Earthquake Archipelago

Earthquake Archipelago


地震列島
Jishin Rettō
Earthquake Archipelago
Also known as Deathquake
Director Kenjiro Omori
Special Effects Director Teruyoshi Nakano
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay Kaneto Shindo
Assistant Producer Hideyuki Takai
Photography Rokuro Nishigaki
Art Iwao Akune
Sound Shigeru Hayashi
Lighting Shinji Kojima
Music Toshiaki Tsushima
Editor Nobuo Ogawa
Special Effects Art Yasuyuki Inoue
Special Effects Assistant Director Eiichi Asada
Production Companies Toho
Release Date August 30, 1980
Runtime 126 minutes

地震列島
Jishin Rettō
Earthquake Archipelago
Director Kenjiro Omori
Special Effects Director Teruyoshi Nakano
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay Kaneto Shindo
Assistant Producer Hideyuki Takai
Photography Rokuro Nishigaki
Art Iwao Akune
Sound Shigeru Hayashi
Lighting Shinji Kojima
Music Toshiaki Tsushima
Editor Nobuo Ogawa
Special Effects Art Yasuyuki Inoue
Special Effects Assistant Director Eiichi Asada
Also known as Deathquake
Production Companies Toho
Release Date August 30, 1980
Runtime 126 minutes

Kawazu has been studying the magma increase in Mount Mihara for some time, and had realized some disturbing trends. He warns the committee of his institute that an earthquake is imminent, and could possibly strike Tokyo within the next month. As he does not have the numbers to back up his prediction, his views are dismissed as outlandish. Kawazu persists, alienating himself from the rest of the institute. His wife Yuko, daughter of the institute’s founder, becomes estranged from him during his long days in the field. Kawazu is pressured to surrender his position at the institute before he brings dishonor to Yuko’s family name.

Kawazu’s assistant, Tomiko, conspires with her reporter friend Masayuki to make Kawazu’s opinion known to the public. She fears that his prediction may be true, and the sooner everyone is warned, the better. Kawazu upstages a gathering with the Prime Minister, and Masayuki is there to capture the exchange. Immediately the press begins hounding the government for their answer to Kawazu’s claims. In response, the government puts a gag order on Kawazu, refusing to let him take his views on the television. The institute ousts Kawazu from its ranks and Yuko files for a divorce.

When Kawazu and Yuko take one last train ride together, the fated earthquake strikes. Tokyo is immediately brought to ruin, and thousands are killed. Kawazu and Yuko are trapped in the subway, while water rushes in from the bay and threatens to drown them. Kawazu explores the area and finds an opening in the rubble where the water is draining, too small for a person to fit through. He does, however, spot a gas leak on the other side. Kawazu uses a lighter and sacrifices himself to save his wife, by causing a gas explosion to tear away the rubble and let the water drain out. Yuko and the other survivors make their way to the surface. The Prime Minister, disheartened at the spectacle the city has become, rues the day he failed to listen to Kawazu’s warning.

Top Billed Cast

Hiroshi Katsuno
Yoichi Kawazu
Toshiyuki Nagashima
Masayuki Hashizume
Yumi Takigawa
Tomiko Ashida
Kayo Matsuo
Yuko Kawazu
Chiaki Matsubara
Ichie Umeshima
Kei Sato
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Tatsuo Matsumura
Kozo Ashida
Sachiko Murase
Fusae Kawazu
Mizuho Suzuki
Tohaku HQ Chairman
Yusuke Takita
Stranded Passenger
Toshie Kobayashi
Stranded Passenger
Daigo Kusano
Stranded Passenger
Toshitaka Ito
Subway Conductor
Yoshio Inaba
Minister
Norihei Miki
Shozo Sukegawa
Eiji Okada
Watanabe
Hideji Otaki
Marumoshi
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Japan Meteorological Agency Secretary
Shin Saburi
Prime Minister
Top Billed Cast

Yoichi Kawazu
Hiroshi Katsuno

Masayuki Hashizume
Toshiyuki Nagashima

Tomiko Ashida
Yumi Takigawa

Yuko Kawazu
Kayo Matsuo

Ichie Umeshima
Chiaki Matsubara

Chief Cabinet Secretary
Kei Sato

Kozo Ashida

Fusae Kawazu
Sachiko Murase

Tohaku HQ Chairman
Mizuho Suzuki

Stranded Passenger
Yusuke Takita

Stranded Passenger
Toshie Kobayashi

Stranded Passenger
Daigo Kusano

Subway Conductor
Toshitaka Ito

Minister
Yoshio Inaba

Shozo Sukegawa

Watanabe
Eiji Okada

Marumoshi
Hideji Otaki

Japan Meteorological Agency Secretary
Tsutomu Yamazaki

Prime Minister
Shin Saburi