Flashback: GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER (1965)
Created by Daiei Film to compete with rival Toho’s Godzilla series, giant monster movie GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER introduced the massive, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle. A re-edited version of the original film including new footage was released in the United States as GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE (1966). Originally a threat to humanity, Gamera in subsequent films was portrayed as a protector of humanity and friend of children. The character has appeared in a dozen films, plus comics, anime, and games.
All the films in the original series were parodied on MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000.
In the 1990s, Gamera was brought back for an amazing trilogy:
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)
For the ’90s trilogy, director Shusuke Kaneko brought such a throughtful, grounded approach to his Gamera trilogy that Toho tapped him to direct one of the Godzilla films. The result, GODZILLA, MOTHRA AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK(2001), is one of the most inventive entries in the entire Godzilla franchise.
There’s a brand-new Blu-ray box set coming this summer:
Gamera: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray]
Buy the box set from Amazon (affiliate link)
The original hero in a half-shell returns! For the first time ever worldwide, all twelve tales of the adventures of everyone’s favourite titanic terrapin are collected together in one deluxe Blu-ray boxset. This limited edition collectors set traces the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the friend of all children in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.
Limited collectors edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt Frank
All twelve uncut original Japanese versions of the films in high definition, with lossless Japanese and English audio 4K restorations of the critically acclaimed Heisei trilogy (Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris)
Hours of new and archive bonus features, expert commentaries (including August Ragone, David Kalat, and Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski), interviews with cast and crew, and the worldwide Blu-ray premiere of Gammera The Invincible (the American theatrical version of the first film)
Hardback 120-page comic book including a full-color reprint of the four-issue Gamera comic series originally released by Dark Horse Comics in 1996, and the first-ever English-language printing of the prequel comic The Last Hope by Matt Frank and Joshua Bugosh
Perfect-bound 80-page book including a new retrospective on the series by Patrick Macias, kaiju X-ray illustrations by Jolyon Yates, and much more!
Gamera: The Complete Collection - Arrow Video Channel Trailer
In the latest episode of our show, we go over the uncanny similarities between the influential comic book legacy of the FANTASTIC FOUR and the monstrous (but beloved) television sitcom THE MUNSTERS!