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Gamera - Guardian of the Universe
A.D.V. Films // Unrated // $24.98 // March 18, 2002
Review by DVD Savant | posted April 26, 2003 | E-mail
the Author
Reviewed by Gary Teetzel
For many kaiju eiga (Japanese monster movie) fans, the
release of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu
Kessen (Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Showdown) in 1995
felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the
staleness of Toho's creatively stagnant Godzilla
films. With a thoughtful approach to the genre and
lively special effects, the film was declared an
instant classic and was popular enough to spawn two
highly-regarded sequels and a devoted fan following. A
few years after releasing a badly dubbed VHS tape, ADV
Films has at last made the film available to American
fans in its original language on a new DVD under the
title Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
Synopsis:
A series of mysterious events takes place off the
coast of Japan. First, a floating atoll appears,
endangering shipping. Next, unexplained disappearances
on a small island are linked to reports of giant
birds. Ornithologist Dr. Mayumi Nagamine (Shinobu
Nakayama) soon discovers that the 'giant birds' are a
trio of monstrous flying reptiles dubbed Gyaoses. When
the military traps the creatures inside a domed
baseball stadium, the floating atoll appears off
shore, sheds a layer of rock, and reveals itself to be
Gamera, a gigantic fire-breathing turtle that promptly
attacks the flying monsters. The Gyaoses escape and
flee the area, but within days one of them grows to
enormous proportions and returns to launch a
devastating attack on Tokyo. While the military
struggles to cope with the threat of the monsters, Dr.
Nagamine and Yoshinari Yonemori of the Marine Safety
Agency (Tsuyoshi Ihara) link Gamera and Gyaos to the
prophecies of an ancient Atlantis-like civilization. A
psychic bond between Gamera and a teenage girl (Ayako
Fujitami) helps convince the pair that the monster
turtle was created to defend mankind - but can Gamera
fulfill his prophesied role against the awesome power
of Gyaos?
Daiei Studios introduced Gamera to the world in 1965
in Daikaiju Gamera (Gamera the Invincible in the
U.S.). The first three films were formulaic imitations
of Toho's internationally successful Godzilla
franchise, but with the fourth outing, Gamera Tai Uchu
Kaiju Bairasu (Destroy All Planets, 1968), the Gamera
series began to forge its own distinct identity by
focusing on child protagonists (usually two - one
American, one Japanese). 1 Gamera went from being a
fearsome, fire-breathing city-stomper to the 'friend
of all children' who defended the Earth against
outlandish foes to the tune of his own peppy theme
music. The new, kiddie-oriented Gamera movies proved
so popular that Toho began aiming its Godzilla films
at younger audiences in response. 2 After the release
of the seventh installment, Gamera tai Shinkai Kaiju
Jigura (Gamera vs. Zigra) in 1971, financial troubles
at Daiei brought an end to the series. A feeble
attempt to revive the character in 1980 with a film
built around stock footage (Uchu Kaiju Gamera, or
Super Monster Gamera) was unsuccessful.
Most kaiju fans greeted the announcement of a new
Gamera film in 1995 with skepticism, anticipating
either a cheap imitation of Toho's recent Godzilla
movies or a campy, juvenile adventure in the style of
the 1960s series entries. Director Shusuke Kaneko and
screenwriter Kazunori Ito surprised the skeptics by
instead crafting a film that was both an homage to
vintage kaiju films and an imaginative reinvention of
the Gamera character. Their fondness for the genre is
clear from the opening scene, a mysterious encounter
between two ships and the 'floating atoll' that
recalls countless monster films of the past, and
features cameo appearances by kaiju veterans Akira
Kubo (Kaijuto no Kessen: Gojira no Musuko/Son of
Godzilla, Kaiju Soshingeki/Destroy All Monsters,
several others) and Kojiro Hongo (three of the
original Gamera films) as the ship captains. Later
scenes of the military battling the monsters take
place at such familiar settings as Mt. Fuji and Tokyo
Tower, similarly echoing the classic kaiju epics of
the 1950s and 60s.
