Gamera: The Giant Monster

Gamera: The Giant Monster Review

THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT THE 2010 VERSION OF GAMERA
Here is a brief history of Gamera before we get on to the DVD release...
In 1965 Gamera was created by Daiei to compete with Toho's Godzilla. The first film was a more serious effort. The plot is very simple. Gamera arises from the Arctic to destroy Japan, & he does . Is there nothing to stop the giant turtle from destroying Japan and the entire universe ?
The special effects in this are good for the most part, save for some obvious toys used but the miniatures used and the Gamera suit were well done. I feel this movie is a little underrated and gets a bad rap at times but overall it is entertaining and a lot better than later releases..
Before getting to the 2010 DVD releases here are some notes about previous releases to home video of Gamera
Sinister Cinema carried a USA version of Gamera called Gammera the Invincible - this version had extra scenes with Albert Dekker (Dr. Cyclops) and Brian Donlevy (he was Professor Quatermass & was in some excellent film noir movies such as Impact, the Glass Key,etc). This version also contained the Gammera song. A few years ago this same version appeared was released by Alpha DVD and other low budget DVD companies..
Another USA version of Gamera came out, simply called Gamera minus the USA Gammera footage, minus the original credits , replaced by what I call the "water credits scenes" where this movie and 4 others all had credits on water. These are called the Sandy Frank versions and were released on VHS from Celebrity Video (and a laserdisc distributed by Image entertainment) These also contain a different English dubbing.
These versions were used for Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes for Season 3 as well as the KTMA Season - the earliest MST3K season.
Several years later (the early to mid 1990s) Gamera again came out on VHS via Neptune Video - in 2 versions - English dubbed and English subtitled and called Giant Monster Gamera. The English dubbing was yet another different dubbing the other 2 Gamera releases...
Now here we are in 2010 and Shout Factory has gotten the rights to not only release the original Gamera on DVD in its uncut *authentic* original language,but they have the rights to ALL the Showa Series Gamera which goes all the way to Gamera vs. Zigra. That's right - ALL of them..
This NEW DVD from Shout Factory - will be anamorphic widescreen from an HD Transfer - expect a great transfer basically :)
As of this moment the bonus features are being worked on - what I do know is there will be a 12 page booklet with an essay by director Noriaki Yuasa, a photo gallery, trailers & the big news is an audio commentary by one of the most knowledgeable persons of not just Kaiju like Godzilla, Gamera, etc, but of Japanese pop culture. That man is the one and only August Ragone. I expect a truly fantastic insight to the history and making of Gamera & overall a fantastic commentary. For those that know August - he is the author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters & has written many articles for G-Fan, his own magazine called Markalite Magazine. And he had big role with the Neptune Video VHS releases of Gamera many years ago.
With his vast knowledge of Gamera on audio commentary - plus the anamorphic HD transfer & the bonus features , this will easily be the best Gamera DVD release & should not be missed by any monster movie lover & fan , die hard or otherwise. During the height of the Cold War, East-West tensions lead to a nuclear disaster when a Soviet bomber is shot down over U.S. airspace in the Arctic! Massive radiation from the atomic explosion awakens an ancient, gargantuan creature, a long-forgotten legend of the lost continent of Atlantis: Gamera! Unleashed from its glacial tomb and proving impervious to all man-made weapons, the colossal chelonian smashes a cataclysmic swath across the globe! Can the scientists of the world, led by Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), find a way to stop this invincible supermonster . . . or is mankind doomed?

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa (who would oversee all eight of the original Gamera entries of the 1960s and 1970s) and created by the same studio that brought Zatoichi to the screen, Daieis titanic terrapin became the only true rival to Tohos King Of The Monsters. Gamera was able to hold its own at the box office and secured a place in the hearts of kaiju eiga (Japanese Monster Movie) fans around the world.

Now, for the first time on DVD, Shout! Factory presents the original Japanese version of Gamera with new English subtitles and anamorphic widescreen from an all-new HD master created from vault elements!

Bonus Features

* A Retrospective Look at the Gamera Franchise

* Audio Commentary

* Publicity Gallery