Only one giant monster series managed to compete with Godzilla -- and it took a flying turtle to do the job. Done on the cheap amid a great deal of internal doubt about the project, Gamera spawned a franchise that lasted for years to the delight of many children. The American edits are the ones most have seen, but the original Japanese version turns out to be a slightly more serious film with Cold War themes. It also portrays the life of one very disturbed little boy. UPDATED with HD screen captures and Blu-ray details.
When Toho’s Godzilla series suffered a false start in the ‘50s, many a movie studio tried to horn in on the big monster action including Toho themselves with Rodan and Mothra. But it was not until the head of Daiei Studios saw a turtle shaped cloud while flying across the Pacific Ocean that the only true rival emerged. With none of the accomplished directors at the studio wanting to make the movie, it fell on struggling young Noriaki Yuasa to make the mad idea work. Equipped with a quiet agenda of his own, he led a production crew into uncharted waters for Daiei had never made a movie like this. Did he succeed? Oh, yeah he did -- and then some.
Thanks to Shout Factory, we finally can see what the Japanese audiences originally saw in a completely restored and remastered version. Please join me for a slightly less snarky review than that of the NTA version, Gammera the Invincible. If you want to see what professional mockery can do with the Sandy Frank version, check out my Gamera: MST3K review.
Gamera the Giant Monster starts with Soviet bombers flying over the Artic ice and a Japanese scientific expedition arriving at an Eskimo village. I may have missed it, but the reason to be there never seems to be fully explained. It is more important that our three main characters just happen to be there to witness events. They are Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), his assistant Kyoke Yamamoto (Harumi Kiritachi), and news photographer Aoyogi (Junichiro Yamashiko).
Buzzed by the Soviet bombers which look suspiciously like British V-bombers (specifically the Victor), Hidaka makes a comment about the Cold War going on. The fears and tensions of the not so hot clash between East and West forms the backdrop for the film, unlike Gojira where it was the simple reaction to the atomic bomb drops that ended World War II. Eleven years had gone by with new concerns replacing the old which is perfectly understandable given Japan’s geographic location. They were smack dab between the two superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States of America.
Speaking of Americans, this film does have them playing the parts of U.S. military and they are speaking English rather than Japanese. They also are clearly not actors and I wondered if they were tourists dragged off the street. It turns out I was half right because half of them were dragged off of military bases. What is seen cannot be called acting even by the most charitable of critics, though the novelty of seeing Japanese subtitles on screen made up for it – in my case, at least.
The Soviet bombers are testing some kind of radar reflecting paint, but are also flying low to probe early warning defenses. Interceptors are vectored to the bombers and in a nifty show of model work, overfly the Japanese ship the Chidori Maru. Refusing to respond or change course, the bombers open fire on the vaguely F-106 like fighters. While Daiei was not as well known for their model work as Toho, at least the rockets fly straight on the wires and soon we have a burning bomber plummeting to the ice pack.
A mushroom cloud surprises the Japanese expedition, but that is nothing compared to their reaction when the ice cracks from the atomic explosion and a giant monster emerges. Time for the main title to roll and the film wastes no time in showing off the entire monster, Gamera. No slow reveal or build up of tension is contained in this production, that is for sure!
The very alarmed Eskimo chief (Yoshio Yoshida) speaks in heavily accented phonetic English of “the Devil’s envoy, Gamera” before presenting a mysterious stone that apparently is connected to the lost civilization of Atlantis. Strange carvings of a turtle are on it with strange waves. That mystery has to wait since the giant bipedal turtle has seen the Chidori Maru.
The captain (Jun Osanai) takes one look at the behemoth lumbering toward them and orders everyone to abandon ship. It is one of the most practical reactions I have ever seen in a giant monster movie. Instead of idiocy, we get a moment of intelligence. Savor it while it lasts…
It is not a good fate for the crew and passengers on the Chidori Maru. One would think that freezing to death in the Artic would be a harsh enough fate, but being roasted alive by a giant turtle? This is not the cuddly defender of humanity seen in later films. Most of the effects are dodgy in the scene except one, which is the fire breathing by Gamera. Nothing better than a liquid propane flame thrower to make it look real!