Although Kaneko and Ito are respectful of the genre's
past, they are fortunately not slaves to its
conventions, and much of what makes Gamera: Guardian
of the Universe feel fresh is their willingness to
abandon much of the established Gamera formula. Gamera
is still a 'good guy' fighting to defend mankind, but
he's no longer tagging along after little boys like
the faithful family dog. (One scene of Gamera helping
to save a toddler trapped on a bridge under attack by
Gyaos is included as a nod to his cinematic past as
the 'friend of all children.') He's also no longer a
revived prehistoric turtle either, allowing the film
to avoid all the tired, cliched scenes explaining how
mankind's tampering with the atom brought forth a
monster. Unfortunately, the alternate Gamera origin
story introduced in this film is a mish-mash of
underdeveloped 'New Age' ideas that became
increasingly confusing as the series progressed.
Introducing the concept of the psychic bond between
Gamera and the teenage girl Asagi is a unique way to
crack a narrative problem common to kaiju films - how
to link the 'monster story' with the 'human story.'
Gamera's and Asagi's fates become intertwined, with
the teenage girl suffering whenever the monster is
injured, and healing when he heals. The concept is
fresh, but the execution not entirely successful
because the details of the psychic bond are left so
vague. The bond is formed after Asagi handles a
strange piece of metal found on Gamera's back,
apparently put there deliberately by his creators.
Yoshinari theorizes that Asagi has become a
'priestess' for Gamera, but just what this is supposed
to entail is never explored. 3 Is she supposed to
guide or control Gamera? Has the metal passed on
knowledge from the civilization that created the
monsters? Is Gamera somehow dependent on her
life-force to survive? The movie provides no clear
answers.
For all of its innovative ideas, the greatest weakness
of the film is perhaps that Kaneko and Ito did not go
far enough in their genre revisionism. The success of
this film would embolden the pair to experiment with
the formula even more in the sequels, but in this
first film they don't manage to completely escape the
clichés and traditional weaknesses of kaiju films. The
human characters are paper thin and not particularly
engaging. As in the old Gamera films, the story is
structured around three major monster battles: a
preliminary bout Gamera wins, a rematch in which the
enemy wounds Gamera, and Gamera's final victory. This
structure became predictable and tired in the original
series, and it's hard to tell if its re-use here was
motivated by a desire to follow tradition or a simple
paucity of imagination. Several scenes of the military
opposing Gamera from the belief that he is the greater
menace feel like padding, and we grow impatient for
them to learn what we know from the start - that
Gamera is a 'good guy.'
The cast is competent but isn't given much of a chance
to flesh out their characters. The two leads earn our
respect early on for their sense of responsibility:
Dr. Nagamine feels out of her league advising the
military on giant monsters, but does so because her
mentor, Professor Hirata, was killed by the Gyaoses;
similarly, Yonemori, as a member of the Marine Safety
Agency, feels compelled to be part of the team that
investigates the dangerous collision between a ship
carrying plutonium and the 'floating atoll' that turns
out to be Gamera. Shinobu Nakayama and Tsuyoshi Ihara
handle these early scenes well, but they're soon stuck
delivering reams of exposition, and by the end of the
film they are mostly passive spectators. 4 Ayako
Fujitami, daughter of martial arts expert and 'actor'
Steven Seagal, is pleasantly natural in early scenes,
but tends to come across as a bit distant and sullen
later on when she bonds with Gamera.
Of course, the true star of any kaiju film is the
special effects, and here Gamera: Guardian of the
Universe delivers. Director of Special Effects Shinji
Higuchi shows a willingness to experiment with
different techniques, including CGI and filming
miniatures in natural sunlight, to accomplish the
effects and create a unique and dynamic style. He
brings a lot of brisk energy to the staging of the
monster scenes, and knows how to build the sequences
for maximum impact. Inevitably, not every shot is a
complete success, with some miniatures looking a
little under-detailed and the lighting sometimes
revealing the rubbery texture of the monster suits.
