Jump to content

Virus (1980 film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by 202.81.243.196 (talk) to last version by JanetteDoe
Condensing. Plot description is over detailed. WP:FILMPLOT says "avopif minutia".
Line 21: Line 21:


==Plot==
==Plot==
⚫
In 1982, a shady transfer is happening between an [[German Democratic Republic|East German]] scientist, Dr. Krause, and a group of Americans. It is revealed that MM88 is a deadly [[virus]] created accidentally by an American geneticist that amplifies the potency of any other virus or bacteria it comes in contact with. The Americans recover the MM88, which was stolen from a lab in the US the year before, but the virus is released, creating a [[pandemic]] initially known as the "Italian Flu".
The movie opens with a British [[nuclear submarine]] called the HMS ''Nereid'' entering [[Tokyo Bay]] in the then-future of December 1983. The ship's crew and Japanese [[seismologist]] Yoshizumi send a reconnaissance drone to search the city for any survivors, only to find decayed bodies. It also gathers air samples of something called MM88.


⚫
Within seven months, virtually all the world's population has died off. But the virus is inactive at temperatures below -10 degrees [[Celsius]], and the polar winter has spared the 855 men and eight women stationed in Antarctica. The British nuclear submarine HMS ''Nereid'' joins the scientists after sinking a Soviet submarine whose infected crew attempt to make landfall near [[Palmer Station]].
⚫
After the movie credits, the film goes back to the then-future of February 1982, where a shady transfer is happening between an [[German Democratic Republic|East German]] scientist, Dr. Krause, and a group of Americans. It is revealed that MM88 is a deadly [[virus]] created accidentally by an American geneticist that amplifies the potency of any other virus or bacteria it comes in contact with. The scientist wants a sample taken to a colleague in [[Switzerland]], Dr. Leisenauer, so a vaccine can be developed. However, the Americans, who are actually secret agents, are only interested in recovering the MM88, which was stolen from a lab in the US the year before. Escaping an attack by East German soldiers (where Krause is killed), the spies crash their plane and the virus is released, creating a [[pandemic]] initially known as the "Italian Flu".


However, just as the group begins to repopulate their new home, it is revealed that an [[earthquake]] will activate the Automated Reaction System (ARS) and launch the United States [[nuclear arsenal]].
The governments of the world watch helplessly as their citizens fall ill and die by the millions. Too late does American President Richardson learn from Senator Barkley and Dr. Meyer that the Italian Flu is in fact MM88, which had been part of a secret study for a new biological weapon led by Colonel Rankin.


⚫
The Soviets have their own version of the ARS that will fire off their weapons in return, including one targeted at Palmer Station. Yoshizumi and Major Carter embark aboard the ''Nereid'' on a mission to shut down the ARS, protected from MM88 by an experimental vaccine.
⚫
Within seven months, the world's entire population has died off except for 863 scientists and support personnel wintering in [[Antarctica]]. The virus becomes active at temperatures warmer than -10 degrees [[Celsius]], and the polar winter has spared the 855 men and eight women stationed on the southern continent. The British nuclear submarine HMS ''Nereid'', which was on patrol before the epidemic began, joins the scientists after sinking a Soviet submarine whose infected crew attempt to make landfall near [[Palmer Station]].


⚫
The submarine arrives at [[Washington, D.C.]] and Yoshizumi and Carter make a rush for the ARS command bunker. They reach the room too late and all but a few men and the women (who left aboard an icebreaker at the same time as the ''Nereid'') perish in the nuclear exchange. Over the course of years Yoshizumi walks back towards Antarctica. Upon reaching [[Tierra del Fuego]] in 1988,<ref>'''Dr. Latour''': We've all had injections of my vaccine against the virus, which is why we have survived the last four years. (English, Kadokawa Shoten, 1980)</ref> he encounters the survivors from the icebreaker.
The survivors set up a government to deal with the realities of their situation, including the obvious problem of several hundred men living with only eight women. The film comes full circle when the Nereid heads for Tokyo Bay, on its first mission under the "Federal Council of Antarctica."

However, just as the group begins to repopulate their new home, it is revealed that an [[earthquake]] will set off the United States [[nuclear arsenal]], since [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] chairman General Garland activated the Automated Reaction System (ARS) before his death, believing that the [[Soviet Union]] would use the confusion caused by the pandemic to attack on North America.

⚫
The Soviets have their own version of the ARS and will fire off their weapons when the American missiles hit their targets. Unfortunately for the survivors, one of the Soviet missiles is aimed at Palmer Station, which is attributed to the Kremlin's erroneous belief that the research station was a cover for a secret missile base. Yoshizumi and Major Carter embark aboard the ''Nereid'' on a mission to shut down the ARS before the earthquake strikes, protected from MM88 by an experimental vaccine developed by Dr. Latour.

⚫
The submarine arrives at [[Washington, D.C.]] and Yoshizumi and Carter make a rush for the ARS command bunker underneath the White House. They reach the room too late and all but a few men and the women (who left aboard an icebreaker at the same time as the ''Nereid'') perish in the nuclear exchange. Over the course of years Yoshizumi walks back towards Antarctica. Upon reaching [[Tierra del Fuego]] in 1988,<ref>'''Dr. Latour''': We've all had injections of my vaccine against the virus, which is why we have survived the last four years. (English, Kadokawa Shoten, 1980)</ref> he encounters the remaining survivors from the icebreaker, including Marit, a Norwegian widow he fell in love with after his pregnant girlfriend in Tokyo died from the epidemic.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 01:46, 12 August 2013

