'The Great Latitude 0 Operation') is a 1969 tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.

An international co-production of Japan and the United States, it stars Joseph Cotten, Cesar Romero, Akira Takarada, Masumi Okada, Richard Jaeckel, Patricia Medina, and Akihiko Hirata.

It has existed since the 19th century, as none of its inhabitants age or die, and greed and political divisions plaguing the surface world are unknown here.

Malic, however, wishes to destroy Latitude Zero using superweapons and artificially grafted monstrosities like giant rats and anthropomorphic bats.

Moreover, after a cruel experiment grafting the wings of a condor to a lion, he removes Kuroiga's brain and places it in the creature as punishment for her failures.

Equipped with James Bond-style devices and rendered resistant to physical harm by a special bath, they infiltrate Malic's island base, Blood Rock, fight their way to the enemy control center, and rescue the Okadas.

That same year, Toho executive Masami Fujimoto went to America where he met with Don Sharpe, head of Ambassador Productions, about doing a series of co-produced special effects films.

[4] The first episode of Latitude Zero concerned three crew members of the old vessel “Hope,” who discover a futuristic submarine after surviving a storm in the Bering Sea near the Arctic Circle.

At the time, the Motion Picture production code had just been lifted in America and Lewis wanted to take advantage by showing Lynda Haynes' breasts as she entered the bath.

‘Well, in Japan, that’s no big deal.’ But I refused to do that, and they even put some kind of skin-colored foam rubber over by breasts to get me to do the scene - must have been a long shot.”[citation needed] The immense wall of smoke and flames which erupted from the explosion of the underwater volcano was created using a small water tank against which a camera was secured upside down beneath the water line.

Roger Greenspun (New York Times) found Latitude Zero's plot to be "the weakest element", while noting that "The real virtue of the film lies in its charming and careful models, its ingenious special effects, its fruity interior décor, its elaborate network of television screens"[9] The Monthly Film Bulletin stated that "it is a sad fact that the special effects are notably variable, and the model work in particular looks extremely shoddy" and the review concluded that "Toho studios seem to have employed their specialized talents and resources to produce an outlandish and expensive leg-pull.