Sayonara Jupiter (film)

Bye Bye Jupiter
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by Sakyo Komatsu[1]
Based on The novel
by Sakyo Komatsu[1]
Starring
Music by Kentaro Haneda[1]
Cinematography Kazutami Hara[1]
Edited by Masaji Ohima[1]
Production
companies
Distributed by Toho
Release date
  • 17 March 1984 (1984-03-17) (Japan)
Running time
 129 minutes[1]
Country Japan

Bye Bye Jupiter (さよならジュピター, Sayonara Jiupitā) is a 1984 Japanese science fiction film directed by Sakyo Komatsu and Koji Hashimoto. The script was adapted by science-fiction author Sakyo Komatsu from his novel of the same name.

Plot

It's the 22nd Century (2125 AD), and mankind's population has exponentially expanded beyond Earth's carrying capacity. Therefore, humans now live throughout the Solar System and the total population has gone well over 18 billion. As a result, there's a severe energy crisis for planets further out from the sun and plans to turn Jupiter into a second sun have been set into motion. However, markings are found on Mars that indicates that alien life lives in Jupiter and the J.S. Project (Jupiter Solarization Project) is put on hold.

Meanwhile, rogue members of the radical environmentalist group Jupiter Church attempt to sabotage the J.S. Project. In an ironic twist of fate, the head engineer of the J.S. Project, Eiji Honda, discovers that his ex-lover Maria is one of the radicals planning on sabotaging the project. At the same time, a satellite carrying two crew members is destroyed by a black hole heading straight to the center of the Solar System. This black hole could destroy humanity in one fell swoop once it collides into the sun. However, Jupiter is near the black hole's path. The engineers of the J.S. Project decide to change their plan and shoot Jupiter into the black hole, thereby altering the hole's path and potentially save the galaxy's inhabitants. However, time is short....

Cast

Release

Bye Bye Jupiter was released in Japan on 17 March 1984, distributed by Toho.[1] The film was never released theatrically in the United States. It was released on DVD by Discotek Media in both an English-dubbed and Japanese-language format on January 30, 2007.[1]

Reviews

Critical reception for the film by English language critics has been mixed.[2] DVD Talk gave the film a mixed review, writing "Sayonara Jupiter will intrigue and frustrate fans of Japanese fantasy cinema in equal measure, while mainstream American audiences will find it insufferably dull and unoriginal."[3]

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Galbraith IV 2008, p. 338.
  2. ↑ "Sayonara Jupiter (aka Bye-Bye Jupiter, 1983) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Galbraith IV, Stuart. "Sayonara Jupiter (review)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

Sources

  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 1461673747.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.