Latitude 0 Operation

Directed by
99 minutes (USA)
 Budget

Latitude 0 Operation (also known as The Great Latitude 0 Operation) is a 1969 toho film,Directed by Ishirō Honda.

## Plot

The crew of the submarine that could not surface due to the eruption of the undersea volcano is rescued by the mysterious submarine Alpha. The Alphar is a submarine built to a level of technology that is more advanced than civilization on the ground, and Dr. Tashiro and reporter Lawton save their lives with the treatment of Dr. Burton. However, Dr. Masson is seriously injured that cannot be treated by the Alpha facility, and Tashiro and Lawton turn to Captain McKenzie to head to Lat. Along the way, the Alpha is attacked by the black shark under the command of "Black Moth", a subordinate of Mackenzie's old friend Dr. Malik, but Mackenzie escapes to the Latitude 0 base with the attack of the black shark.

At the intersection of the equator and the date change line , Latitude 0 base at 20,000 meters under the sea has high technology civilization such as artificial sun and abundant resources such as gold and diamond, and it is famous for research purposes from all over the world. Scientists were pretending to be "accidental death" or "exile". Masson recovers with the treatment of Burton and Dr. Sugata, joins Tashiro and Lawton, and is welcomed by Mackenzie. Meanwhile, Malik, who seeks to eliminate Mackenzie, orders a black moth to abduct Dr. Okada's father and daughter who are heading to the base at latitude 0. Malik tries to find out the immune information against the radioactivity invented by Okada, but Okada asks Mackenzie for help using the transmitter that had been handed in advance. Mackenzie boarded the Alpha with the volunteers Tashiro and headed for Malik's grounds, Bloodlock Island.

Tashiro and his friends search for Okada's father and daughter, but on the island, bats humans and large rats remodeled by Malik are waiting. They get into Malik's laboratory and rescue Okada's father and daughter, but Malik escapes. Tashiro and his team try to escape with the Alpha, but they attack with the black shark that Malik boarded. The Alfer is deprived of its freedom by the magnetic field and cornered by the quay, but Mackenzie succeeded in escaping using the flight ability mounted on the Alpha, and the black shark who was crazy about the attack of the Alpha took the magnetic field on the contrary. Immobilized and attacked by Grimon, a monster with a black moth brain transplanted, caught up in a cliff collapse and exploded. Bloodlock Island also exploded with a big explosion.

Although it was Tashiro who returned to latitude 0 base, Masson is and Burton, Tashiro decided the residual to the latitude 0 base will be Tsuruko Okada and love, only Lawton will return to the ground, was heading to the spacecraft collected escort ship to Be rescued. The captain of the escort ship looks just like Dr. Tashiro, and Lawton tells him about the base at latitude 0, but no one trusts him and he is treated as a sick person. Two urgent officers appear in Mackenzie and Malik, and Lawton is startled. Lawton tried to show a photo taken at Latitude 0 base as proof, but nothing was seen in the developed one, and the diamond he brought back as a souvenir was also turned into soil. Lawton is disappointed and heads to the medical office. Then, based on the command that was sent with the telegram that the unknown sender was deposited to Lawton, the captain took the course of the ship toward "latitude 0".

## Cast

* Ken Tashiro (Doctor of Physics and Oceanography) / Captain of the Self Defense Force: Akira Takarada
* Craig McKenzie (Captain Alpha) / Colonel John McKenzie: Joseph Cotton
* Malik (scientist) / Captain Hasting: Caesar Romero
* Jules Masson (Doctor of Geology): Masumi Okada
* Perry Lawton (reporter): Richard Jacquell
* Tsuruko Okada (Dr. Okada's daughter): Mari Nakayama
* Lucretia (Marik's mistress): Patricia Medina
* Dr. Sugata (Doctor with latitude 0): Akihiko Hirata
* Dr. Okada: Satoshi Nakamura
* Kobo (Alpha crew): Omae Kan[1]
* Ann Barton (doctor of alpha No.): Linda Haynes ( English version )
* Black Moth (Captain Black Shark): Hikaru Kuroki
* Chen (Black shark crew): Susumu Kurobe
* Crew of the destroyer: Yasuhiko Saijo
* Lion  , Griffon, Great Mouse, Bat Human [ *Source required* ] : Haruo Nakajima
* Warren, Bat Human [ *Source needed* ]：Yutaka Sekita

## Staff

* Production: Tomoyuki Tanaka
* Script: Shinichi Sekizawa , Ted Shardman
* Photo: Taiichi Kanakura
* Art: Takeo Kita
* Recording: Masao Fujiyoshi
* Lighting: Kiichi Okita
* Harmonic: Takashi Shimonaga
* Director Assistant: Seiji Tani
* Edit: Ume Takeda
* Sound effect: Sadamasa Nishimoto
* Development: Tokyo Lab
* Producer: Yasuaki Sakamoto
* Special shooting
	+ Photo: Tomioka Suekei , Manoda Yoichi
	+ Optical photography: Yoshiyuki Tokumasa
	+ Art: Yasuyuki Inoue
	+ Lighting: Harabunyo
	+ Operation: Fumio Nakadai
	+ Synthesis: Hiroshi Mukaiyama
	+ Director Assistant: Akinori Nakano
* Music: Akira Ifukube (Soundtrack Edition: Toshiba Records )
* Special skill director: Eiji Tsuburaya
* Director: Ishirō Honda

## Titles

* The Great Latitude Zero Operation (literal Japanese title)
* The Great Undersea War: The Great Latitude 0 Operation (海底大戦争 緯度０大作戦 Kaitei Daisensō Ido Zero Daisakusen, Toho Champion Festival title)
* The Great Undersea War —Latitude Zero— (海底大戦争－緯度ゼロ－ Kaitei Daisensō Ido Zero, production title; third draft)
* U 4000: Panic in the Deep Sea (U 4000: Panik in der Tiefsee, Germany)
* Where the World Ends (Donde el mundo termina, Spain)

## U.S. release

the film was released in 1970 December 4th by National General Pictures with a 99 minutes long runtime.

## DVD

**Tokyo Shock** DVD (2007)

* Region: 1
* Discs: 2
* Audio: English (5.1 Surround, 2.0 Mono), Japanese (1.0 Mono)
* Special Features: Photo gallery; three trailers; interview with Seiji Tani, Teruyoshi Nakano, Koichi Kawakita, and Motoyoshi Tomioka; unused special effects footage from *Latitude Zero*, *Varan*, *The Storm of the Pacific*, *Atragon*, *Submersion of Japan*, and *The Imperial Navy* (28 minutes)
* Notes: Out of print.

Though *Latitude Zero* is not available on Blu-ray, an HD version can be rented or purchased on the Japanese versions of Amazon Video and iTunes.