''Virus'', known in Japan as , is a 1980 Japanese

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

directed by

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty Yakuza film, yakuza films, typified by the Battles With ...

. Based on

Sakyo Komatsu was a Japanese science fiction writer and screenwriter. He was one of the most well known and highly regarded science fiction writers in Japan. Early life Born Minoru "Sakyo" Komatsu in Osaka, he was a graduate of Kyoto University where he st ...

's 1964 novel of the same name, the film stars an international

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

featuring

Masao Kusakari is a Japanese actor and model. Biography Masao Kusakari was born in Fukuoka Prefecture to a Japanese mother Sueko from Yukuhashi, and an American father Robert H. Tolar from Tar Heel, North Carolina, a USAF mailman who was deployed to Tsuiki ...

Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later to an international audience. Born in Fukuo ...

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Majo ...

Olivia Hussey Olivia Hussey (; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spen ...

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

, and

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor, with a film and television career which spanned fifty years. A prolific character actor in over 140 productions, he was known for his "dark, sepulchral" looks and ...

. At the time of its release, the film was the most expensive

Japanese film The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 fi ...

ever made.

Plot summary

In 1982, a shady transaction is occurring between an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

scientist, Dr. Krause, and a group of Americans involving a substance known as MM88. MM88 is a deadly

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

, created accidentally by an American

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

, that amplifies the potency of any other virus or bacterium it comes into contact with. The Americans recover the virus sample, which was stolen from a lab in the US the year before, but the virus is accidentally released after the plane transporting it crashes, creating a

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

initially known as the "Italian Flu". Within seven months, virtually all the world's population has died off. However, the virus is inactive at temperatures below -10 degrees

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

, and the polar winter has spared the 855 men and eight women stationed in Antarctica. The British nuclear submarine HMS ''Nereid'' joins the scientists after sinking a Soviet submarine whose infected crew attempts to make landfall near

Palmer Station Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica located on Anvers island (aka Antwerp Island), the only U.S. station on the continent located north of the Antarctic Circle. The first Palmer was built in 1965, but the current sit ...

. Several years later, as the group is beginning to repopulate their new home, it is discovered that an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

will activate the Automated Reaction System (ARS), a

doomsday device A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction – usually a weapon or weapons system – which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing " doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth ...

, and launch the United States

nuclear arsenal Nine sovereign states are generally understood to possess nuclear weapons, though only eight formally acknowledge possessing them. United Nations Security Council#Permanent members, Five are considered to be nuclear-weapon states (NWS) unde ...

. The Soviets have their own version of the ARS that will fire off their weapons in return, including one targeting Palmer Station. After all of the women and children and several hundred of the men are sent to safety aboard an

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, Yoshizumi and Major Carter embark aboard the ''Nereid'' on a mission to shut down the ARS, protected from MM88 by an experimental vaccine. The submarine arrives at

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and Yoshizumi and Carter make a rush for the ARS command bunker. However, they reach the room too late, and Carter dies in the rubble of the earthquake, deep in the bunker. Yoshizumi contacts the Nereid and tells them to try to save themselves, adding that the vaccine seems to have worked “If that still matters”. “At this point in time, life still matters,” the captain replies, telling Yoshizumi to stay where he is: He might be safe. Washington is hit by a bomb, and the screen fills with atomic bomb after atomic bomb exploding. From there the movie's ending diverges based upon the two cuts. In the American version, the screen goes black for a moment, and the end credits roll over footage of the Antarctic and a poignant song sung by a lone woman's voice. The refrain is, “It’s not too late...” In the Japanese version, Yoshizumi survives the blast and walks back towards Antarctica. Upon reaching

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

in 1988,Dr. Latour: We've all had injections of my vaccine against the virus, which is why we have survived the last four years. (English, Kadokawa Shoten, 1980) he finds survivors from the icebreaker, immunized by a since-developed vaccine. He reunites with the woman he fell in love with, they embrace, and Yoshizumi declares "Life is wonderful."

Cast

as Dr. Shûzô Yoshizumi *

Tsunehiko Watase was a Japanese actor. He is best known for portraying Rintaro Kano in ''Keishicho Sosa Ikka 9 Gakari'' ("Homicide Team 9"). He won Best Supporting Actor at the 2nd Japan Academy Prize for '' The Incident'' and at the 3rd Hochi Film Award for '' ...

as Yasuo Tatsuno *

as Dr. Yamauchi *

Kensaku Morita is a retired Japanese politician, actor and singer. He was elected as the Governor of Chiba Prefecture in March 2009 to April 2021『』からリンクする知事選挙「開票結果」（Excelファイル）千葉県選挙管理委員会に� ...

as Ryûji Sanazawa *

Toshiyuki Nagashima is a Japanese actor. He won the award for Best Newcomer at the 3rd Hochi Film Awards for '' Kaerazaru hibi'' and for Best Actor at the 6th Hochi Film Awards for '' Enrai''. Selected filmography Film *'' Kaerazaru hibi'' (1978) *''Third Base' ...

as Akimasa Matsuo *

as President Richardson *

as Admiral Conway *

as Senator Barkley *

as Captain McCloud *

Bo Svenson Bo Svenson (born 13 February 1941) is a Swedish-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Svenson was born in Sweden, the son of Birger Ragnar Svensson ( ...