For the 1999 movie, see Virus (1999 film).
Virus
Japanese-language poster
Directed byKinji Fukasaku
Written byKinji Fukasaku
Kōji Takada
Gregory Knapp
Sakyo Komatsu (novel)
Produced byHaruki Kadokawa
StarringMasao Kusakari
Sonny Chiba
Glenn Ford
Chuck Connors
CinematographyDaisaku Kimura
Edited byAkira Suzuki
Music byKentaro Haneda
Janis Ian
Teo Macero
Distributed byToho
Release date
Japan Jun 26, 1980
Running time
156 min.
CountryJapan
LanguageEnglish / Japanese
Budget¥3,351,000,000 (approx at 1980s rates)
US$16,000,000

Virus ([復活の日 Fukkatsu no hi] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help)), literally Day of Resurrection is a 1980 post-apocalyptic science fiction movie directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a novel written by Sakyo Komatsu in 1964. The movie starred Masao Kusakari, George Kennedy, Robert Vaughn, Chuck Connors, Olivia Hussey, Edward James Olmos, Ken Ogata, Glenn Ford and Sonny Chiba. The film is notable for being the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time.

Plot

In 1982, a shady transfer is happening between an East German scientist, Dr. Krause, and a group of Americans. It is revealed that MM88 is a deadly virus created accidentally by an American geneticist that amplifies the potency of any other virus or bacteria it comes in contact with. The Americans recover the MM88, which was stolen from a lab in the US the year before, but the virus is released, creating a pandemic initially known as the "Italian Flu".

Within seven months, virtually all the world's population has died off. But the virus is inactive at temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius, and the polar winter has spared the 855 men and eight women stationed in Antarctica. The British nuclear submarine HMS Nereid joins the scientists after sinking a Soviet submarine whose infected crew attempt to make landfall near Palmer Station.

However, just as the group begins to repopulate their new home, it is revealed that an earthquake will activate the Automated Reaction System (ARS) and launch the United States nuclear arsenal.

The Soviets have their own version of the ARS that will fire off their weapons in return, including one targeted at Palmer Station. Yoshizumi and Major Carter embark aboard the Nereid on a mission to shut down the ARS, protected from MM88 by an experimental vaccine.

The submarine arrives at Washington, D.C. and Yoshizumi and Carter make a rush for the ARS command bunker. They reach the room too late and all but a few men and the women (who left aboard an icebreaker at the same time as the Nereid) perish in the nuclear exchange. Over the course of years Yoshizumi walks back towards Antarctica. Upon reaching Tierra del Fuego in 1988,[1] he encounters the survivors from the icebreaker.

Cast

Background/production

Haruki Kadokawa the producer of the film was the heir to Kadokawa Shoten, major publishing empire in Japan. After his father died in 1975 he decided to create a cinema branch of the company and began producing many films in the late 1970s including Inugamike no ichizoku (1976) and Ningen no shōmei (1977) a murder mystery with a worldwide release. In 1978 production on Fukkatsu no Hi started. Kadokawa wanted the film to be a big breakthrough in the international market so he tried to insure its success by casting some notable foreign stars and doing major international promotion (under the international title Virus). He also funded the largest budget of any Japanese film ever made at the time to solidify the movie as worthy of an international release.[2]

The Chilean Navy allowed the film crew to use their submarine CNS Simpson to film scenes involving the two fictional submarines in the film, the British Nereid and the Soviet T232. Judging by the acknowledgments in the English version, the Canadian submarine HMCS Okanagan was used as well; one of the officers serving in Okanagan, a Lieutenant-Commander David Griffiths, was given a speaking role as Nereid's First Officer. Other locations where filming took place included Antarctica, Alaska, Halifax (doubling for a riverside area in Washington D.C.), Tokyo, Toronto, and Machu Picchu.

A small amount of international publicity was given when a Swedish ship, the MS Lindblad Explorer, struck a reef while transporting a production unit to Antarctica for location shooting and almost sank. The passengers were rescued by Chilean naval vessels. The Lindblad Explorer was returned to service but was ultimately lost in Antarctic waters in 2007.

Reception

The film was a box office bomb despite its enormous budget. Although it may have had some special showings in the United States and elsewhere, it did not receive a general release. It was sold directly to pay television and edited down to a 108-minute version. This cut left out much of the love story between Yoshizumi and Marit, and nearly all the Japanese scenes including Yoshizumi's entire trek back towards Antarctica. The cut also left out nearly all character development for Yoshizumi as well. It also starts off with the meeting in East Germany between Doctor Krause and Rankin's agents, while the Nereid's arrival in Tokyo Bay was moved to much later in the film. Some versions even end with the nuclear explosions, leaving the movie with a quite pessimistic outcome as opposed to the Japanese version's optimistic ending.[3]

DVDs

In 2002, Kadokawa Shoten released the movie in a special limited-edition Region 2 DVD set, which contained the original 156-minute cut and the shorter 108-minute version, plus extra materials.[4] While the DVD in question does not have English subtitles, an English-subtitled version of the full cut was later released in 2006 as part of a compilation set called the Sonny Chiba Action Pack.[5] Previous copies of the film released in North America often featured the 108-minute cut, partly because of the multinational cast that had several American actors.

See also

References

  1. ^ Dr. Latour: We've all had injections of my vaccine against the virus, which is why we have survived the last four years. (English, Kadokawa Shoten, 1980)
  2. ^ Jasper Sharp (4.09.2001). "Virus". Midnight Eye. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Branislav L. Slantchev (2004). "Virus (aka Day of Resurrection, Fukkatsu no hi, 1980)". Gotterdammerung.
  4. ^ "Day of Resurrection".
  5. ^ "Sonny Chiba Action Pack".
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Virus_(1980_film)&oldid=568149478"