Balazar, a genius who was killed by a robot orders his brain to be built into a machine and kept alive. Now he is seeking universal dominance.

Sci-fi enthusiasts from the baby-boom generation are sure to get a solid dose of nostalgia from this double bill of surreal adventures featuring Starman, who fought interplanetary evil on late-night TV in America during the mid-'60s and beyond. Known as Super Giant in his native Japan, the cowled crusader was featured in four 80-minute films that were culled from nine featurettes produced by the Shintoho Company (an offshoot of Toho) in 1957-58. Starman's trademark blend of frantic action and primitive special effects are on display in both features (the second and fourth in the series), which pit Starman against diabolical invaders (in Attack from Space) and an alien brain's mutant henchmen (Evil Brain from Outer Space). Kids may find the goings-on alternately corny and disturbing (the mutants are scary, and Starman racks up a considerable body count), but old-school monster movie fans will relish this chance to catch up with an old pal. ----Paul Gaita

Director: Koreyoshi Akasaka, Teruo Ishii
Actors: Ken Utsui, Junko Ikeuchi, Minoru Takada
Release: 1965