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The Green Slime (1969 U.S./Japan)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:51 pm    Post subject: The Green Slime (1969 U.S./Japan) Reply with quote



There isn't a single Japanese actor in this big-budget Japanese-produced sci-fi drama, but the special effects are a dead give-away. A wandering asteroid (code named "Flora") is on a collision course with Earth. Richard Jaeckel and Robert Horton lead a team which places atomic bombs on the asteroid to blow it up.

They succeed, but they unwittingly bring back an alien fungus to their wheel-shaped space station. The fungus grows into man-sized monsters which multiply rapidly and overrun the space station.

Jaeckel and Horton are forced to set aside their romantic rivalry over Luciana Paluzzi ('Thunderball") while they battle the creatures. Blazing laser guns abound in a desperate battle with the unstoppable monsters!

The astronauts even have to don spacesuits and jet-packs for a battle on the space station's hull. All this in glorious color and wide screen. Directed by Kenji Fukasaku, who also gave us "Message from Space".

"The Green Slime" looks more like a clever satire of sci-fi movies than an ineptly made film. The potato-shaped monster suits are hysterical. The miniatures of the rockets are so tiny the camera can barely focus on them.

The dialogue sounds like perfect parodies of sci-fi's most treasured cliches. When the heroes' rocket tries to outrun an atomic blast, macho Robert Horton defies the G-forces by jumping up from his chair and pushing the throttle forward. "The Green Slime" is so full of scenes like this it, should be re-released as "National Lampoon's Space Adventure". And just wait until you hear the Jimmy Hendrix sound-alike title theme, a psychedelic rock tune. It was even released on 45 rpm! (That kinda like a CD, for those of you too young to remember.)

Rent this movie, call your friends, and mix up a batch of lime Jello as a snack. This is MST3K squared.

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:41 pm; edited 7 times in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 7:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here it the full theme song that they played on the radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izr3Cidaz1M

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 3:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Here it the full theme song that they played on the radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izr3Cidaz1M


After listening to that one, here's Johnny Cymbal's great song devoted to Robinson Crusoe on Mars.


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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually The Green Slime is the last of a film series, entitled Gamma One.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Margheriti#The_Gamma_One_series

Antonio Margheriti made two of the first ever Italian space movies in 1960 and 1961 respectively; Assignment Outer Space (known as "Space Men" in Italy) and Battle of the Worlds (known as "The Planet of Extinct Men" in Italy).

In 1965, since he was considered an accomplished science-fiction film director who could work wonders with a very small budget, Margheriti was hired by MGM to direct four Italian space movies that became known as the Gamma One series. He finished all four films in three months. The films in the series were made to be distributed in the USA (most were sold directly to late-night television) under the following titles: Wild Wild Planet(1965), War of the Planets(1966), War Between the Planets (1967) and Snow Devils(1968). A fifth film was later made in the Gamma One series in Japan in 1968 entitled The Green Slime (a.k.a. Gamma One: Operation Outer Space) which starred Robert Horton, but Margheriti was not involved with that one.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Green Slime is such a paradox. If you set out to make a clever, straight-faced parody of science fiction movies, this is exactly the movie you'd create.

Believing it was made by people who did it all while laboring under the misconception that it could be taken seriously is almost impossible.
Very Happy
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Krel
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What got me when I saw it as a kid, is that EVERYBODY in the movie makes the wrong decisions. They are the logical decisions, although a couple aren't, but they turn out to be wrong decisions for the situation.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
What got me when I saw it as a kid, is that EVERYBODY in the movie makes the wrong decisions.

That sort of describes the filmmakers too, doesn't it? Very Happy
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~ The Space Children (1958)


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_________________________________

I discovered that we had two threads for this movie, so I'm adding Krel's great post to this one. Very Happy
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Krel wrote:

The film "The Green Slime", is a 1969 American, Japanese co-production between MGM and filmed at the Toei Company. It was directed by Kinji Fukasaku, written by Bill Finger, Tom Rowe and Charles Sinclare. Theme song by Charles Fox, long radio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izr3Cidaz1M (This is a better version)

A giant asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. Command Jack Rankin (Robert Horton) is called out of retirement to lead an expedition to the asteroid and blow it up before it can reach earth. Jack is a no nonsense hard-as-nails Commander, who will not let ANYTHING stand in the way of completing his mission.

