The original outing for the second greatest monster to terrorise Japan and a solid introduction to a series that would later scale the heights…
Ishirō Honda’s 1954 film Godzilla was a huge hit for Japanese studio Toho, not only delivering a fun romp, but also feeding on the Japanese nation’s post-war fear of the nuclear age. It then led to sequel after sequel, with the darker tones of science-fiction being replaced by something a little more fun, but still bringing people into the cinema, eventually leading to an international pop-culture phenomenon that persists until the present day. The only surprise was that it took 10 years, 4 sequels (as well as other Toho properties such as Mothra), for another studio to make a successful attempt to start their own Kaiju-franchise.
Related posts
It wasn’t Daiei’s first attempt at a Tokusatsu film, I believe that honour would go to 1956 effort Warning from Space (which does hold the honour of being the first Japanese colour Science-Fiction feature), but with Gamera, the Giant Monster, they finally got something they could build a franchise around. Gamera might not have the same international recognition as Godzilla, but a twelve movie CV is nothing to be sniffed at.
It all starts with this film, Gamera, the Giant Monster. A small nuclear explosion in the Artic (caused by Cold War aggression between America and an unnamed foe, that’s obviously the USSR) awakens the titular monster from decades of slumber. A giant turtle-like creature, with fire breath and giant tusk, Gamera makes short work of a Japanese scientific survey vessel, and makes its way to Japan. Oh, and I should also mention Gamera has the ability to pull its legs into its shell and propel itself via unexplained jet propulsion. This gives the giant creature the ability to travel large distances, as well as tapping into the UFO fever of the time.
Gamera arrives in Japan, attracted to the various energy making technologies available, and begins to wreak havoc, although conversely, it takes time to save one young boy, Toshio (Yoshiro Uchida) from an untimely death. The world’s scientists, led by Dr Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi, The Loyal 47 Ronin), band together to counter this giant threat, and after the usual missteps, manage to save Japan (and therefore I assume, the Planet) by disposing of Gamera in a non-fatal and sequel-friendly manner.
On the face of it, Gamera, the Giant Monster is a fairly solid if unremarkable piece of Tokusatsu. It’s possibly enhanced by the gorgeous black and white photography in the same way the original Godzilla was. Any flaws with the costume and model work are hidden by the two-tone cinematography, but overall the production quality is more than solid.
The story itself, plays well. It touches on contemporary worries and concerns of the time, such as nuclear power, the Cold War and the UFO sighting frenzy, alongside rise in heroic achievement attached to the scientific community in the age of the Space Race. Whilst not explored fully, it sets up some key parts of the Gamera mythos that will be further explored in later films – Gamera’s connection with the least civilisation of Atlantis, its potential telepathic connection to some humans, and of course its role as Protector of Children. It’s this last point that sometimes makes people consider the Gamera franchise potentially aimed at a younger audience, but for me, it’s more of an example of the uniqueness of the brand.
Gamera, the Giant Monster is fundamentally solid. It pales in quality to the original Godzilla, but is far more than a silly romp. The series would not really shine until the Heisei era reboot trilogy of films by Shusuke Kaneko in the mid-1990s, but there are far worse ways to be introduced to the second greatest monster to attack Japan.
Gamera – The Showa Era and Gamera – The Heisei Era are released as Blu-ray sets on 25 January 2021 by Arrow Video, with a Limited Edition Steelbook released of The Heisei Trilogy on 22 February 2021.
About the author
