Welcome to my webpage about the Japanese movie superhero Starman (As he is known on U.S. TV) He is also known as The Super Giant in Japan. He was the star of series of Japanese films that were splice together and made into 4 movies which were later dubbed into English and released to U.S. television during the sixies.
Starman was a robot from another planet who comes to earth to save us from time to time. He wears white tights and a hood when he is fighting alien monsters. The rest of the time he wears a dark business suit. He is no Clark Kent tho. Even in the business suit he tells everyone that he is Starman and he is from outer space. Everyone excepts that without question.
Starman often fights monster in these movies. The costumes are often phony looking sometime include details like extra eyes painted on the suits. When Starman fights with these monsters there is alot of jumping and backflipping going on.
The special effects in these movies are on pare with the old SUPERMAN TV series. The scenes inwhich Starman flys thourgh space and the air looks alot like the same type of scenes of George Reeves flying on the SUPERMAN series.
I had found a page of movie posters from Europe featuring SuperGiant. He is called both Spaceman and Superman on these posters. This poster site is no long up.
The Starman movies include...
THE EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE(1964)Directed
by Teruo Ishii, Akira Mitsuwa, Koreyoshi Akasaka. Written by Ichiro
Miyagawa. With Ken Utsui (Starman), Junko Ikeuchi, Reiko Seto,
Chisako Tawara.
Like all four of the dubbed in English Starman movies this movie opens with a meeting of a group of weird looking space creatures and robots. The narrator always explain to the viewers what the meeting is about and the meeting always end with the space creatures sending Starman to Earth to save us once again.
Starman battles aliens who want to take over the Earth. Their leader is a brain that you do not see till the end of the movie when it is destroyed without much trouble. Edited from episodes 7,8, and 9 of the SUPER GIANT series
ATOMIC RULERS OF THE WORLD(1964) Directed by Koreyoshi Akasaka, Teruo Ishii, Akira Mitsuwa. Written by Ichiro Miyagawa. With- Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman),Junko Ikeuchi,Shôji Nakayama ,Minoru Takada,Sachihiro Ohsawa,Minako Yamada,Kan Hayashi,Utako Mitsuya,Chisako Tahara,Akira Tamura ,Fumiko Miyata,Kami Ashita,Reiko Seto,Tomohiko Ohtani,Johji Ohhara,Terumi Hoshi,Shinsuke Mikimoto.
Starman fights spies in this movie. There is one
shot in this movie in which a helicoper flies toward a building. Both
are models and the helicopter jerks around on the end of a string.
Edited from episodes 3 and 4 of the SUPERGIANT series.
INVADERS FROM SPACE(1964)
Starman once again comes to Earth to battle poorly made up monsters from outer space. The monsters at one point in the film pose as an arty dance group and their dancing is shown in slow motion.
ATTACK FROM SPACE(1964)Directed by Teruo Ishii, Akira Mitsuwa, Koreyoshi Akasaka. Written by Ichiro Miyagawa. With Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman) Utako Mitsuya, Kan Hayashi, Teruhisa Ikeda, Hiroshi Asami, Junko Ikeuchi.
I found this to be the least interesting of the four dubbed english releases. There is no badly made up monsters in this one. Starman battles a group of human looking neo nazi-like space aliens. Edited from episodes 5 and 6 of the SUPERGIANT series.
Also in the style of the Starman series. Is PRINCE OF SPACE and INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN. In both A superhero in white suits battles phony looking space aliens. Both films were made about the same time as the SUPERGIANT series.
PRINCE OF SPACE(1959)aka: YUSEI OJI, Directed by Eijirô Wakabayashi, Written by Shin Morita. with- Tatsuya Umemiaya(Wally/Prince of Space),Ushio Skashi, Joji Oka, Hiroko Mine, Takashi Kanda, Ken sudoh, Nobu Yatsuna.
INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN (1961) aka: UCHU KAISOKU-SEN, Directed by Koji Ota, Written by Shin Morita, With- Sonny Chiba, Kappei Matsumoto, Shinjiro Ebara, Mitsue Komiya,Ryuko Minakami.
