Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)

A giant monster that emits a destructive ray from its back attacks Japan and takes on Gamera.

Director:

Shigeo Tanaka

Writer:

Niisan Takahashi (as Nisan Takahashi)

Stars:

Kôjirô Hongô, Kyôko Enami, Yûzô Hayakawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kôjirô Hongô	...	Keisuke Hirata
Kyôko Enami	...	Karen
Yûzô Hayakawa	...	Kawajiri
Takuya Fujioka	...	Dr. Sato
Kôji Fujiyama	...	Onodera
Akira Natsuki	...	Ichiro Hirata
Yoshirô Kitahara	...	Professor Amano
Ichirô Sugai	...	Dr. Matsushita
Bontarô Miake	...	Self-Defense Force General
Jutarô Kitashiro	...	Self-Defense Force Commander (as Jutarô Hôjô)
Kazuko Wakamatsu	...	Sadae Hirata
Yuka Konno	...	Onodera's Lover
Eiichi Takamura	...	Governor of Osaka
Ken'ichi Tani	...	Lee
Kôichi Itô	...	Metropolitan Police Superintendent-General

Storyline

After a treacherous expedition to retrieve a giant opal, disaster strikes as the opal reveals itself to be an egg which spawns Barugon, demon dog from Hell! Armed with a deadly tongue and cold beams, Barugon wreaks havoc on Japan. Gamera comes to save the day.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | gamera | dog | monster | giant monster | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 April 1966 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Gamera Strikes Again

Filming Locations:

Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

American-International Television (AIP-TV), Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 88 min (TV) 100 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Japanese monster movies were often given bizarre translations in Germany. Most notably, references to the character Dr. Frankenstein were inserted into many of the movies released by Toho Studios, primarily their series of Godzilla films. As well, Godzilla characters like MechaGodzilla or Jet Jaguar were infamously renamed to King Kong. The German version of this movie carries one of the most bizarre such changes: Gamera is renamed to Barugon, and the actual Barugon is renamed to Godzilla (pronounced "Gochilla"). The movie was even given the alternate titles "Godzilla, der Drache aus dem Dschungel" ("Godzilla, the Dragon from the Jungle"), "Godzilla, Monster des Grauens" ("Godzilla, the Monster of Horror") and even "Gamera vs. Godzilla". Confusing matters further, on one of the bootleg VHS covers, Gamera is shown fighting against the American Godzilla from Godzilla (1998) instead of Barugon. The film was released in Germany with certain scenes cut, so when these missing scenes were dubbed for the later DVD release, these changes were still kept, including the botched pronunciation of Godzilla.

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Goofs

Keisuke is brought on the expedition because he can fly a helicopter, and lands the party in a remote village near the cave. Somehow, Onodera (who has no idea how to fly a helicopter) gets back to the ship despite having left Keisuke trapped for dead in the cave. It is possible he used their jeep to drive all the way back, but by the time he would have gotten there, the ship would have already left. It's not explained how he got back to the ship in time.

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese version runs a complete 101 minutes. The American International Pictures-TV (A.I.P.-TV) release version, under the title WAR OF THE MONSTERS, was cut down to 88 minutes to fit it's televised playdates. The 14 minutes that were removed were only expository scenes that had the characters discuss how to destroy the monster Barugon.

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Connections

Followed by Gamera vs. Monster X (1970)

User Reviews

Gamera Fights it's First Battle with another Kaijyu

When I see this movie now, it's flaws stands out, but it was a movie made for kids, and at the time, had acceptable quality. Surprisingly, Gamera franchise itself is still alive even after the demise of Daiei movie studio.

Egg of Barugon that is said to hatch once every 1000 years gets to Japan by way of thieves who mistook it for a huge opal. Gamera attracted by Barugon's rainbow rays butts head with Barugon at Osaka castle. Gamera is frozen by Barugon's icing tongue but returns to duke it out at lake Biwa for the final battle.

Well, this is the second installment of the Gamera series, and first one done in color. Koji Hongo who played the part of ship's captain in 1995 "Gamera Guardian of the Universe" 29 years after this movie was made is the star in this movie. Actress Kyoko Enami who started her career at Daiei and then went on to have a long career also stars in this movie as Kara, the girl from village in New Guinea.

The success of this move ensured Gamera movie as a franchise that continues to this day. First three Showa Gamera movies was a huge hit when they came out. Gamera isn't all that human friendly yet in this movie, and shows the gradual evolution of its character.

The scenes involving the thieves didn't match the mood of the movie. It looked like they belong to Daiei's gangster movies. But asides from that, the movie was okay, and the movie succeeds as the second installment of Gamera series.