The expedition is launched from the space station Gamma 3, which is commanded by Jack's former partner Commander Vince Elliot (Richard Jaeckel). Their relationship is a strained one, because years before Vince's actions to save an Astronaut resulted in the deaths of most of the team. Jack's testimony damaged Vince's career, and broke up his relationship with his girlfriend, Dr. Lisa Benson (Luciana Paluzzi) Gamma 3's head Doctor.

The expedition is launched with Vince joining the crew. On the asteroid, the crew fans out to plant explosive charges that will destroy the asteroid. The asteroid has strange slime-like life that hampers the crews efforts. Due to the acceleration of the asteroid, detonation time has to be moved up. A Scientists, Dr. Hans Halvorsen wants to take a sample of the slime back, but Jack refuses and throws the sample container away. It smashes on a rock, and a piece of slime lands on a spacesuit.

The expedition barely escapes the blast, and arrives at Gamma 3 to a hero's welcome Jack orders extra decontamination for the spacesuits. Jack goes to the station infirmary to have his arm treated for an injury sustained during the escape from the blast. He tells Lisa that she is not in love with Vince, she just feels sorry for him. He tells her that she is still in love with Jack. Never tic off a Doctor treating your injury, they will make you pay every time, Hippocratic Oath or not!

Everyone is relaxing while the suits are being decontaminated. In the decontamination chamber, the energy is feeding the slime. The poor s.o.b. technician monitoring the decontamination chamber becomes the first casualty of the monster's electric attack, and the monsters escape.

A monster is found in the station's atomic reactor room. Jack wants it LASER-ed down, but Vince listens to Dr. Halvorsen and tries o capture the creature. Scratch two more crewmen. After Vince's failure at playing Frank Buck, Jack takes over. Meanwhile Dr. Halvorsen takes a sample of the monster's blood.

The monsters are all over the station, and I do mean all over. Although the LASER rifles stop them, there are too many, Dr. Halvorsen shows them why in his laboritory. The creatures feed on energy, and their blood produces even more of the creatures. The order goes out to only use LASERS as a last resort.

Meanwhile the infirmary is filled to the gills with injured crew-members, when the monsters break in. The injured and medical personnel are evacuated, and the monsters are sealed into the infirmary. Jack orders the section sealed, but Dr. Halvorsen goes back to his lab for his notes. Dr.Halvorsen makes it back, but gets trapped when the monsters break free. Jack seals off the section and threatens to LASER Vince if he opens the hatch. Lisa opens the door instead, revealing a welll cooked Dr. Halvorsen and an army of monsters. They make it to the next bulkhead and seal it just in time, as the monsters cause a massive explosion in the just sealed section.

Jack orders Gamma three abandoned, and has Vince arrested when he disagrees. While trying to open the hatch to launch the lifeboats, they discover that the blast has given the monsters access to Gamma 3's exterior, where they have spread out. See I told you they were all over the station. They also discover that the fire from the explosion has killed the monsters. But don't expect that revelation to go anywhere.

Jack orders Astronauts to EVA and clear the station hull of monsters so they can open the hatches, and launch the lifeboats.

The cleaning crew make it to the lifeboats, where Vince finds out that Jack has returned to Gamma 3 to manually activate the station's rocket and scuttle it. Vince returns to the station to help his friend.

Vince makes it back to Gamma 3, just in time to save Jack's bacon. They activate the destruct systems, but Vince is electrocuted by an monster. Jack bails from the station with the body of his friend, an makes it to a lifeboat.

Gamma 3 burns up and explodes in the atmosphere of Earth (I hope it was over an ocean, because something that big is going to have some large debris), killing all of the monsters, and everyone goes home happy. Except for those killed and their loved ones.

I was 11 years old when I saw this at the show, and one thing stood out to me, even at 11 years of age. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE in the movie makes the wrong decisions. They are sometimes the logical decision, but given the circumstances turn out to be the wrong ones.

Jack throws the specimen container away causing the contamination of the spacesuit. Although, to be fair, with all of the slime that the Astronauts were running and walking through, it would be amazing if all of the suits weren't contaminated. He then orders extra decontamination of the suits. Logical decision, but given that the slime feeds on energy, the wrong one.

Vince is a kind man, which gets people killed. Including himself. although if he hadn't gone back for Jack, the odds are that Jack would have been fricasseed, and Gamma 3 would be a monster ranch in orbit.

Dr. Halorsen in his research was making even more creatures in his lab. Then despite direct orders goes back into a section full of monsters, putting people's lives in danger.

