The Green Slime

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The Green Slime
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Produced by Walter Manley
Ivan Reiner
Written by Bill Finger
Tom Rowe
Charles Sinclair
Ivan Reiner (story)
Starring Robert Horton
Richard Jaeckel
Luciana Paluzzi
Music by Flag of JapanToshiaki Tsushima
Flag of United StatesCharles Fox
Cinematography Yoshikazu Yamasawa
Editing by Osamu Tanaka
Distributed by Flag of JapanToei
Flag of United StatesMGM
Release date(s) Flag of JapanDec 19, 1968
Flag of United StatesMay 21, 1969
Running time Flag of Japan77 min
Flag of United States90 min
Country Japan / USA
Language Flag of JapanJapanese
Flag of United StatesEnglish
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Green Slime (ガンマー第3号 宇宙大作戦 Ganmā daisan gō: uchū daisakusen?) aka Gamma 3: Cosmic War is a 1968 science-fiction film co-produced by the Toei Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

Contents

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A group of astronauts set out to stop a giant asteroid on a collision course with the planet Earth. They land on the asteroid, plant explosive charges and destroy it. Afterwards they return to the staging area, a space station called Gamma 3 in orbit around the Earth. Unfortunately, a scientist from the mission had unwittingly stowed a luminous-green substance on his back which quickly mutates into one-eyed, tentacled monsters with the ability to discharge lethal bolts of electricity. The Gamma 3 crew fend off the alien creatures with their laser-based weaponry, only to discover the creatures feed off the energy which, in turn, allows them to multiply rapidly, sprouting the new creatures from their blood. As the creatures overrun the station the crew continues to fight back against overwhelming odds.

Green Slime is a Japanese-American co-production financed by Toei in Japan and MGM in the United States. It was filmed in Japan in 1968 using a largely American cast of B-movie actors, including Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel, and Luciana Paluzzi, along with American background players recruited from USAF officers at an airbase in Tokyo and female, American, fashion models based in Japan. Communication between the Japanese crew and the American actors proved to be a problem, as did the cheap sets, special effects, and the title creatures (clearly actors in rubber suits). While the basic plot found its way into 1970s science-fiction classics such as Alien (1979), Green Slime's May, 1969 U.S release was met with a nominal critical reception. However, it did achieve a popular success with American matinée audiences due, in part, to an extensive advertising campaign aimed at children. It also features a notoriously psychedelic theme song.

The Japanese version was released in December, 1968 under the title Gamma 3: Cosmic War. It was 13 minutes shorter than the American version and eliminated a love triangle subplot, added different musical cues (notably absent was the infamous theme song) and gave the film an increased militaristic feel.

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