as Major Carter *

as Marit *

as General Garland *

Isao Natsuyagi was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1963 to 2013. Career In 1960, Natsuyagi began attending the Bungakuza actors school while attending Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private ...

as Commander Nakanishi * Stephanie Faulkner as Sarah Baker *

Stuart Gillard Stuart Thomas Gillard (born April 28, 1950) is a Canadian film director, writer, producer, actor and television director. He is best known for directing the films '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (1993) and '' RocketMan'' (1997). He also w ...

as Dr. Edward Meyer *

Cec Linder Cecil Yekuthial Linder (March 10, 1921 – April 10, 1992) was a Polish-born Canadian film and television actor. He was Jewish and managed to escape Poland before the Holocaust. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked extensively in the United Kingdom, ...

as Dr. Latour * George Touliatos as Colonel Rankin *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was a Canadian actor. Career Wiggins was born January 13, 1931, in Blackpool, England. He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada ...

as Dr. Borodinov *

as Captain Lopez * Colin Fox as Agent Z *

Ken Pogue Kenneth Pogue (July 26, 1934 – December 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor. Career His first motion picture role in 1973 was in '' The Neptune Factor''. Where on set he almost drowned in scuba gear. He worked on stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratf ...

as Dr. Krause *

Alberta Watson Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015), better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress. Early life Watson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1955.Rita Zekas. , Toronto Star, August 5, 1994. She gr ...

as Litha

Background and production

In the 1970s, producer

Haruki Kadokawa is a Japanese entrepreneur and filmmaker. He is the son of Genyoshi Kadokawa, the founder of the publishing company Kadokawa Shoten. He took over as president of the company in 1975 after his father's death. He entered the film industry as a pro ...

formed the Kadokawa Production Company. Its releases included

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...

's '' The Inugamis'' and

Junya Sato was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His son, , is also a film director. Career Born in Tokyo, Satō graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assis ...

's ''

Proof of the Man is a Japanese film from 1977 directed by Junya Satō, starring George Kennedy and Yūsaku Matsuda. It is an adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by Seiichi Morimura. It was produced by Haruki Kadokawa. Plot A young black man fr ...

'', with the latter having American cast members such as

. Kadokawa began to develop films that were often based on literary properties held by Kadokawa's publishing arm. The domestic box-office for these films was large, which led to Kadokawa putting US$16 million into the film ''Virus'', making it the most expensive film in Japanese history on its release. The film was shot on location in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and various locations throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, including

Kleinburg Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven (artists), Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conserva ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, and Halifax. The production was heavily supported by the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

, who lent the

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

''Simpson'' (SS-21) for use as a filming location. Submarine interiors were filmed on-board HMCS ''Okanagan'' (S74), an ''Oberon''-class vessel that served in the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

. During filming, a Swedish cruiser used to transport crew was heavily damaged by a coral reef off the Chilean coast, and had to be rescued by the Navy.

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

wrote the lyrics to the song "Toujours Gai Mon Cher (You Are Love)" and performs it. In the closing credits, it is erroneously listed as "Tourjours Gai Mon Cher". The music was produced by

Teo Macero Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero (October 30, 1925 – February 19, 2008) was an American jazz record producer, saxophonist, and composer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' ''Bitches Brew'' and Dave B ...

Release

''Virus'' was released theatrically in Japan on 28 June 1980 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

. Due to the box office failure of this movie, Kadokawa withdrew from producing major films. After that, they focused on movies starring idols such as

Hiroko Yakushimaru is a Japanese actress and singer. Biography After passing the audition for the film produced by Haruki Kadokawa, she began her acting career. Along with teen idols Tomoyo Harada and Noriko Watanabe who debuted from Kadokawa Haruki Corporation, ...

Tomoyo Harada is a Japanese actress, singer, and lyricist, and was a popular idol in the 1980s. Career In 1982, Harada participated in a movie audition with the reason of wanting to meet Hiroyuki Sanada, and received a special award. In July of the same ...

and

Noriko Watanabe is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for '' His Motorbike, Her Island''. Filmography See also *Hiroko Yakushimaru is a Japanese actress and singer. Biography A ...

, which achieved moderate success. The American version of the film was shown for review at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

in May 1980 as a "work-in-progress" print. The non-English language footage was dubbed into English for this release and it ran at 156 minutes. It was initially released to home video in the United States with a 108-minute run-time and was presented on television with a 93-minute running time. The original Japanese-language cut was released to home video in 2006 with English subtitles.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

* * * (full length edit) * (short edit) * (full original cut) {{DEFAULTSORT:Virus (1980 Film) 1980 films 1980s disaster films 1980s science fiction thriller films Films about biological weapons English-language Japanese films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about viral outbreaks Films based on Japanese novels Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku Films set in 1982 Films set in 1983 Films set in 1988 Films set in the future Films set in Antarctica Films set in East Germany Films set in Kazakhstan Films set in Maryland Films set in Tokyo Foreign films set in the United States Films set in the White House Films shot in Alaska Films shot in Nova Scotia Films shot in Antarctica Films shot in Peru Japanese disaster films Japanese science fiction thriller films 1980s Japanese-language films Japanese post-apocalyptic films Science fiction submarine films Tokusatsu films Toho films Cold War films 1980s pregnancy films Films scored by Kentarō Haneda Japanese pregnancy films 1980s American films 1980s Japanese films 1980 science fiction films Films based on works by Sakyo Komatsu