Lisa opens the bulkhead hatch to supposedly save the fried Dr. Halvorsen, but only caused the loss of another section. I'm not even sure she did this to save Dr. Halvorsen. It could have been just to tic Jack off for being an a-hole. She knew that she was the only one that Jack wouldn't burn down.

What I like about Robert Horton's character, is that he was an a-hole. He wasn't there to make friends. He wasn't there to be nice to people. He was there to do a job...SAVE THE EARTH! And anything that got in the way, was a danger to the mission. He seemed like a real military Commander. He also had indestructible hair. Space helmet and high-gee forces? No problem. A tuck-and-roll dive? Hairs fine. A tuck-and-roll dive while wearing a crash helmet, which he then immediately removes!? NOT A HAIR OUT OF PLACE!! They should use his hair to armor tanks!

These are some talented Astronauts. Not only are they dead shots while firing LASER rifles from the hip, they can also throw them with the precision of an Olympic javelin thrower to hit the monster in it's eye!

Vince is killed while wearing a sealed spacesuit. You'd thin those things would have some insulating properties.

Jack brings Vince's body back to the lifeboat. A suspicious mind might think that he did that to prove that his romantic rival wasn't murdered, or tied up on Gamma 3 when it burned up.

It is reported that they had children in the monster suits. They are kind of short.

Because of the Anglo look they wanted for the cast, to get enough round-eyes they recruited people from an American military base, and where ever they could find them.

I love this movie, and I wish that it had a real DVD release, not a DVD-R. Maybe someday.

David]

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Eadie
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 1:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It also had these nifty props.

The camera cart:



The drill cart:





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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't forget the javelins...Uh, that is, LASER rifles.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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__________________ The Green Slime trailer


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________________ Green Slime music video


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Yeah, this is a pretty fun movie and it moves quickly. Right from that crazy song near the start, it kind of grabs you. A large circular asteroid is detected bearing down on Earth and we have about half-a-day to stop it (blow it up). Now, it may just be me, but this resembles the plot of later films Meteor (1979), Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998). The difference is that once the huge rocks in those later films are blown up, those films are over; here, it just caps off the first 3rd of the film. Also, is it just me, but does the surface of the asteroid Flora here resemble parts of the factory in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? We see these reddish pools, like the chocolate river in Willy Wonka . . . never mind. Rolling Eyes



Now, the FX here . . . are pretty bad. I'm not sure why, but it's never been more apparent than in this film that the asteroid, the space station and various other objects are tiny models.

Sure, other low-budget sci-fi films have obvious cheap model-work, but it's SO MUCH more obvious in this film. Was it done purposely? You can apply terms like 'psychedelic' here and maybe even surrealistic. At the same time, the film is ambitious. This takes place sometime in the future, with an entire futuristic ambiance set up to present the story.

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A subplot involves the different approachs to command that the two lead characters have (played by Robert Horton and Richard Jaeckel). Horton feels that Jaeckel's commander is too nice a guy. Jaeckel is the type who would try to save one man, possibly sacrificing 10 others in the process.

It's a fairly strong narrative and the characterizations are strong, even with melodramatic dialog.

The main plot involves bringing aboard an alien spore onto the space station which rapidly expands by absorbing energy. Before I watched this, I always had a problem figuring out the plot, based on summaries available. The stills would show these one-eyed biped creatures — I would think, "What happened to the slime?"

Well, I guess it mutates into these creatures . . . Rolling Eyes


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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

About the SPFX, I don't find them that bad, I've always admired the model work in Japanese movies. But I do think it is a cultural thing.

The late Greg Jein was one of a team of American FX artists hired to do the effects for a Japanese movie with an international cast, "Virus: The End" (1980). The Director rejected the team's SPFX as too realistic, and had them redone by a Japanese effects house. G.J. said that the Japanese had a certain type of look, and color pallete they wanted for their models, miniatures and sets in their movies. It even extended to the performance of the actors.

They were not going for realistic, but a more stylized look to invoke certain types of images, and feelings in the audience.

It's kind of like how before the 1970's most Hollywood movies were not interested in perfectly realistic sets, but were going for giving an impression to the audience. A prime example was the Art Deco Chinese sets in Gary Cooper's "Marco Polo". They were going for a sense of unreal. They could have filmed "Forbidden Planet" out in the desert, but it wouldn't have conveyed the strangeness that the sound stage did.

They filmed parts of "It Came From Outer Space" in both the desert locations and on a soundstage. It depended on what they were trying to invoke in the audience.

David.
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