ESPY (film)
1974 Japanese film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ESPY (Japanese: エスパイ, Hepburn: Esupai) is a 1974 Japanese film based on a story by Sakyo Komatsu.[2] The film was directed by Jun Fukuda from a screenplay by Ei Ogawa.[1] It stars Hiroshi Fujioka, Masao Kusakari, Kaoru Yumi, Tomisaburo Wakayama and Eiji Okada.[3]
- Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Fumio Tanaka[1]
| ESPY | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jun Fukuda |
| Screenplay by | Ei Ogawa |
| Story by | Sakyo Komatsu |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Shoji Ueda[1] Kazutami Hara |
| Edited by | Michiko Ikeda[1] |
| Music by |
|
Production company | Toho-Eizo[1] |
| Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Plot
The International Psychic Power Group is a covert organization financed by the United Nations. Made up of clairvoyant supermen under the guise of the International Pollution Research Center, they wage a private war against enemies that threaten world peace and the total annihilation of the human race. With hostility between the East and West reaching a boiling point, four Eastern European delegates are assassinated aboard the Milan-Geneva International Express on their way to the United Nations for the Mediation Committee of International Dispute. The Baltonian Prime Minister is the next to be targeted for termination. A ruthless psychic assassin named Goro hunts down the psychokinetic saviors, themselves marked for death by an anti-ESPY group led by the insidious and superhuman Ulrov, who plans to destroy mankind by initiating World War III.
Cast
- Hiroshi Fujioka as Yoshio Tamura
- Kaoru Yumi as Maria Harada
- Masao Kusakari as Jiro Miki
- Kelly Vansis as Young Miki
- Yuzo Kayama as Hojo
- Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ulrov
- Luna Takamura as Julietta
- Julie Club as Young Julietta
- Hatsuo Yamaya as Ball
- Jimmy Shaw as Godonov
- Willie Dorsey as Abdullah
- Katsumasa Uchida as Gorou Tatsumi
- Steve Green as the Prime Minister of Baltonia
- Andrew Hughes as P.B.
- Eiji Okada as Salabad
- Gorō Mutsumi as Teraoka
- Ralph Jesser as Anti-ESPY A
- Germal Liner as Anti-ESPY B
- Franz Gruber as Anti-ESPY C
- Bart Johanson as Anti-ESPY D
- Robert Dunham as Airline captain
Release
ESPY was released theatrically in Japan on 28 December 1974, where it was distributed by Toho.[1] It was released in the United States by Toho International with English subtitles and a 94-minute running time in 1975.[1] It was released to home video with the on-screen title E.S.P./SPY with a 1984 English-language dub for television syndication by UPA of America and with an 86-minute running time by Paramount/Gateway in 1994.[1]
