Japan Synopsis
宇宙大戦争
“Will the Earth be reduced to space dust? A giant battle unfolds on the other side of the moon!”
In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and prepare a rocket ship armada for a counter-attack, a true battle in outer space. . . The film is a sequel of sorts to Toho's THE MYSTERIANS in the reprise of the Etsuko Shiraishi character of that film as its heroine. It was edited to 74 minutes for its American release.
The 1958–1960 Japan Window
38 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Battle in Outer Space sits at position #36.
#1Hero of the Red Light District
★ 8.6 · 1960
#2The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
★ 8.2 · 1959
#3The Hidden Fortress
★ 8.0 · 1958
#4The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
★ 8.0 · 1959
#5When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
★ 8.0 · 1960
#6Hiroshima Mon Amour
★ 7.8 · 1959
#7Good Morning
★ 7.7 · 1959
#8The Bad Sleep Well
★ 7.7 · 1960
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Battle in Outer Space. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From TOHO
The 1950s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1950s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Battle in Outer Space premiered. 76 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #4,095 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (11th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -1.2 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Science Fiction productions specifically: #467 of 566 (top 83%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Spoken Languages | German, Japanese, English |
| Production Companies | TOHO |
| Runtime | 1h 30m |
| Release Date | December 26, 1959 |
| IMDb | tt0053388 |