebrates in question were skulking outside windows and crashing dance parties. Stupid barbarian humans.

So, their chief scientist takes the form of a sexy nightclub singer to get some attention. Unfortunately for her, the human cast of this film (consisting of the usual assortment of scientists, scientist's daughters, and their boyfriends) seem completely uninterested in the plot. They go on picnics, take in a show, do anything to avoid working to prevent a rogue planet from colliding with Earth. At one point, the key scientist who knows the formula that will save the day is kidnapped, and apparently is left tied up, alone, in an abandoned building for a month (!) before anyone even bothers to go looking for him. These people are just not motivated!

Yet, somehow, in the end, the day is saved through the combined efforts of human and StarFish (was there ever any doubt?) We're supposed to have learned something here, something warm and fuzzy about accepting others no matter what they're like inside, as long as they conform outwardly to our narrow expectations of acceptable appearance. And also that, if we all work together, we can build a big enough bomb to knock a planet off its course! Touching, no?

Star aliens

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 19 October 2020]

The majority of my paycheck? That goes to my wife.

The rest goes to movies.

Arrow Video gets a good chunk of what I have and they've been putting out an amazing mix of films this year, including plenty of wonderful Japanese films like 1958's Uchujin Tokyo ni arawaru. (Spacemen Appear In Tokyo), which was released in the U.S. as Warning from Space. It was the first color science fiction movie made in that country.

Made by Daei, the same people who would gift us with Gamera, and released in the U.S. eleven years after it came out in Japan, this movie has been pointed to as one that Kubrick watched as he grew fascinated with science fiction.

The Pairan aliens of the film are perhaps the best reason to watch this. They've never looked better than now, with the gorgeous remastered transfer that's on Arrow's new disk. Designed by avant-garde artist Taro Okamoto, they're unlike any aliens we'd imagine in the West. Instead of humanoid creatures, they're stars that dance their strange ballet toward camera as they wonder how to reach Earth's scientists.

One of those aliens decides to take the form of entertainer Hikari Aozora and reach out to our scientists and World Congress to borrow our nuclear weapons to obliterate another planet in the path of our world called Planet R. As no one decides to listen to her, we're forced to deal with all the impact of having a rogue planet come closer and closer to us. The whole "listen to science' mantra that our world is ignoring happens here as well, but sadly, we don't have human-sized star aliens with one giant eye to right our course.

Trust me, just watch those Pairans bounce around your screen is worth the price of this blu ray.