Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Gamera Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 25, 2020

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Gamera: The Complete Collection.

There’s a venerable old maxim that states “what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for gander”, and in that regard, this deluxe Arrow release may be thought of as being at least kinda sorta the same “sauce” for an iconic kaiju that Criterion’s Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975 was for what is arguably the most iconic kaiju in the annals of Japanese cinema. The Criterion release aggregated fifteen Godzilla films ranging from the monster’s 1954 debut to Terror of Mechagodzilla from 1975, while this collection covers the Gamera films from the 1965 debut of the creature through 2006's Gamera the Brave. The comparison between the two franchises is perhaps particularly apt in that, as August Ragone gets into in some of the bounteous supplemental features included on this release, Gamera was Daiei’s attempt to duplicate the success that Toho had had with the Godzilla films. As such, there’s an undeniably derivative aspect to quite a few (maybe all) of the Gamera films, plus there is a perhaps equally undeniable comedic element in that Gamera is in essence a giant, marauding turtle, as opposed to the arguably more threatening dinosaur-like ambience of Godzilla. Aside from the inclusion of retooled American versions of some of the films that this Arrow set offers as ostensible supplements, all of the original versions of the twelve "Japanese" films in this set save one were included in Gamera HD Bundle Collection from Mill Creek Entertainment several years ago, albeit with pretty shoddy technical merits according to my colleague Martin Liebman's reviews (the parent entry for the collection does not have a separate review, but if you go to the product Overview tab, Marty has reviewed all but one of the films in the set linked to in the parent review). Mill Creek also released Gamera Trilogy, which Marty reviewed separately, and which includes his only review of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. I'll refer to Marty's reviews in my reviews of the shared films in this set for those who want plot recaps, leaving the bulk of my reviews to both technical assessments and detailing of the supplementary material. The one outlier that wasn't released by Mill Creek, the aformentioned Gamera the Brave, was released by Tokyo Shock a few years ago and was reviewed at that time by Brian Orndorf, so in my review of that particular film I'll be referring to Brian's review for plot information. As always it can also be instructive to look at the various reviews in order to compare screenshots. I will say that I evidently have more of a soft spot for some of these films than my colleagues, and my scores for the films reflect that opinion. Arrow, long the champion of cult items, has outdone itself with this release, offering all of the Gamera films in a really handsomely appointed package that includes a glut of both on disc bonus features as well as accompanying non-disc swag (the disc related supplements are detailed in the individual reviews of each film, while the non-disc supplements are listed in the Gamera: The Complete Collection Blu-ray review).

As with many of the films in this set, this film was part of the Mill Creek Entertainment release from several years ago. For those interested in a plot recap, I refer you to Martin Liebman's Gamera: The Giant Monster Blu-ray review of that version.

Gamera Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gamera is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.28:1. Arrow's oversized booklet containing information on the films lumps the entire series together in its descriptions of the transfers:

The masters for all twelve original Japanese films were prepared and supplied to Arrow Films by the Kadokawa Corporation. Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris were restored in 4K by Kadokawa and approved by director Shusuke Kaneko in 2015.

Original 16mm and 35mm materials relating to the English language versions originally distributed in the United States by American International and Filmways were accessed through the kind courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, in association with the Kadokawa Corporation. The English dubbed audio was restored from the original magnetic and optical tracks by Deluxe, who also conformed it to the Japanese masters. Some additional 16mm materials were sourced from UCLA Film Archive. The film elements, which include English language credit sequences, insert shots and trailers, were scanned at EFilm and restored at R3Store Studios. Additional English language materials for the series were kindly supplied by Shout! Factory, ADV Films and Media Blasters, with additional thanks to Paulie Senkawsky and Will Offutt.

For Gammera the Invincible, the American theatrical version of Gamera, the Giant Monster, attempts were made to access the original negative held at UCLA Film Archive, but this is no longer legally accessible. A 35mm exhibition print was scanned in high definition by Legend Films, who provided this HD master to Arrow. This print was missing some shots of a jet pilot at the start of the film, and another film source for these shots could not be found. To insure an uncut presentation, these missing shots were reintegrated into the master using the HD master for Gamera, the Giant Monster for the video and an analog tape master for the dubbed English audio. As a result, some of these shots have burnt in Japanese subtitles that did not feature on the original American theatrical release and could not be removed here; we hope these do not affect your enjoyment of the film. Additional restoration took place at R3Store Studios.

If this is not always a perfect presentation and one hobbled by some issues, this easily outpaces the previous release from Mill Creek in compression at least. This is darker and more organic looking, and suffers from none of the compression anomalies Marty notes in his review. There are both flicker and brightness fluctuations that are noticeable, and some moments, notably the frames with burnt in subtitles or (especially) some nighttime sequences, can look extremely grainy to the point that things verge on noisy territory. Those issues aside, contrast is generally stronger than in the Mill Creek version, though blacks are anemic at times and other moments show considerable crush. All of this said, detail levels are quite commendable throughout, though this film begins the long tradition of showing Gamera and his various nemeses either in darkness or through intervening masking elements like smoke, fire and mist, choices that can obviously affect perception of detail.

Gamera Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Gamera features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks in either Japanese or English (though there is some English language material in the Japanese language track). I spent the bulk of the film listening to the original audio, but in spot checking the English language track, it sounded to me like the Japanese track has a bit more depth, with the English showing a somewhat heavier sounding midrange. That said, some of the "original" English language moments (i.e., the moments that are spoken in English in even the Japanese track) are mixed down from the rest of the dialogue in the English language track. One way or the other, dialogue, effects and score are all rendered without any major issues. Optional English subtitles are available.

Gamera Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by August Ragone


• Introduction by August Ragone (1080p; 13:12) serves as a nice introduction not just to this film, but to the character and its history within the context of the Japanese motion picture industry and kaiju films in particular.


• Gammera the Invincible (1080p; 1:25:41) is the American theatrical version of the film, with English dubbing and additional scenes directed by Sandy Howard. This features DTS-HD Master Audio Mono audio, and optional English SDH subtitles are available. The Play menu for this supplements also includes these items:

  US Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:35)

  
  

  Theme Song (1080p; 4:08) is an audio supplement that plays to some fun stills of the 45 and promotional material for the single.

• Remembering the Gamera Series (1080p; 23:13) is a nicely done retrospective documentary from 1991 which among other interest for fans includes information about the unmade Gamera vs. Garasharp. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Interview with Noriaki Yuasa (1080i; 13:11) was filmed by Jorg Buttgereit in 2002 at Daiei Studios. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Gamera Special is a "best of" compilation of things like trailers and fight scenes, originally released on VHS in 1991 with supervision by Noriaki Yuasa.

  Part 1 (1080p; 29:52)

  
  

  Part 2 (1080p; 28:20)

• Alternate English Credits (1080p; 5:11)


• Original Japanese Trailer (1080p; 1:58)


• US Video Promo (1080p; 1:03)


• Image Gallery (1080p; 12:50)

Gamera Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Gamera is unabashedly derivative, and it's also flat out silly a lot of the time, but for me personally, that only makes it all the more endearing in its own gonzo way. This Arrow edition offers technical merits which far outpace the Mill Creek version, and the supplemental package is outstanding. Recommended.