Last War Movie Review

After World War III, continued tensions between the United States and Russia triggers Armageddon. Made by Toho Studios in 1961 during a period in which several films were made dealing with global destruction via atomic weapons, but not released in the U.S. (directly to TV) until ‘68. The difference in this one is in its viewpoint from the unique perspective of the only country (so far) to have actually been a victim of nuclear warfare. As such, it's a sad tale of helpless victims resigned to destruction, as things continue to get worse around the globe. Awfully depressing stuff, enlivened only by the spectacle of Eiji Tsuburaya's masterful f/x work. The U.S. distributor tacked on the familiar song “It's a Small World” and an excerpt from President Kennedy's anti-arms race speech in an attempt to Americanize the production. Often confused with the rarely seen and reportedly similar The Final War, produced by Toei the year before.

1968 79m/C Frankie Sakai, Nobuko Otowa, Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Yumi Shirakawa; D: Shue Matsubayashi; W: Takeshi Kimura; C: Rokuro Nishigaki. VHS, Beta GEM