Sadly Over-hyped

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

A princess releases eight magic seeds into space to find heroes to help her people in their resistance against the silver-skinned hordes of the Gavanas Empire. The seeds recruit a motley team including a retired soldier, three hot-dogging space racers and their buddy, a robot, the rightful imperial heir, and the princess' sidekick. Can the reluctant heroes free the enslaved Jillucians, can they protect Earth from the evil Emperor, can they survive the onslaught of the powerful Imperial space-carrier, and will love and honour prevail? Unfortunately, for the answers to these questions, you'll have to watch the film, which is an awful mélange of "Star Wars" (the basic plot and some set pieces such as the attack on the reactor), kid's tokusatsu like "Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot" (the Emperor and his silver-skinned henchman), and 1960's Italian science fiction (much of the music and fashion, especially in the dance scene). The music ranges from knockoffs of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western themes to bad '60s instrumental pop to 'as close as you can get without being sued' derivatives of the iconic "Star Wars" (1977) score. Other than old pros Sonny Chiba and Vic Morrow, the acting is amateur and the (dubbed) script makes little sense (and is full of scientific errors). It's a tribute to Morrow's professionalism that he could deliver his fatuous lines with a straight face, especially when playing straight man to a sensitive robot. The special effects are weak (even Showa-era kaiju films had better miniature work) and generally unimaginative (an exception being Imperial fighters), and the story inconsistent, incoherent, and not particularly interesting. I enjoy most Japanese kaiju and tokusatsu (even the goofy TV series such as "Ambassador Magma" (1966) and "Super Giant" (1964)), but I found "Message from Space" a challenge to get through. Definitely for hard core fans of the genre (or of 'camp') only.

Everyone knows Message From Space as a Japanese response to Star Wars but i must say there are not to much similarities, of course this movie is total cheese, but if you love spacey movies from the end of 70's and want to laugh hard this movie is for you. I was surprised to see that this movie is directed by legendary Japanese director Kinji Fukasaku who is more known for his Yakuza and gangster movies, in my opinion he is to this days one of the best Japanese directors. Believe it or not this was the most expensive movie in history of Japanese cinema in that time, now everything looks so funny, from costumes, special effects but there is something in that, some nostalgia. How not to love evil aliens with corpse paint in samurai outfit, or hippy music from the 60's in the bar, i found some similarities wtih other Fukasaku's movie "Street Mobster", that shaky camera, and many fighting and punching scenes, this is so funny, and yes i am founding this movie to be very surreal or feeling like you are on LSD, total madness. In my opinion better to watch this than "Battle Beyond Stars" it is more fun, imagine and action. i Gave it 6/10.

The peaceful Jillucians are under the oppressive rule of the evil Gavanas empire. Leader Kido sends his plucky granddaughter Emeralida (a nicely feisty portrayal by the lovely Etsuko Shihomi) to find eight brave warriors to fend off the nefarious horde and end their cruel reign of tyranny. Director Kinji Fukasaku relates the engrossing and entertaining story at a brisk pace, delivers an impressive sense of epic scope and sweep (the lavish sets and garish costumes are quite stunning), maintains a generally serious tone throughout, and stages the rousing last reel action with flair and skill. Hiro Matsuda's creative script combines fantasy, samurai, and science fiction elements in a colorful and engaging manner. Better still, this movie provides several inspired surreal touches such as a spacecraft that looks like a 19th century galleon and a groovy intergalactic club complete with sexy on-stage female dancers and thumping disco music. Moreover, it's acted with zest by a snazzy international cast, with especially stand-out contributions from Vic Morrow as the bitter and booze-sodden General Garuda, Sonny Chiba as the valiant Prince Hans, Philip Casnoff as brash punk hot-rodder Aaron, Peggy Lee Brennan as perky rich gal Meia (who sports a hilariously out of place New York accent!), and Mikio Narita as the wicked Emperor Rockseia XII. The special effects are pretty funky and impressive for their time. In addition, this picture has a sweet feeling of genuine heart and sincerity that's impossible to either dislike or resist. Toru Nakajima's vibrant widescreen cinematography supplies a sparkling bright visual sheen. Ken-Ichiro Morioka's robust and majestic orchestral score hits the stirring spot. An immensely fun and enjoyable blast.

I saw a Kabuki production in Tokyo in August, 2006. Read the 2nd half of the plot synopsis shown below. It is very clear to me that the business with the glowing walnuts, and the "chosen" ones (dog warriors, below) coming together to fight the good fight, was based on this Kabuki plot."Hakkenden: the original novel is an immense epic by 19th century novelist Takizawa Bakin published over many years, but eventually reaching one-hundred and sixty volumes. The Satomi clan is being attacked and its lord offers his daughter Princess Fuse to the warrior that will bring him the head of the enemy. It is his loyal dog that kills and beheads the enemy and, saying that her father must not go back on his word, Princess Fuse goes with the dog. Nevertheless, the Satomi clan is defeated and one of its loyal retainers goes to rescue Princess Fuse, shooting the dog, but unfortunately shooting Princess Fuse as well. The eight crystal beads of her rosary, each engraved with the Chinese characters of one of the Confucian virtues, goes flying through the air. Miraculously, each will be found with a newborn baby. These eight children, all of whom have the character inu for "dog" in their names, eventually meet and join together to restore the Satomi clan. The play features all the stars of the company and follows the adventures of the eight dog warriors as they meet and gradually join together, leading to a climactic fight on the roof of a dizzyingly high tower."