After the destruction of the ship, we are treated to a matte painting of New York City that looks a little off. Why am I pointing it out? Wait and see.
Hidaka and Kyoke are in town to do a news show, which happens to be hosted by a guy with a German accent. There the good doctor (of something) recounts what happened and warns the world about Gamera. This is the one scene cut out of the American version that worked better with a replacement, since this scene seems odd. Perhaps it was an attempt to bring a global feel to the movie. Later scenes would suggest that was an aim of the director.
In Japan, an old drunken farmer sees a strange sight in the night sky. After a bit of befuddled contemplation, he decides it is a flying saucer. If you are a fan of Kurosawa movies, you may recognize the actor, Bokuzen Hidari. He specialized in playing drunks, yet the commentary track informs us he was a teetotaler. Consider your trivia quota filled for the day.
Also somewhere else in the sky are Dr. Hidaka and Kyoke. It turns out the only other survivor of the Chidori Maru, Aoyogi is on their PanAm flight. A weak attempt at romance begins with his insisting that Kyoke is his personal “goddess of luck.” The lack of chemistry is palpable and neither had much of a career after this film. Unfortunately, a cardboard cutout could have been substituted for Kiritachi with none being the wiser. This may seem harsh, but there is a much better actress in the movie to compare her to.
Michiko Sugata enters the film playing Nobuyo Sakurai, the daughter of a light house keeper. With the mother nowhere in the picture, she has assumed much of that role for her younger brother, Toshio (Yoshiro Uchida). Having to deal with his teacher reveals the boy is having problems at school due to his obsession with turtles and anti-social behavior. It has gotten to be a such an issue that his father forces him to release his pet turtle, Peewee, into the wild.
Toshio is sullen, prone to sulking, and utterly devoted to turtles. This is where director Yuasa’s secret agenda comes to light. While the studio boss wanted a movie to thrill audiences and rake in the bucks, he wanted to make it a kids movie by developing a relationship between Gamera and the boy. So in short order, the giant turtle appears, smashes the light house with Toshio dangling from it, and saves the little boy before heading back out into the sea.
The next day, Toshio goes to where he made a house of stones for Peewee and fails to find his little turtle. He immediately deduces that his pet turned into Gamera, despite the monster having appeared while he still had custody of the little turtle. This looks like mental illness and not an innocent boy fantasizing like it was intended to appear.
Gamera has other fish to fry or at least a geothermal power plant. Appearing out of nowhere, he tears into the facility with gusto. Strangely, the military puts Dr. Hidaka in charge as soon as he shows up. I don’t know about you, but putting a scientist in charge of a military action does not seem wise. Forget competence issues, scientists in these movies tend to over sympathize with the enemy, right?
Stock footage provides the tanks and howitzers for the fight, augmented by model versions. Since Gamera is a giant armored turtle, the shells fired are ineffective. Imagine that. At least the model tanks look fairly decent in the scene. The end result is Gamera inhaling and feeding off of the flames from his rampage. Yes, you read me right – he eats fire (thanks to film being run in reverse). What is this, a giant circus act?
Having failed with one scientist leading the battle, the decision is made to go get another one to double the brain power of the defenders. I cannot believe I just typed “brain power” in relation to this movie. Sigh.
Anyway, Colonel Sanders is recruited to fry some chicken.
No, I am mistaken, that is just what it looks like. It is actually Professor Murase (Jun Hamamura in a wig and fake beard) recruited to fry some turtle. Technobabble (wow, the word is in the spellchecker!) follows and the military decides it is time to contact the U.S. military to fire a nuclear tipped tactical missile at the invulnerable monster. Given the critter was unleashed by a nuke, this seems pretty pointless to the scientists.
But it is Toshio who convinces everyone not to nuke the turtle! Yes, the child has shown up with his sister in tow to save his beloved pet. How, I do not know. The boy is certifiable and so are the authorities for listening to him. By this point, any attempt at keeping the movie serious seems to have gone out the window.
