Atomic Rulers of the World

Atomic Rulers of the World (or just Atomic Rulers) is a 1965 film edited together for American television from films #1 and #2 of the 1957 Japanese short film series Super Giant.

Atomic Rulers of the World
Alpha Video DVD cover art
Directed byTeruo Ishii
Akira Mitsuwa
Koreyoshi Akasaka
StarringKen Utsui
Junko Ikeuchi
Shôji Nakayama
Production
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Distributed byWalter Manley Enterprises Inc.
Release date
  • 10 April 1965 (1965-04-10)
Running time
83 minutes (USA)
CountriesJapan
United States
LanguageEnglish (dubbed)

Plot

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The story involves the superhero Starman (Super Giant in Japan) who is sent by the Emerald Planet to protect Earth from the nuclear holocaust threatened by the country of Metropol.

Principal cast

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Production

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American adaptation

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The 9 Super Giant films were purchased for distribution to U.S. television and edited into 4 films by Walter Manley Enterprises and Medallion Films. The 2 original Japanese films which went into Atomic Rulers of the World (Super Giant and Super Giant Continues) were 49 minutes and 53 minutes in duration. The two films were edited into one 83-minute film. The original films were two parts of a complete story, but a total of 19 minutes was cut during the re-editing, dropping elements from both films. Also, most of the original music was scrapped and replaced by library cues. The result was a product considerably different from the Japanese originals.

Release

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Home media

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Atomic Rulers of the World is currently available on two DVD releases. Something Weird Video with Image Entertainment released the film and another Starman film, Invaders from Space on a single disc on December 10, 2002. Alpha Video also released a budget-priced disc of the film by itself on June 22, 2004.

See also

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Sources

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  • Ragone, August. THE ORIGINAL "STARMAN": The Forgotten Supergiant of Steel Who Fought for Peace, Justice and the Japanese Way Originally published in Planet X Magazine, included in Something Weird Video's DVD release.
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