Nonetheless, considering the limited budget Higuchi
was given (a fraction of what Toho spent on their
Godzilla films), his accomplishments are impressive.
One weakness that cannot be blamed on Higuchi is the
design of Gamera himself. A bipedal, fire-breathing,
jet-propelled turtle is a bit silly even by the broad
standards of kaiju eiga, and Gamera has always had an
unfortunate tendency to look more like a sports team
mascot or theme park character than a mighty monster.
No matter how detailed or ferocious Higuchi tried to
make the titanic terrapin look over the course of
three films, he never completely overcame this
fundamental flaw, but audiences with a fondness for
the character never cared, and happily accepted Gamera
in spite of his inherent goofiness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADV's DVD is a mixed bag which will likely both
delight and frustrate fans. The biggest disappointment
is that the feature is presented in a flat letterboxed
transfer, in spite of the package's promise of 16:9
enhancement. This will be particularly problematic for
viewers with widescreen TVs, since blowing up the
picture to fill the screen will partially crop the
subtitles if one watches the film in Japanese.
Aside from the lack of anamorphic enhancement, the
transfer is fine, with nicely-rendered color and good
detail. The contrast level appears a little low, but
this is never a problem. The Japanese main titles have
been covered up with animated black strips upon which
English-language credits are superimposed, and the
original end titles have been completely redone in
English. A few purists may object, but this is better
than Sony's treatment of the Godzilla films, in which
the end titles have been dropped completely.
Both the original Japanese language track and an
English dub track are included, with English being the
default selection. Both are in 2.0 stereo, another
disappointment since the Japanese DVD feature 5.1
Surround Sound. Both stereo tracks are adequate,
although the awful English dubbing should be avoided
by anyone old enough to read subtitles.
On the positive side, ADV has included most (all?) of
the generous extras from Daiei's Japanese release, and
provided thorough English subtitles. The centerpiece
of the supplements is a half-hour interview with
Shinji Higuchi conducted by Hirokatsu Kihara, one of
the founders of Studio Ghibli. Shot against a stark
white background that seems designed to wreak havoc
with TV monitors, the discussion focuses largely on
Higuchi's conceptual approach to the effects instead
of the technical details. The interview would have
benefited from the inclusion of more behind-the-scenes
footage and stills, but fortunately the modest,
self-effacing Higuchi is a thoughtful and interesting
speaker. The interview is billed as the first of three
parts, with the remaining segments slated to appear on
the DVDs of the two Gamera sequels.
The other extras on the disc are:
Highlights from the press conference announcing the
film's production (5 minutes)
Three Japanese trailers (3 minutes, 40 seconds total)
Six Japanese TV spots (2 minutes, 12 seconds total)
A montage of behind-the-scenes footage of the live
action sequences, cut to an annoying pop song that
will have the viewer yearning for the old Gamera theme
music. (4 minutes, 15 seconds)
Footage of the cast and crew - and someone in a Gamera
suit -- promoting the film at the Yubai International
Fantastic Adventure Film Festival (6 minutes, 10
seconds)
Footage from opening day in Tokyo, with the cast and
crew addressing the audience at the Hibiyu Theater. (2
minutes, 55 seconds)
Trailers for other ADV titles, including the first
Gamera sequel, Gamera: Attack of Legion.
ADV is making the disc available by itself, or in a
box with extra space designed to hold the DVDs of the
two sequels.
Fans with all-region DVD players may want to seek out
Daiei's Japanese disc for the superior picture and
sound quality (English subtitles are included for the
feature but not the extras), but for the majority of
American kaiju buffs, ADV's DVD of Gamera: Guardian of
the Universe provides a decent transfer and a wealth
of supplements at an attractive price.
