Day of Resurrection (1980) AKA Fukkatsu no hi

What if a deadly air-borne virus killed off the population of earth? What if that wasn't the worst part?

Day of Resurrection was the most expensive Japanese film made at the time,  and was the manga publisher Kadokawa Shoten's attempt to break into the international film market. I expect that Hollywood wasn't too keen on a foreign studios muscling in on their patch, and the film failed to get a US general release. A shortened version (108mins) renamed Virus was shown in the States, but it seem to have now been forgotten, and the film has ended up in public domain.

Its got a great cast including Glenn Ford, Sonny Chiba, Robert Vaughn, George Kennedy, Oliva Hussey, Bo Svenson, & Henry Silva. It shares many similarities to the Late 70's disaster epics like Earthquake and Airport. Some of the actors probably stepped off the set of one disaster to this one. It even has its own love theme! (Why did they always have love themes in disaster films?)

The 1st part of the film reminded me of the Novel World War Z, without the zombies. Lots of short vignettes around the globe of how the virus is effecting humanity. Emotional scenes in a Japan hospital, A sweating POTUS in the White House, and confused scientists at an Arctic base. News reports of humanity breaking down. Riots and protests.

The 2nd part concentrates on the survivors who have congregated at the arctic base. Surprisingly, the film deals with the elephant in the room. Namely, of the group of 800 people, only eight are women. Yes, this movies go there. Obviously a movie about humanity being wiped out is grim, but its the bland council-meeting discussions of how to repopulate that are move unpleasant than any amount of scattered skeletons.

The last part (Spoilers) takes a sharp turn when the geologist of the group thinks that recent drilling may cause another disaster. Due to a convoluted chain of events, a earthquake in Washington DC will set off the Nuclear missiles aimed at Russia. Which similarly will set off the missiles aimed at the USA including the Alaskian base that the last of humanity is holed up in.

You have to like a film which is not content with wiping out humanity with a man-made virus, but wants to finish the job with a thermo-nuclear war!

There is a strange Alejandro Jodorowsky vibe to the ending that gives a slight amount of optimism which I think is completely missing from the shortened Virus version.

The film really boils down to a message of the folly of nuclear war. A message, that the Japanese would obviously have strong feeling about. 1980 was a dangerous time in the cold war. USA/Russian relationships were frosty. Mutually Assured Distruction was still the only real nuclear deterrent.

Sidenotes:

Henry Silva has played plenty of great villains, but here he is responsible for wiping out humanity twice! Good work!