Daikaijû Gamera (1965)

Director:

Noriaki Yuasa

Writer:

Nisan Takahashi (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 December 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

From out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.

Plot Keywords:

Gamera | Turtle | Rampage | Fire Breathing | Monster

Cast

Eiji Funakoshi	...	Dr. Hidaka
Harumi Kiritachi	...	Kyoke Yamamoto
Junichirô Yamashiko	...	Aoyagi
Yoshiro Uchida	...	Toshio Sakurai
Michiko Sugata	...	Nobuyo Sakurai
Yoshirô Kitahara	...	Mr. Sakurai
Jun Hamamura	...	Professor Murase
Kenji Ôyama	...	Minister of Defense
Munehiko Takada	...	Soviet Representative
Yoshio Yoshida	...	Eskimo Chief
Jun Osanai	...	Chidori Maru Captain
Daihachi Kita	...	Chidori Maru Navigator
Kazuo Mori	...	Chidori Maru Radioman
Kôji Fujiyama	...	U.S. Arctic Base Commander
Osamu Ôkawa	...	U.S. Air Base Radar Technician
Ikuji Oka	...	U.S. Fighter Pilot
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Old Farmer
Fumiko Murata	...	Old Farmer's Wife
Shigeru Katô	...	Old Farmer's Grandson
Jutarô Hojo	...	Self-Defense Force Commander
Daigo Inoue	...	Self-Defense Force Adjutant
Takehiko Goto	...	Self-Defense Force Cessna Pilot
Chiduru Ko	...	Stripper A
Ryoko Oki	...	Stripper B
Kenichi Tani	...	Officer
Akira Shimizu	...	Dancing Youth
Yasuo Araki	...	Self-Defense Force Soldier A
Kenji Ohba	...	Self-Defense Force Soldier B
Ichigen Ohashi	...	Mr. Ueda
Fujii Tatsushi	...	Official at Haneda Airport
Yûji Moriya	...	News Announcer
Kenichiro Yamane	...	Geothermal Station Engineer
Tsutomu Nakata	...	Toshio's Uncle
Wakayo Matsumura	...	Customer
Misato Kawashima	...	Preschool Teacher
Saburo Kurihara	...	Ichiro
Tetsuro Takeuchi	...	Announcer - Japan Broadcasting Station
Shin Minatsu	...	Announcer - Sapporo Broadcasting Station
Rin Sugimori	...	Police Station Chief
Shinichi Matsuyama	...	Operator A
Toichiro Kagawa	...	Operator B
Kyôsuke Shiho	...	Fish Seller A
Shunji Sayama	...	Fish Seller B
Ken Nakahara	...	Fish Seller C
Shigeo Hagiwara	...	Child at Lighthouse B
Tetsu Furuya	...	Child at Lighthouse C
Osamu Maruyama	...	Atomic Energy Research Institute Chief
Toshio Maki	...	Atomic Energy Research Institute Staff A
Kazuo Sumida	...	Atomic Energy Research Institute Staff B
Ichiro Ise	...	Reporter A
Shinji Sayama	...	Reporter B
Hajime Munechika	...	Reporter C
Tsukako Fujino	...	Stewardess
M. Anabai
Richardson	...	U.S. Arctic Base Personnel
Streihan	...	U.S. Arctic Base Personnel
Ranson	...	U.S. Arctic Base Personnel
Brown	...	U.S. Arctic Base Personnel
Hartman	...	U.S. Arctic Base Personnel

Directed by
Noriaki Yuasa

Writing credits
Nisan Takahashi		(screenplay) (as Fumi Takahashi)

Produced by
Sandy Frank	....	producer (US version)
Hidemasa Nagata	....	producer
Masaichi Nagata	....	executive producer
Yonejiro Saito	....	producer

Original Music by
Tadashi Yamauchi

Cinematography by
Nobuo Munekawa

Film Editing by
Tatsuji Nakashizu

Production Management
Yonejiro Saito	....	production manager

Sound Department
Masao Oosumi	....	sound recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Ryosaku Takayama	....	monster design
Yonesaburo Tsukiji	....	special effects director