A.D.V. Films // Unrated // $24.98 // March 18, 2002
Review by DVD Savant | posted April 26, 2003 | E-mail
the Author
Reviewed by Gary Teetzel
For many kaiju eiga (Japanese monster movie) fans, the
release of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera: Daikaiju Kuchu
Kessen (Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Showdown) in 1995
felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the
staleness of Toho's creatively stagnant Godzilla
films. With a thoughtful approach to the genre and
lively special effects, the film was declared an
instant classic and was popular enough to spawn two
highly-regarded sequels and a devoted fan following. A
few years after releasing a badly dubbed VHS tape, ADV
Films has at last made the film available to American
fans in its original language on a new DVD under the
title Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
Synopsis:
A series of mysterious events takes place off the
coast of Japan. First, a floating atoll appears,
endangering shipping. Next, unexplained disappearances
on a small island are linked to reports of giant
birds. Ornithologist Dr. Mayumi Nagamine (Shinobu
Nakayama) soon discovers that the 'giant birds' are a
trio of monstrous flying reptiles dubbed Gyaoses. When
the military traps the creatures inside a domed
baseball stadium, the floating atoll appears off
shore, sheds a layer of rock, and reveals itself to be
Gamera, a gigantic fire-breathing turtle that promptly
attacks the flying monsters. The Gyaoses escape and
flee the area, but within days one of them grows to
enormous proportions and returns to launch a
devastating attack on Tokyo. While the military
struggles to cope with the threat of the monsters, Dr.
Nagamine and Yoshinari Yonemori of the Marine Safety
Agency (Tsuyoshi Ihara) link Gamera and Gyaos to the
prophecies of an ancient Atlantis-like civilization. A
psychic bond between Gamera and a teenage girl (Ayako
Fujitami) helps convince the pair that the monster
turtle was created to defend mankind - but can Gamera
fulfill his prophesied role against the awesome power
of Gyaos?
Daiei Studios introduced Gamera to the world in 1965
in Daikaiju Gamera (Gamera the Invincible in the
U.S.). The first three films were formulaic imitations
of Toho's internationally successful Godzilla
franchise, but with the fourth outing, Gamera Tai Uchu
Kaiju Bairasu (Destroy All Planets, 1968), the Gamera
series began to forge its own distinct identity by
focusing on child protagonists (usually two - one
American, one Japanese). 1 Gamera went from being a
fearsome, fire-breathing city-stomper to the 'friend
of all children' who defended the Earth against
outlandish foes to the tune of his own peppy theme
music. The new, kiddie-oriented Gamera movies proved
so popular that Toho began aiming its Godzilla films
at younger audiences in response. 2 After the release
of the seventh installment, Gamera tai Shinkai Kaiju
Jigura (Gamera vs. Zigra) in 1971, financial troubles
at Daiei brought an end to the series. A feeble
attempt to revive the character in 1980 with a film
built around stock footage (Uchu Kaiju Gamera, or
Super Monster Gamera) was unsuccessful.
Most kaiju fans greeted the announcement of a new
Gamera film in 1995 with skepticism, anticipating
either a cheap imitation of Toho's recent Godzilla
movies or a campy, juvenile adventure in the style of
the 1960s series entries. Director Shusuke Kaneko and
screenwriter Kazunori Ito surprised the skeptics by
instead crafting a film that was both an homage to
vintage kaiju films and an imaginative reinvention of
the Gamera character. Their fondness for the genre is
clear from the opening scene, a mysterious encounter
between two ships and the 'floating atoll' that
recalls countless monster films of the past, and
features cameo appearances by kaiju veterans Akira
Kubo (Kaijuto no Kessen: Gojira no Musuko/Son of
Godzilla, Kaiju Soshingeki/Destroy All Monsters,
several others) and Kojiro Hongo (three of the
original Gamera films) as the ship captains. Later
scenes of the military battling the monsters take
place at such familiar settings as Mt. Fuji and Tokyo
Tower, similarly echoing the classic kaiju epics of
the 1950s and 60s.