THE ORGINIAL MOVIES...
APPEARANCE OF SUPER GIANT(1956)
SUPAH JAIYANTO(1956) 49 minutes. aka: SUPER GIANT 1, STEELMAN FROM OUTER SPACE. Directed by Teruo Ishii, Written by Ichiro Miyagawa. With- Ken Utsui(Starman/Supergiant), Junko Ikeuchi, Minoru Takada, Ryo Iwaghita.
ZOKU SUPER GIANT(1956)52 minutes, aka: RESCUE FROM SPACE and SUPER GIANT 2. Direct by Teruo Ishii, written by Ichiro Miyagawa, With Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman) Junko Ikeuchi, Ryo Iwaghita, Minoru Takada, Utako Mitsuya.
KOTETSU NO KYOJIN-KAISEIJIN NO MAJYO (1957) 51 minutes. aka:SUPERGIANT 3 and INVADERS FROM THE PLANETS. Directed by Koreyoshi Akasaka, Teruo Ishii, Akira Mitsuwa. Written by Ichiro Miyagawa. With Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman), Minako Yamada, Junko Ikeuchi, Minoru Takada, Kan Hayashi, Reiko Sato, Chisako Tahara, Akira Tamura.
KOTETSU NO KYOJIN-CHIKYU METZUBO SUNZEN (1957)42 minutes. aka: EARTH IN DANGER and SUPERGIANT 4. Direct by Teruo Ishii, With- Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman) Minako Yamada, Junko Ikeuchi.
JINKO EISEN TO JINRUI NO HAMETSU (1958)40minutes. aka: SPACESHIP OF HUMAN DESTRUCTION and SUPER GIANT 5. Directed by Teruo Ishii,Written by Ichirô Miyagawa. With Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman), Utako Mitsuya, Kan Hayashi, Teruhisa Ikeda, Hiroshi Asami.
UCHUTEI TO JINKO EISEN NO KEKITOTSU(1958)39 minutes. aka: SUPERGIANT 6 and DESTRUCTION OF THE SPACE FLEET. Directed by Teruo Ishii, Written by Ichirô Miyagawa. With- Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman), Utako Mitsuya, Kan Hayashi, Teruhisa Ikeda, Hiroshi Asami, Junko Ikeuchi, Minoru Takada.
UCHU KAIJIN SHUTSUGEN (1958)aka:SPACEMEN APPEAR and SUPERGIANT 7. Directed by Akira Miwa. With-Ken Utsui(Supergiant/Starman), Chisako Tawara.
AKUMA NO KESHIIN (1959)aka: SUPERGIANT 8 and DEVIL INCARNATED. Directed by Chogi Akasaka.With Ken Utsui(Supergiant/Starman), Reiko Sato.
DOKUGA OKOKU(1959) aka: SUPERGIANT 9 and KINGDOM OF POISON MOTH. Directed by Chogi Akasaka. With- Ken Utsui (Supergiant/Starman), Terumi Hoshi.
I've come across a site online that sells video tapes of the original Supergiant series as well as the four dubbed in English versions. I have not ordered anything from this site yet and I can't tell you how good the prints are. They are in Japanese. The site is:HENSHIN VIDEO HEROES www.angelfire.com/ny/henshin/index.html. Below are the tapes they sell from the series. Because it seems that no two Americans can translate a Japanese title the same the titles are somewhat different from what I got listed.
THE STEEL GIANT (1957/49mins.) FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE STEEL GIANT (1957/52mins.) EVIL CASTLE OF STRANGE ALIENS (1957/48mins.) THE EARTH ON THE VERGE OF ANNIHILATION (1957/39mins.) SATELLITES AND DESTRUCTION OF MANKIND (1957/39mins.) COLLISION OF THE SPACESHIP AND SATELLITES (1958/39mins.) SPACE MONSTER APPEARS (1958/45mins.) DEVIL INCARNATE (1959/57mins.) KINGDOM OF THE VENOMOUS MOTH (1959/57mins.)
If you have any information to pass on please e mail me. Check back soon.
Updated on May 6, 2002.
Copyright 2001 by Teel.
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