Sternenkrieg im Weltall

Message from Space (宇宙からのメッセージ , Uchū kara no Messēji ) is a 1978 Japanese space opera film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The film stars Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, and Vic Morrow. The film was produced by Toei and cost between the equivalent of US$5 and 6 million, the most expensive movie made in Japan up to that time.[citation needed ]

On the film's release in the United States, it received generally negative reviews from critics who not only found many similarities with the previous year's original Star Wars (1977), but also complained that the special effects were poorly executed in comparison to the film by George Lucas.[2]