Although Kaneko and Ito are respectful of the genre's
past, they are fortunately not slaves to its
conventions, and much of what makes Gamera: Guardian
of the Universe feel fresh is their willingness to
abandon much of the established Gamera formula. Gamera
is still a 'good guy' fighting to defend mankind, but
he's no longer tagging along after little boys like
the faithful family dog. (One scene of Gamera helping
to save a toddler trapped on a bridge under attack by
Gyaos is included as a nod to his cinematic past as
the 'friend of all children.') He's also no longer a
revived prehistoric turtle either, allowing the film
to avoid all the tired, cliched scenes explaining how
mankind's tampering with the atom brought forth a
monster. Unfortunately, the alternate Gamera origin
story introduced in this film is a mish-mash of
underdeveloped 'New Age' ideas that became
increasingly confusing as the series progressed.
Introducing the concept of the psychic bond between
Gamera and the teenage girl Asagi is a unique way to
crack a narrative problem common to kaiju films - how
to link the 'monster story' with the 'human story.'
Gamera's and Asagi's fates become intertwined, with
the teenage girl suffering whenever the monster is
injured, and healing when he heals. The concept is
fresh, but the execution not entirely successful
because the details of the psychic bond are left so
vague. The bond is formed after Asagi handles a
strange piece of metal found on Gamera's back,
apparently put there deliberately by his creators.
Yoshinari theorizes that Asagi has become a
'priestess' for Gamera, but just what this is supposed
to entail is never explored. 3 Is she supposed to
guide or control Gamera? Has the metal passed on
knowledge from the civilization that created the
monsters? Is Gamera somehow dependent on her
life-force to survive? The movie provides no clear
answers.
For all of its innovative ideas, the greatest weakness
of the film is perhaps that Kaneko and Ito did not go
far enough in their genre revisionism. The success of
this film would embolden the pair to experiment with
the formula even more in the sequels, but in this
first film they don't manage to completely escape the
clichés and traditional weaknesses of kaiju films. The
human characters are paper thin and not particularly
engaging. As in the old Gamera films, the story is
structured around three major monster battles: a
preliminary bout Gamera wins, a rematch in which the
enemy wounds Gamera, and Gamera's final victory. This
structure became predictable and tired in the original
series, and it's hard to tell if its re-use here was
motivated by a desire to follow tradition or a simple
paucity of imagination. Several scenes of the military
opposing Gamera from the belief that he is the greater
menace feel like padding, and we grow impatient for
them to learn what we know from the start - that
Gamera is a 'good guy.'
The cast is competent but isn't given much of a chance
to flesh out their characters. The two leads earn our
respect early on for their sense of responsibility:
Dr. Nagamine feels out of her league advising the
military on giant monsters, but does so because her
mentor, Professor Hirata, was killed by the Gyaoses;
similarly, Yonemori, as a member of the Marine Safety
Agency, feels compelled to be part of the team that
investigates the dangerous collision between a ship
carrying plutonium and the 'floating atoll' that turns
out to be Gamera. Shinobu Nakayama and Tsuyoshi Ihara
handle these early scenes well, but they're soon stuck
delivering reams of exposition, and by the end of the
film they are mostly passive spectators. 4 Ayako
Fujitami, daughter of martial arts expert and 'actor'
Steven Seagal, is pleasantly natural in early scenes,
but tends to come across as a bit distant and sullen
later on when she bonds with Gamera.
Of course, the true star of any kaiju film is the
special effects, and here Gamera: Guardian of the
Universe delivers. Director of Special Effects Shinji
Higuchi shows a willingness to experiment with
different techniques, including CGI and filming
miniatures in natural sunlight, to accomplish the
effects and create a unique and dynamic style. He
brings a lot of brisk energy to the staging of the
monster scenes, and knows how to build the sequences
for maximum impact. Inevitably, not every shot is a
complete success, with some miniatures looking a
little under-detailed and the lighting sometimes
revealing the rubbery texture of the monster suits.