It is now a kids movie, pure and simple. Embrace that or prepare to be driven mad. Trust me on this, I watched this multiple times and the chopped up Americanized version too. I know of what I speak.
Eventually the JSDF officers reveal they have been working on a secret weapon that uses special bombs to freeze things for ten minutes. Oh, a time limit – we all know what that means. Okay, maybe not all of us, so if someone could tell me?
We are treated to thrilling action of F-86ish fighters dropping the bombs on Gamera, who decided to crawl on all fours up a ridge. Why? He’s a turtle and I do not understand the reptilian mind, so stop asking me!
The bombs work, a fiendish plan is executed and the monster is flipped onto his gigantic back. Since turtles cannot right themselves, the scientists and soldiers congratulate themselves on their brilliance. Then they heartily laugh when Gamera retracts his head and limbs into his shell in an obvious act of cowardice.
About that…
Fire spews forth from each limb hole and the creature begins to spin like a Chinese fireworks top. Defying gravity, logic, reality, and all other things, Gamera lifts off into the air to reveal he is the flying saucer seen earlier! It is a very poorly animated effect which shows how cheap the production really is.
After that utterly improbable development, the setting is moved to Tokyo. There we see Toshio once again failing to integrate into society as his obsession with Gamera intensifies. Completely convinced the rampaging giant is his little turtle Peewee, the boy is carrying around the rocks that made up the pet’s house. This isn’t cute, instead it is genuinely creepy making the boy far from the sympathetic character he should be. Sugata plays the scene very well, with a mix of concern and bafflement clear on the sister’s face. Even better is her moment later on with the siblings’ uncle where she makes a sad statement about Toshio to her elder.
Sightings of Gamera taunting UFO buffs around the world are shown in photos pinned to Dr. Hidaka’s world map. Check out the screen capture above right to see a very familiar matte painting being recycled. Also, that is as close to acting as you will see out of Kyoke’s actress.
Meanwhile, all sorts of things are going wrong in Tokyo Bay. Fish are missing, ships collide due to radio interference, and unusual flooding are making life miserable for the locals. Yeah, I know what you are thinking…
… but DNA spliced mice will not fit into bottles no matter how hard you try to push them in.
Anyway, Tokyo becoming a setting in a monster movie means there will be destruction on a massive scale. Mayhem, juvenile insanity, and a cunning plan will unfold before the film ends.
Thoughts
I thought I would be able to write this review without much snark, but the movie was too much to take even in its more serious original version. There is no getting around the fact it simply is not a good movie and not even a good kids movie. The attempt to be somewhat serious before going pure kiddie makes it a very inconsistent experience that doesn’t quite jell. Still, it is miles better than the American edits and a piece of Japanese cinematic history.
Much of the problem lies with Toshio, who is both annoying and unsympathetic due to his very dangerous detachment from reality. The director was going for a childlike viewpoint, but in this particular installment it fails pretty badly. Future serial killers might identify with Toshio, but I suspect a lot of kids will not. More than likely the lack of experience of Yuasa explains why things went wrong with this film. In my opinion, he succeeded with later films in getting that six year old viewpoint across.
However, I have to say this film was a big hit in Japan, so it may be cultural differences causing me to have issues with the brat. Toshio is profoundly selfish to the point of endangering the lives of others around him. He never shows a shred of guilt or remorse for any of his actions, so I will add that he was a poor role model for kids.
Because this was Daiei’s first giant monster film to be actually completed, many of the special effects are hit and miss even for the mid ‘60s. To keep costs down and hide the poor quality, the movie was filmed in black and white. Do not go into viewing this expecting Godzilla levels of quality.
There are a lot of deaths in this unrated movie, so I would say it is in the realm of a soft PG. Much of the violence is ameliorated by the incredible goofiness of the rest of the content.
I think kids will like this movie since it gets straight to the action early and never allows too much time to go by without Gamera being on screen. Adults will struggle with the movie, make no mistake about it. You have to be a die hard fan of kaiju movies or bad movies to enjoy it.
