Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe 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: Guardian of the Universe / Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion Blu-ray review of that version.

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Gamera: (The) Guardian of the Universe (as it's titled for this release) is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. 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.

I may be inviting brickbats (what else is new?), but I wasn't quite as blown away by the 4K remasters in this set as I may have unwisely expected to be. Things look great in all three of the so-called "Heisei Trilogy", don't get me wrong, but perhaps not quite where I personally would have wanted them. Grain is pretty widely variant again, and both nighttime sequences (as in the opening) as well as the many yellow and/or orange tinged interior scenes feature very thick, at times even noisy looking, grain that in its most extreme moments can start to look slightly pixellated. Detail levels can therefore ebb and flow depending on how much "masking" by the grain is in evidence, but on the whole the uptick in detail in this presentation from the Mill Creek version is one of its undeniable assets. Saturation is generally excellent as well, with the film's at times kind of unusual lighting and grading choices resonating very well.

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As befits a more or less "modern day" reboot, this film offers DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (and 2.0) mixes in both Japanese and English (including a separate UK dub), and the surround tracks are almost sure to delight even the most ardent audiophile. Engagement of the side and rear channels is consistent, and there's some especially good low end in both the effects and scoring. The battle scenes are appropriately cacophonous and perhaps slightly funny in their use of sometimes goofy sound effects. Fidelity is excellent throughout, and dynamic range is extremely wide. Dialogue, effects and score are all presented without any problems. Optional English subtitles are available.

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Matt Frank features the package designer of this release, who is evidently a superfan and very enthused about the film.


• Introduction by August Ragone (1080p; 4:34)


• A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 1 (720p; 1:55:47) is the first of a three part documentary for 2010 interviewing the cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy. This comes with a spoiler warning with regard to the two sequels. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Interviews with Shusuke Kaneko & Shinji Higuchi (720p; 35:48) are from 2002. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• SFX Interview with Shinji Higuchi (720p; 1:32:42) was done in 2001 and comes with another spoiler warning about the subsequent two films. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Behind the Scenes (720p; 16:01) is an archival featurette. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Production Announcement (720p; 5:05) is the official Daiei Studio announcement from 1994. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Backstage Clip: The Legend (720p; 4:17) is an assortment of scenes set to music.


• Yubari Film Festival (720p; 6:13) features the film's debut at a 1995 event. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Hibiya Theater Opening Day (720p; 2:55) offers the cast and crew presenting the film on opening day in Tokyo in 1995. In Japanese with English subtitles.


• Alternate English Credits

  US End Credits (720p; 5:17)

  
  

  UK End Credits (1080p; 1:57)

• Trailers and TV Spots

  Theatrical Teaser 1 (1080p; 00:31)

  
  

  Theatrical Teaser 2 (1080p; 00:34)

  
  

  Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:31)

  
  

  TV Spots (720p; 2:12)

  
  

  US Video Trailer (1080p; 1:20)

  
  

  Gyaos Destruction Strategy SNES commercial (720p; 00:32)

• Image Gallery (1080p)

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is the film that reinvented Gamera for a whole a new generation, while at the same time (largely) delighting fans from a previous era. The film has the same goofy ambience of the earlier Gamera films, though with a clearer quasi-"summer blockbuster" feel. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package outstanding. Recommended.