Hello, kaiju lovers!

Today’s episode is a little different. Think of it as an extended “mini-analysis.” It’s also the first film MIFV has covered that features no kaiju. Luke Jaconetti, the host of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast (and owner of an impossible-to-spell surname), joins Nathan to discuss the film featuring everyone not working on The Three Treasures in 1959: Battle in Outer Space. The podcast’s producer, Jimmy From NASA, loves this film because it’s the second entry in what he calls a “pseudo-trilogy.” After Luke recounts his globetrotting adventure getting to Monster Island despite worldwide travel bans, he and Nathan discuss how what this film lacks in character it more than makes up for with showmanship and spectacle. It was a snapshot of the world at the beginning of the Space Race and the Cold War. They connect it to films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Star Wars, and even Toy Story 2! They also discuss whether or not the invading aliens, the Natal, could be interpreted as an anti-American commentary.

Are you stuck in quarantine? Enjoy some quality entertainment and enlightenment through this tokusatsu epic!

This was made as a supplement to this episode of Kaijuvision Radio, which featured Danny DiManna as Brian Scherschel’s guest host: Episode 42: Battle in Outer Space (1959) (The Space Race between the US and the USSR).

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Bibliography/Further Reading:

• Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzisewski
• Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States 1950-1992 by Stuart Galbraith IV
• “Japanese space program” (Wikipedia)
• “JAXA” (Wikipedia)
• The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema’s Biggest Monsters by Jason Barr
• Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda by Peter H. Brothers
• “The Space Race” (History.com)
• “Space Race” (Wikipedia)

The post Episode 15: ‘Battle in Outer Space’ (with Luke Jaconetti) appeared first on The Monster Island Film Vault.