Technical
Shout Factory’s DVD release is a top notch example of how to properly put a movie out. Starting with the packaging, the transparent case shows off an internal cutaway drawing of Gamera explaining how he is able to digest fuels and breath fire. A full color booklet is included that contains character descriptions, the cutaway again, and a short reminiscence by Yuasa written several years before he died.
The movie is fully restored and remastered, so the picture is excellent throughout its 78 minute running time. Presented in anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 ratio, we finally get to see the whole picture for the first time. It makes quite a difference in many of the shots; further proof that pan and scan is horrible even for less than stellar movies.
The original Japanese soundtrack is nice and clear with no muddiness present. As a result, the score sounds good, though not terribly impressive and plodding. It will remind you of other Japanese movie music of the period without distinguishing itself.
Shout Factory did not skimp on the extras for this release:
Commentary by August Ragone, Author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters – This is a very detailed commentary packed with trivia about the movie and its production. Ragone even has the shooting scripts to refer to, so it can get overly detailed at times. His attempts at humor fall flat, but I think you will agree with him on Toshio.
A Look Back at Gamera – An English subtitled Japanese video documentary from the late ‘80s or early ‘90s which details the creation of Gamera and covers some of the movies that followed. Interviews with all the major players involved in producing the films make it an interesting look into the industry. While the video quality leaves much to be desired, it is a must see for fans of the series and giant monster movies.
The interview with director Yuasa reveals a gentle soul who loved his work very much. It was the failure by Daiei to finish a movie about giant rats eating the citizens of Tokyo that indirectly led to Gamera the Giant Monster being made. Darkly amusing, the rat wrangling going awry is cautionary lesson about getting in way over your head without a clue. But without that fiasco, we would never have seen a turtle fly on the silver screen.
The information on the costume was interesting to me for it revealed the designer to be one of the men who worked on the original Godzilla rubber suits. He had a great deal of pride in how he was able to reduce the weight for this movie. It still weighed an excessive amount.
Oddly enough, there was no dedicated suit actor, unlike Godzilla. Since nobody they hired could handle being in the suit for more than ten minutes, there was a slight problem of men quitting after having worn it once. As a result, the production crew were all drafted to play the turtle at different times.
The documentary is chock full of behind the scenes photos of making the movie series plus the various monsters who fought Gamera. As strange as some of the Godzilla foes were, nothing tops the weird designs in Yuasa’s films. They managed to be simple and freaky at the same time.
Since this was made before Shusuke Kaneko rebooted the series with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, we are treated to what Yuasa and his comrades were hoping to get made. That movie would have been called Gamera vs. Garasharp and concept art plus models depict the broad strokes of the story. Being a typical later Gamera film, the fight between the monsters would have had a happy ending teaching a lesson about innocence and forgiveness. It is pure Yuasa and something that would have delighted little kids.
Also shown is a concept for another monster that never made it to the screen. Funky, isn’t it?
Publicity Gallery – The most fascinating thing here is the English language brochure put out to sell the movie internationally. Also included are the pressbook showing what ads to run in newspapers and a photo gallery made up of stills from the movie with some behind the scenes photos.
Trailer – The original Japanese theatrical trailer with English subtitles. In my opinion, it is superior to the film and I can understand how it got audiences to go see it.
UPDATED
Mill Creek Entertainment released this movie and three others on one Blu-ray disc titled Gamera Volume 1. It’s a barebones release at a bargain price and claims to be 1080p resolution.
Sadly, that’s a flat out lie for the movies are all 1080i and occasionally show interlacing artifacts. Lower end BD players may present a lower quality picture, but decent ones will have no problem deinterlacing the picture. It appears to be taken from the same master that the Shout Factory DVD used, so everything written about the video and audio applies to this release too.
