Monster Movie of the Week: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)

GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (1995)

Director: Shusuke Kaneko

Genre: Daikaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster movie)

THE MOVIE:

Poor Gamera. For years he was viciously mocked on MST3K and for good reason. Gamera was created to capitalize on the kaiju craze in the mid 60’s. He starred in a bunch of Godzilla ripoff movies that were cheaply made and designed to appeal to children.

You brought this on yourself, Gamera.

Even for a giant monster, Gamera is ridiculous: He is an 80 meter tall bipedal turtle who is a “friend to all children,” with the ability to retract his extremities into his shell and replace them with jets which allow him to fly around like a pin-wheeling UFO. Makes Mothra seem downright plausible, doesn’t it?

So when Daiei studios resurrected the character in the mid 90’s to compete with the revitalized Godzilla series nobody expected much. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was a pleasant surprise in that was at least as good as any of the contemporary Godzilla movies (in fact, it was released the same year as Godzilla vs. Destroyah). The movie even garnered a positive review from none other than Roger Ebert (who relishes its sense of fun while failing to contextualize it as an important giant monster movie).

The movie itself is standard kaiju stuff. Gamera awakens from a long slumber to defend Japan against the threat of Gyaos, a race of predatory reptilian birds. The movie reintroduces us to Gamera and gives him a new origin story and sets up for the two sequels that follow. The Gamera Trilogy is one of the rare movie series in which each movie is better than the one before it therefore Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is the weakest of the three but the best place to start.

The bad thing about being Gamera, is that when you smile you run the risk of poking your eye out.

THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:

The special effects certainly are not up to Hollywood standards for the time (remember we’re a couple of years after Jurassic Park here.) Most of the monster effects are through suitmation, miniatures, and puppets. Unfortunately, CGI is very sparingly used in this one.

The Gyaos effects in particular are bad. Some shots are very clearly puppets and the wings don’t to seem to beat fast enough to keep the animal in flight (a disorder I call Rodanitis.) The Gyaos design is also a little too retro for my tastes.

Gamera is well-realized and nicely updated from his Showa roots. The suit is a little bulky here but improves throughout the series.

Kowabunga dude!

MONSTERS FEATURED:

Gamera and Gyaos.

MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE:

There is a wonderful shot of Gyaos in silhouette, perched on the remains of Tokyo tower against the setting sun. The shot is beautiful and awe-inspiring and sums up what is great about this genre.

The noble kaiju in its natural habitat (the ruins of a Japanese building).

HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY:

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe was released on DVD in the US and can be watched dubbed or subtitled (the dubbing is horrible, I suggest going with the subtitles.) There are also some extras on the DVD such as promos and interviews with the special effects director.

The movie is also available in a cheapo Bluray set with Gamera 2. Still, it's kind of cool to be able to watch Gamera on Bluray, even if it isn't a loving restoration packed with extras.

Actually it's rather understated for a Japanese movie poster.

SEQUELS:

Gamera 2: The Attack of Legion, Gamera 3: The Revenge of Irys.

SEE ALSO:

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack.

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