Nonetheless, considering the limited budget Higuchi
was given (a fraction of what Toho spent on their
Godzilla films), his accomplishments are impressive.
One weakness that cannot be blamed on Higuchi is the
design of Gamera himself. A bipedal, fire-breathing,
jet-propelled turtle is a bit silly even by the broad
standards of kaiju eiga, and Gamera has always had an
unfortunate tendency to look more like a sports team
mascot or theme park character than a mighty monster.
No matter how detailed or ferocious Higuchi tried to
make the titanic terrapin look over the course of
three films, he never completely overcame this
fundamental flaw, but audiences with a fondness for
the character never cared, and happily accepted Gamera
in spite of his inherent goofiness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADV's DVD is a mixed bag which will likely both
delight and frustrate fans. The biggest disappointment
is that the feature is presented in a flat letterboxed
transfer, in spite of the package's promise of 16:9
enhancement. This will be particularly problematic for
viewers with widescreen TVs, since blowing up the
picture to fill the screen will partially crop the
subtitles if one watches the film in Japanese.
Aside from the lack of anamorphic enhancement, the
transfer is fine, with nicely-rendered color and good
detail. The contrast level appears a little low, but
this is never a problem. The Japanese main titles have
been covered up with animated black strips upon which
English-language credits are superimposed, and the
original end titles have been completely redone in
English. A few purists may object, but this is better
than Sony's treatment of the Godzilla films, in which
the end titles have been dropped completely.
Both the original Japanese language track and an
English dub track are included, with English being the
default selection. Both are in 2.0 stereo, another
disappointment since the Japanese DVD feature 5.1
Surround Sound. Both stereo tracks are adequate,
although the awful English dubbing should be avoided
by anyone old enough to read subtitles.
On the positive side, ADV has included most (all?) of
the generous extras from Daiei's Japanese release, and
provided thorough English subtitles. The centerpiece
of the supplements is a half-hour interview with
Shinji Higuchi conducted by Hirokatsu Kihara, one of
the founders of Studio Ghibli. Shot against a stark
white background that seems designed to wreak havoc
with TV monitors, the discussion focuses largely on
Higuchi's conceptual approach to the effects instead
of the technical details. The interview would have
benefited from the inclusion of more behind-the-scenes
footage and stills, but fortunately the modest,
self-effacing Higuchi is a thoughtful and interesting
speaker. The interview is billed as the first of three
parts, with the remaining segments slated to appear on
the DVDs of the two Gamera sequels.
The other extras on the disc are:
Highlights from the press conference announcing the
film's production (5 minutes)
Three Japanese trailers (3 minutes, 40 seconds total)
Six Japanese TV spots (2 minutes, 12 seconds total)
A montage of behind-the-scenes footage of the live
action sequences, cut to an annoying pop song that
will have the viewer yearning for the old Gamera theme
music. (4 minutes, 15 seconds)
Footage of the cast and crew - and someone in a Gamera
suit -- promoting the film at the Yubai International
Fantastic Adventure Film Festival (6 minutes, 10
seconds)
Footage from opening day in Tokyo, with the cast and
crew addressing the audience at the Hibiyu Theater. (2
minutes, 55 seconds)
Trailers for other ADV titles, including the first
Gamera sequel, Gamera: Attack of Legion.
ADV is making the disc available by itself, or in a
box with extra space designed to hold the DVDs of the
two sequels.
Fans with all-region DVD players may want to seek out
Daiei's Japanese disc for the superior picture and
sound quality (English subtitles are included for the
feature but not the extras), but for the majority of
American kaiju buffs, ADV's DVD of Gamera: Guardian of
the Universe provides a decent transfer and a wealth
of supplements at an attractive price.
