Gamera: Super Monster

Gamera: Super Monster (宇宙怪獣ガメラ, Uchū Kaijū Gamera, lit. 'Space Monster Gamera')[lower-alpha 1] is a 1980 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa and produced by Daiei Film. It is the eighth film in the Gamera film series, following the release of Gamera vs. Zigra in 1971.

Gamera: Super Monster
Japanese theatrical release poster
Directed byNoriaki Yuasa
Produced by
  • Masaya Tokuyama
  • Shigeru Shinohara
  • Hirokazu Ohba[1]
Screenplay byNiisan Takahashi[1]
StarringMach Fumiake
Yaeko Kojima
Yoko Komatsu
Keiko Kudo
Koichi Maeda
Toshie Takada
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
Cinematography
  • Michio Takahashi
  • Akira Uehara[1]
Edited byZenko Miyazaki
Tatsuji Nakashizu
Shoji Sekiguchi[1]
Production
company
Distributed byNew Daiei
Release date
  • March 20, 1980 (1980-03-20) (Japan)
Running time
92 minutes[1]
CountryJapan

Gamera: Super Monster was distributed by New Daiei, and was released theatrically in Japan on 20 March 1980. It was followed by Gamera: Guardian of the Universe in 1995, which would mark the beginning of the franchise's Heisei period.

Plot

When the evil alien Zanon comes to enslave Earth, all hope seems lost. The Earth's resident superheroes, the Spacewomen, are powerless to stop him. They must enlist the help of a young boy who has a special connection with the giant turtle Gamera. The Friend of All Children then battles Gyaos (a huge vampire bat/pterosaur hybrid), Zigra (an alien shark), Viras (an alien squid), Jiger (a female giant prehistoric dinosaur), Guiron (a knife-headed alien monster) and finally Barugon (an enormous lizard whose tongue sprays a freeze-gas that can freeze things solid and whose back spines emit a powerful rainbow ray that can melt or dissolve any solid object). Gamera sacrifices his life in the end to destroy Zanon once and for all and to protect Earth one last time.

Cast
  • Mach Fumiake as Kilara
  • Yaeko Kojima as Marsha
  • Yoko Komatsu as Mitan
  • Keiko Kudo as Giruge
  • Koichi Maeda as Keiichi
  • Toshie Takada as Keiichi's mother

Production

Gamera: Super Monster contains extensive stock footage of the entire Gamera film series, as well as Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999.[3] Almost all of the footage of Gamera is stock footage. The movie was made as an attempt to help Daiei get out of its turbulent financial situation.[4]

Release

Gamera: Super Monster was released theatrically in Japan on March 20, 1980 where it was distributed by New Daiei.[1]

Home video

Elvira's Movie Macabre

The movie was featured on a 1983 episode of Elvira's Movie Macabre, which Shout! Factory released on a DVD in 2007 together with the 1967 British film They Came from Beyond Space. The two films can each be watched with or without the Elvira host segments.[5][6]

Cinema Insomnia

In 2007, Gamera: Super Monster was shown on the horror hosted television series Cinema Insomnia.[7] Apprehensive Films later released the Cinema Insomnia episode onto DVD in both regular[8] and special "Slime Line" editions.[9]

Shout! Factory release

Shout! Factory acquired the rights from Kadokawa Pictures for all eight of the Showa era Gamera films and have issued the uncut Japanese versions on DVD for the first time in North America. These "Special Edition" DVDs were released in sequential order, starting with Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965) on May 18, 2010.[10]

Notes
  1. Also known as Gamera: The Super Monster.[2]

References
  1. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 311.
  2. "Sneak Peek: Shout! Factory's GAMERA VS ZIGRA/ GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double Feature DVD". SciFi Japan. February 14, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  3. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 312.
  4. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 258.
  5. Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monster/They Came from Beyond Space : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video
  6. DVD Verdict Review - Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monsters / They Came From Beyond Space Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Cinema Insomnia". Cinema Insomnia. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  8. "Gamera Super Monster DVD". Apprehensive Films. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  9. "Gamera Super Monster Slime Line DVD". Apprehensive Films. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  10. The Colossal Chelonian Lives! Shout! Factory Unleashes GAMERA on DVD!

Sources
  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-853-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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