Background and Trivia |
- The movie was registered with the US copyright office on July 29th, 1969 with the registration number LF0000000057. On February 4th, 1997, Toho renewed the registration and listed both the international title, Latitude Zero, and the Romaji title, Idozero Daisakusen, on the renewal.
- Was re-released as a triple bill with Mothra (1961) and Burning Glory: Shigeo Nagashima, Uniform Number 3 (1974) in 1974 as part of the Toho Champion Festival. The re-released version was heavily cut, with a new runtime of about an hour. Mothra was edited down in the same way. Director Ishiro Honda personally oversaw the editing. However, he loathed the process, comparing it to self-mutilation. He did feel, though, that if it had to be done he was the best equipped to do it due to his familiarity with the material. Cited in Age of the Gods (self-published).
- Originally had a budget of $1 million before the US production half backed out. Noted in Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion (ISBN: 1569316813).
- According to Patricia Medina, after the American backing fell through Toho approached actors Joseph Cotten and Cesar Romero with an offer to pay them six months after the production had finished. Talks progressed for a week on this point, with Cotten stating he would walk unless paid as he worked. Eventually, Cotten and Romero agreed to continue working on good faith they would be paid, with Romero stating: "Let's do it and show them we're not all ugly Americans." Mentioned in Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo (ISBN: 0922915474).
- Toward the end of production, Joseph Cotten became very ill. Motivated to leave the country, he and his wife, Patricia Medina, suggested to director Ishiro Honda that they film close ups of Cotten and use a body double for long shots, which they did for the remaining scenes. Discussed in Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo (ISBN: 0922915474).
- The film remained unreleased on VHS due to copyright fears regarding the 1941 serial that it was originally based on, left uncertain due to the original troubled production. Noted in Tokyoscope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion (ISBN: 1569316813). Toho opted to finally release the film on DVD in 2006.
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