Gamera: Super Monster

Gamera: Super Monster
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Noriaki Yuasa
Screenplay by	Niisan Takahashi
Produced by	Masaya Tokuyama Shigeru Shinohara Hirokazu Ohba
Starring	Mach Fumiake Yaeko Kojima Yoko Komatsu Keiko Kudo Koichi Maeda Toshie Takada
Cinematography	Michio Takahashi Akira Uehara
Edited by	Zenko Miyazaki Tatsuji Nakashizu Shoji Sekiguchi
Music by	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Production company	Daiei Film
Distributed by	New Daiei
Release date	March 20, 1980 (1980-03-20) (Japan)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	Japan

Gamera: Super Monster (宇宙怪獣ガメラ, Uchū Kaijū Gamera, lit. 'Space Monster Gamera') 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 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 dimetrodon-like monster), 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. 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.

The 1994 manga Giant Monster Gamera by Hurricane Ryu depicted that Gamera after the incident of Gamera: Super Monster was artificially resurrected and gained physical appearance and ability of the incarnation of the Heisei Trilogy.

Release

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

Home media

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.

Cinema Insomnia

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

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.

References

Sources

• Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-853-7.

External links

• Gamera web archive (Japanese)
• "宇宙怪獣ガメラ (Uchu Kaijū Gamera)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
• Gamera: Super Monster at IMDb