5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A giant creature attacks Japan during the World Fair and its up to Gamera to stop it. But the monster injects Gamera with its offspring and a research team must take a craft into Gamera's body to eliminate the parasite.
Starring: Tsutomu Takakuwa, Kelly Varis, Katherine Murphy, Kon Ômura, Ryô HayamiForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 49% |
Fantasy | 33% |
Action | 27% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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).
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.This presentation is very much in lock step with Gamera vs. Guiron in both positive and negative ways. The palette is generally well suffused, though perhaps slightly faded (so that reds skew toward brownish oranges), and with the overall look being a tad on the bright side. As with several films in this series, cave material and nighttime scenes can look murky with some crush. The beasts are offered in daylight for a change, and detail on the creatures is rather good. Despite a yellowish tint to many of the proceedings, blues and purples resonate very well. Grain is fairly variant, spiking in the many opticals. This is another outing where it does look like some sharpening may have been attempted, something that can perhaps accentuate grain at times.
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.
Both the original Japanese language track and an English dub are presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track. I once again spent most of my time with the original track, spot checking the English track with fair regularity. The English track sounds like it doesn't quite have the high end of the Japanese track, and the Japanese track is overall mixed hotter than the English. The Japanese track supports the film's kind of goofy music (including the Gamera March sung by kids at the outset), as well as dialogue and effects. Optional English subtitles are available.
The effects work in this film is simultaneously sweetly quaint and at times undeniably hilarious, which for some may add to the allure of an entry which is decidedly by the numbers for the well entrenched Gamera franchise. Video encounters a few issues, but audio is generally solid. The supplemental package isn't as bounteous for this film as with some of the others, but it still enjoyable.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Gamera tai Giron
1969
Gamera tai Gyaosu
1967
Uchu kaijû Gamera
1980
Gamera tai Jigura
1971
Gamera tai Barugon
1966
Gamera tai Bairasu
1968
Daikaijû Gamera
1965
2006
1999
1995
1996
1966
ゴジラ対ヘドラ / Gojira tai Hedora / Godzilla vs. Hedorah
1971
ゴジラvsビオランテ / Gojira vs. Biorante
1989
ゴジラ・モスラ・キングギドラ 大怪獣総攻撃 / Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidorâ: Daikaijû sôkôgeki
2001
ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム / Gojira ni-sen mireniamu / Godzilla 2000: Millennium
1999
ゴジラvsモスラ / Gojira vs. Mosura / Godzilla vs. Mothra
1992
地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン / Chikyû kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan / Godzilla vs. Gigan
1972
モスラ対ゴジラ / Mosura tai Gojira
1964
怪獣大戦争 / Kaijû daisensô / Godzilla vs. Monster Zero
1965