Spider-Man (1978 film)

Spider-Man (Japanese: スパイダーマン, Hepburn: Supaidāman), also referred to as Japanese Spider-Man, is a 1978 Japanese superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man and also a spin-off from the Japanese Spider-Man television series. The film was directed by Kōichi Takimoto, written by Susumu Takahisa, and produced and distributed by Toei Company.

Not to be confused with the 1977 film of the same name or the 2002 film by the same name.
Spider-Man
Pamphlet for the Summer 1978 Toei Cartoon Festival, where Spider-Man premiered.
Directed byKōichi Takemoto[1]
Written bySusumu Takaku[1]
Story bySaburo Yatsude[1]
Based on
Spider-Man
by
Produced bySusumu Yoshikawa[1]
Starring
  • Shinji Tōdō
  • Noboru Nakaya
  • Mitsuo Andō
  • Yukie Kagawa
Music byMichiaki Watanabe[1]
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • July 22, 1978 (1978-07-22)
Running time
24 minutes[1]
CountryJapan[1]
LanguageJapanese[1]

Plot

The film takes place between episode 10 ("To the Flaming Hell: See the Tears of the Snake Woman") and 11 ("Professor Monster's Ultra Poisoning").[2]

The Iron Cross Army are sabotaging oil-tankers with the help of their monster, the Sea-Devil, a semi-mechanical anthropomorphic swordfish with an ability to shoot torpedoes from its mouth. Spider-Man employs the help of the interpol agent Jūzō Mamiya to help him stop the Iron Cross Army. Spider-Man uses his remote controlled Marveller to prevent the Sea-Devil from bombing an industrial complex by making its missiles explode in the air. After that the monster's master makes it grow giant and Spider-Man has to use his Marveller to transform into a giant mech to fight the monster, after they exchange blows Spider-Man uses the mechs giant sword to disintegrate the Sea-Devil.[3]

Cast

Production

The film was directed by Kōichi Takemoto and written by Susumu Takaku. The movie was the first appearance of the character of Juzo Mamiya, who subsequently appeared in three episodes of the series, episodes 11, 12 and 14.[4] The film is the same length as the series episodes but was shot in widescreen.[5]

The stunts in the film were choreographed and the acrobatics performed by the Japan Action Club (JAC).[3]

Release

The film premiered on the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival on July 22, 1978.[3] It was released in some non-American territories.[6] The film was also released on DVD along with the entire series in 2005 in Japan. Like the rest of the series, the film was made available for streaming on Marvel's official website in 2009. The movie appeared listed as "episode 0" on the site. Both the film and episodes were later taken down.[7]

See also

References
  1. "スパイダーマン（1978)". eiga.com.
  2. "Supaidâman (Japanese Spider-man)". Letterboxd.com.
  3. McEniry, Matthew J. (2016). Marvel Comics into Film: Essays on Adaptations Since the 1940s. McFarland. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-0786443048.
  4. Summers, Brett (December 23, 2014). "CULT TV ESSENTIALS: SPIDER-MAN (TOEI)". CULT TV. cultfaction.com.
  5. "SUPER SENTAI SPIDER-MAN!". Laser Time. lasertimepodcast.com. June 29, 2012.
  6. Character-Based Film Series Part 3; page 177
  7. "The 6 Weirdest Versions of SPIDER-MAN We've Ever Seen on Screen".
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