Gamera Movies

Giant Monster Gamera

When Daiei Studios saw how much money Godzilla was making for Toho, they created their own franchise with a giant fire-breathing turtle named Gamera. This first film in the series is straightforward, with borrowings from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and some of the early Godzilla films particularly obvious. The main innovation Giant Monster Gamera added was that a kid named Toshio was a main character, leading to a tradition of short-pants wearing kids who would plague giant monster movies for years to come. The special effects are okay, but not up to the same standards as the Godzilla movies of the same time. The American version cut some scenes and added 24 minutes of footage with English speaking actors. Both versions are available on video from Neptune. The movie was also seen on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Reviews: Stomp Tokyo.

Gamera vs. Barugon

Gamera returns from space, just in time to fight Barugon, a giant chameleon who hatches from an opal. This is probably the last time the original Gamera movies even pretended to be entertainment for anything but the smallest children. However, the gory monster violence on display here would only get worse in later films. This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV by AIP.

Gamera vs. Gyaos

In the third Gamera movie, our favorite giant turtle takes on flying monster that shoots a powerful cutting beam from its mouth and can spray fire retardant gas from its chest. Of course there's a little kid and Gamera saves him. Also, humanity shows much more creativity in trying to dispose of Gyaos than in practically any other giant monster film. This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV by AIP.

Gamera vs. Viras

The fourth Gamera movie, this is the point in the series where the budgets start to decline drastically. There's a fifteen minute stretch which is nothing but stock footage from the previous two movies, and some of the city destruction is from the original Giant Monster Gamera tinted to match the surrounding color footage as well as possible. Aliens who travel around in spaceships that look like yellow and black striped beach balls decide to take over earth, but they first they have to neutralize Gamera. Luckily for the planet two Japanese boy scouts (one Asian, one Caucasian) are on the case, and stymie the aliens at every turn. At the end the aliens combine into one huge monster called Viras. This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV by AIP. It's now available on DVD as a double feature with Gamera vs. Guillon.

Gamera vs. Guillon

More or less a remake of the previous film in the Gamera series, Gamera vs. Viras. Two young children (again, one Japanese and one Caucasian) are kidnapped by a flying saucer and taken to a planet directly opposite the Earth on the other side of the sun. Gamera follows and battles the monster Guillon, who is employed by the two inhabitants of the planet to protect them.

We've seen three different versions of this movie. Neptune Video has released excellent uncut subtitles and dubbed versions on VHS. The AIP TV version has been released on DVD, though it has some violence cut from the bizarre scene where Guiron carves up a Space Gyaos. The movie was also seen on Mystery Science Theater 3000

Reviews: Stomp Tokyo.

Gamera vs. Jiger

The Gamera series continues to wind down with this, the cheap sixth entry. Gamera fights Jiger, a mystical creature who attacks a world's fair held in Japan. This movie is mostly noteworthy for the sequence in which some children travel inside Gamera, Fantastic Voyage style. This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV by AIP.

Gamera vs. Zigra

Gamera's original adventures ended with this stinker about Gamera and some kids foiling an invasion of Earth by an alien shark. Lots of filler shot in a Japanese version of Sea World. This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV. It has been released on video in both Japanese and English by Neptune video. The movie was also seen on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Gamera Super Monster

Gamera vs. stock footage! Yes, rather than film any new Gamera footage, a bunch of his old fights were edited into a movie about some female superheroes trying to stop a space pirate.

This movie was dubbed for U.S. TV, but rarely seen. The TV version cut perhaps the most interesting bits for viewers today, some brief scenes where Gamera "met" the Space Cruiser Yamato and Galaxy Express 999.

Gamera , Guardian of the Universe

Director Kaneko revamps the old Gamera series into something hugely entertaining. Gamera and Gyaos are the products of a lost civilization, and they've both been awakened in the present day. Great special effects and a good story.

Reviews: Stomp Tokyo.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

An alien insect with a complicated life-cycle lands in Japan and gives Gamera no end of trouble. In some ways this film is an improvement over Gamera, Guardian of the Universe, with a plot more rooted in the sci-fi films of the 1950s than Japanese fantasy. The final form of Legion makes a good opponent for our favorite turtle.

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

The Gamera trilogy comes to an incredible conclusion as Gamera takes on another monster born of ancient super-science. This one, Iris, is controlled by a young girl who lost her family in one of Gamera's earlier rampages. There's an early scene, in which Gamera fights two Gyaos in a heavily populated city, that must be seen to be believed. The ending may be one of the frustrating ever given to a genre film.