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• King Features Entertainment (1987) (USA) (TV) (dubbed) (syndication)
• Celebrity Video Presentations (video)
• Image Entertainment (laserdisc)
• Just For Kids Video (video)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Gamera" - USA (dubbed version)

Runtime:

Japan:80 min | USA:80 min | USA:86 min (DVD)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

South Korea:All

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

This is the only film in the series in which Gamera does not fight another monster.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the English language version, special effects director Yonesaburo Tsukiji is mistakenly credited as Yonesaburg Tsukiji.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[English version]
Alex:Here we are. It looks wild, huh?
Catherine:You can say that again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Cosmic Princess (#1.10)" (1989)

As was the case with the "Godzilla" series, first is almost always usually the best...

1965's "Gamera: The Giant Monster" is notable for three things: Daiei Studio's Gamera, the giant fire-breathing turtle of Atlantean origin, was the only significant rival to Toho Studios' Godzilla; two, this is the only movie in the "Gamera" series of films in which the titular chelonian does not battle another monster; and three, this was the last Japanese monster movie to be filmed in glorious black & white. Godzilla is my favorite movie monster of all time - "Gojira" (1954) is my favorite giant monster movie, period - since I was first exposed to the badly dubbed Japanese "kaiju-eiga" (Japanese monster movie) series of films as a young kid. Gamera was my #2 favorite monster from Japan. I deeply regret that Gamera never really obtained the same sort of recognition that his other fire-breathing rival did, but that does not mean that the movies were not bad.

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa, "Gamera: The Giant Monster" has a plot ripped straight from the original "Gojira," but with a significantly lower budget and lacking a meaningful social and political subtext or emotional resonance: at the height of the Cold War, American and Soviet bombers in the Arctic Circle clash with one another, leading to a Soviet plane being shot down and thus inadvertently detonating its atomic payload. The resulting explosion revives Gamera, who had been imprisoned in the ice for over 8,000 years. Gamera, who breathes fire and can fly, makes a beeline toward Japan where he soon causes great destruction and finds nourishment in fossil fuels such as gasoline and petroleum, and other rudimentary forms of energy. Since Gamera is impervious to conventional weapons and the so-called "nuclear options" are quickly ruled out, only a brilliant scientist, Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), has the means of stopping Gamera's destructive rampage once and for all.

"Gamera: The Giant Monster" is not a perfect film. I'll say that it pretty much pales in comparison to "Gojira." But that's because the "Gamera" series of films often had significantly lower budgets and one of the most nagging problems with these films were the inclusion of annoying little children as the main protagonists, which helped earn Gamera the nickname of "friend of children" and the films were often marketed as such toward children. (1966's "Gamera vs. Barugon," a direct sequel to "Gamera: The Giant Monster," is noteworthy for being the only film in the series to not feature any children as the main protagonists, and is my favorite film in the series after this one.) And although there is a kid here, an implacable young boy Toshio Sakurai (Yoshiro Uchida), he is at least made useful to the plot and does not become the annoying little nuisance that his successors would eventually become. And he is also sympathetic in some regard since he comes to view Gamera as his only friend (the exact circumstances of this "friendship" are actually quite touching if viewed with an open mind), and likewise we identify with this unique little bond.

Having viewed the film for the first time in its original, uncut Japanese format, I can say that "Gamera: The Giant Monster" is a worthy kaiju film, despite its flawed attempts at a pro-environmentalist subtext and as an anti-Cold War message movie (different nations coming together to face a worldwide threat, etc.) The film marked the beginnings of another great movie monster, one who never really got the popularity that he really deserved. But at least since his movies are getting the DVD treatment and are being released in their original Japanese formats, a new generation of Gamera-lovers has the chance to view Japan's heartiest export next since the mighty King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla.

7/10