The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.
Practical Effects
Eiji Tsuburaya's submarine models are unhinged liquid art.
Production
1963 Japan projecting its naval anxiety onto sci-fi spectacle.
Direction
Honda treats submarine melodrama like Shakespearean tragedy.
Director
Ishirō Honda
Tadao Takashima
Tasumo Hatanaka
Yōko Fujiyama
Makoto Jinguji
Yū Fujiki
Yoshito Nishibe
Kenji Sahara
Uto Omino
Ken Uehara
Admiral Kosumi
Hiroshi Koizumi
Inspector
Jun Tazaki
Captain Hachiro Jinguji
Yoshibumi Tajima
Tome 'Amano' Amanoshome
Akihiko Hirata
Mu Agent #23
Hideyo Amamoto
High Priest of Mu
Susumu Fujita
Defense Commander
Minoru Takada
Government Official
Hisaya Ito
Shindo
Ikio Sawamura
Taxi Driver
Tetsuko Kobayashi
Empress of Mu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Atragon channels 1960s Japanese anxiety about naval power post-WWII ban, using sci-fi to fantasize military resurrection. The submarine obsession isn't subtle.
The Mu empire's snake deity Manda later became a Toho kaiju in Destroy All Monsters—this film's true legacy is spawning a dragon that nobody remembers.
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