Gamera (1965)
Dir. Noriaki Yuasa
Created to cash in on the success of Toho's Gojira (Godzilla) franchise, the first Gamera movie contains within it enough unique elements to differentiate it from Godzilla.
Predictably, an atomic bomb is responsible for his arrival, but his origin is different and his affiliations aren't as clear-cut. His appearances are more frequent and more evenly spread out over the film's running time. (I loved the pictures showing his visitations across the globe, like hilarious holiday snaps of a giant turtle's sightseeing tour.) Furthermore, he can do something menacing that Godzilla can't, which makes him an arguably more formidable foe. It's also technically ridiculous, but awesome spectacle outweighs logic on this occasion.
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
Dir. Shigeo Tanaka
There's despair when danger might have been more effective and the pace slows to a (quadrupedal) crawl in the last third, but there's more than enough quality moments to recommend a viewing to fans.
Daiei's scale models aren't as good as Toho's, but in G vs B the creatures are less like men in suits, which is something that'll please some folks while disgusting others.
Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
Dir. Noriaki Yuasa
Gyaos wakes after millennia and does what comes natural: it eats things.
Gamera eventually intervenes and does what needs to be done: kaijū bad-assery!
The deductive 'science' is so much bullshit and the ultimate plan is badly thought out (poison the lure, you pricks!), but it's hard to dislike the third film, because even though it begins to move closer to the kid-friendly scripts it also throws in more blood and violence. Good job, Japan. We like that.
Plus, even when it's being rubbish it's still much better than what the other Big G was forced to shit out that year, namely the piss-poor Son of Godzilla. Don't even go there.
Friend to all children he may be, but I feel sorry for Gamera having to put up with so much adult short-sightedness and stupidity.
Yes, I reused the same picture as before. I only have two to work with, so give me a break. But get used to that feeling because the films themselves reuse footage.
Gamera vs. Viras (1968)
Dir. Noriaki Yuasa
He's so displeased that he'll shoot fire in the vacuum of space! That's just what you deserve if you're dumb enough to fashion a spaceship from the asses of five giant wasps.
Luckily for Earth the aliens were too busy getting outsmarted by boy scouts and a huge chunk of reused footage from all three of the previous films. If it had been otherwise, they might've made best use of the fact that there wasn't enough budget to stage a scene of the JSDF firing a typical barrage of ineffectual missiles in their general direction.
Gamera: Shōwa Era Films: Part Two (1969-80) is next month.
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