On both my Samsung player and BD drive on my PC, short hitches occurred early in the movie indicating a compression or mastering error. Nothing dramatic in length, but they are noticeable. Quite a bit of grain is present and mosquito noise artifacts from the compression. That said, it looks great in motion and far better than Sony’s latest Godzilla BD releases which were filtered until they lost detail.
Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 and nothing wonderful, but is clear.
There are no extras whatsoever and no commentary. Only the original Japanese track and English subtitles are provided.
Is it worth purchasing if you have the Shout Factory DVD? That depends. If you want the best picture and the other films, the Mill Creek release is a steal. I recommend holding on to the DVD or getting it in addition to the BD to Gamera fans. The collection (and Volume 2) would be a better choice for providing entertainment to kids.
BEWARE! HERE BE SPOILERS!!!
If Tokyo is seen in a Japanese kaiju movie, it is certain to be attacked. I have to admit that Gamera makes an impressive entrance in a fiery landing at Tokyo Airport. The model work is actually good in this scene and watch for the splash damage setting off secondary explosions just like they would in real life.
I noted how Kaneko picked on youths behaving badly in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidora and after watching the teens in the nightclub refusing evacuation orders, I have to wonder if this scene inspired him. At least the guitar work was better than what they dubbed in the American release.
The actual attack on Tokyo proper has some nice moments, though the whole thing is kind of lackluster. Using black and white film stock paid off by making the compositing look better than it had any right to. I have to complement the decision to have Gamera be seen killing people en masse rather than cutting away. It establishes just how dangerous he is.
The use of a real flame thrower works beautifully and that is one area the Gamera films put the Godzilla flicks to shame. Mind you, there were problems, but more on that later. Seeing the monster spew fire is the best of all the effects in the movie.
Poor Tokyo Tower. I sometimes wonder if it isn’t the beacon that summons monsters into the city, because it is always destroyed in these films. It was even foreshadowed in the scene where it is pointed out to Toshio when he visits Hidaka’s office.
Model work is not as good as Toho’s miniatures and it can be glaring at times.
However, I thought the rotating strip with silhouettes of fleeing people in the windows in the Towa Building was extremely clever. It may not be completely convincing, but it beats all the empty windows we see in these movies.
There is a very big environmental subtext to the movie, though rarely stated outright. Gamera eats energy sources such as oil, coal, uranium, and fire. It is conveyed more by the plot than exposition.
The rail yard scene shows Toshio to be seriously nuts. His actions nearly get him and a rescuer killed, yet he throws a tantrum over it. This kid is not just hard to love, he is hard not to actively dislike. His stowing away on the freighter headed to the mysterious Z Plan base illustrates how he never learns from his actions.
The effects sequence of Gamera following the fire trail from the harbor to the island is another highlight of the movie. It was done by putting a hose pressurized with gasoline underwater in the studio tank with many holes in it. Simple and effective effects work, but filming this scene resulted in one of the Gamera props blowing up when its flame thrower malfunctioned!
Volcanoes erupting are usually very inconvenient to say the least. But in this movie, it saves the day in a ridiculous bit of script writing. I get the feeling they were rushing things and got sloppy, but then again it was purely a kiddie film by the third act.
Along with the scene where he climbed the ridge, this is one of the few glimpses we have of the monster actually looking like a turtle. It is brief, but the costume looks better when on all fours.
I love the 1950s feel of the animated matte painting of the base interior. That is classic vintage scifi, folks!
Using an underground rocket to trap and then send Gamera into space was either brilliant or dizzy, I cannot decide which. It is something six year olds would come up with while playing, so it hits the target audience squarely.
Dr. Hidaka dominates the film to the point that it gets annoying. At the end, he plays father figure to everyone there, even prodding the barely there romance between Aoyagi and Kyoke. But it is his humoring Toshio’s new dream of becoming an astronaut to see Gamera again that really irritates me. Somebody should be spanking that kid, not encouraging him!
The real end message of the movie is all about international cooperation, with the Soviet and U.S. ambassadors embracing. One of the differences with the American edit is that there is no hesitation to assist Japan and work together in this version. In its way, it is a quiet plea for the Cold War to end.
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