Member Secret Executioner Posted December 16, 2014 Member Share Posted December 16, 2014 Since I was on a Kaiju talk in the latest BD/DVD purchases thread, I was wondering what this entry in the Gammera franchise was worth. I have the first (Gammera The Invincible, 1965) and third (Gamera vs. Gayos, 1967) entries on a DVD and I'd be into expanding my Gamera collection. And since there are so many releases out there, I was wondering what release(s) was/were the best for various Gamera films. On a sidenote (another reason for my interest in this specific film), I got this cool wallpaper showcasing Barugon. Man that monster looks cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted December 17, 2014 Administrator Share Posted December 17, 2014 Right now you can buy all of the original eight Gamera films on Blu-ray via these two volumes for only $17.00! http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gamera-Ultimate-Collection-Volume-One-Blu-ray/98373/ http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gamera-Ultimate-Collection-Volume-Two-Blu-ray/98372/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted December 17, 2014 Author Member Share Posted December 17, 2014 Sounds like a good deal. That monster (Guiron ?) looks hilarious: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member inframan Posted January 12, 2015 Member Share Posted January 12, 2015 I'd track down the Shout! versions of the Gamera releases, they have special features and some releases have alternate dub tracks. The Blu releases are barebones and (I think) subs only. As far as that title I really like it, its the only Showa Gamera with out a Kenny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 13, 2015 Author Member Share Posted January 13, 2015 Ordered this set (amongst other things) on yesasia: http://www.amazon.com/Gamera-Legacy-Collection-Various/dp/B00I099JO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421145459&sr=8-1&keywords=gamera+collection A Mill Creek release with 11 movies on 4 discs and all are in Japanese with English subs. Sounds good enough for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted January 13, 2015 Member Share Posted January 13, 2015 Ordered this set (amongst other things) on yesasia: http://www.amazon.com/Gamera-Legacy-Collection-Various/dp/B00I099JO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421145459&sr=8-1&keywords=gamera+collection A Mill Creek release with 11 movies on 4 discs and all are in Japanese with English subs. Sounds good enough for me. That's the one I picked up a while back, was going to get the last 3(I haven't seen) BRs but grabbed this instead. Most of these movies imo didn't hold up well over the years, but fna it's a giant turtle monster that has jets for arms and legs:tongue: Going to start watching the last 3 tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted January 14, 2015 Author Member Share Posted January 14, 2015 That's the one I picked up a while back, was going to get the last 3(I haven't seen) BRs but grabbed this instead. Most of these movies imo didn't hold up well over the years, but fna it's a giant turtle monster that has jets for arms and legs:tongue: Going to start watching the last 3 tonight. Not sure what these 90s movies are worth, but the 1960s/1970s movies sound awesome. The looks of some of those monsters (like Guiron I mentionned earlier) just kill me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted February 22, 2015 Author Member Share Posted February 22, 2015 Not sure where to put this sort of review of Gamera vs. Barugon, so I'll stick it here. The review is based on the version included in the Gamera Legacy Collection 1965-1999 set: Movie is on disc one along with the first film (1965) and Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967). This is the Japanese version, presented widescreen with Japanese dub and English subtitles. The story may sound familiar: while the returning monster is causing havoc again after people thought it was gone (the first 5 minutes are basically a recap of the ending of the first Gamera film and Gamera causing havoc), a bunch of people from Japan gets in trouble with a tribe from an island in the Pacific (New Guinea here) over some precious artifact that's precious to them but the Japanese don't understand until it's too late. Yup, this film is HEAVILY similar to the 1964 Kaiju Eiga classic Mothra vs. Godzilla. Actually, Barugon's backstory is pretty much that of Mothra - except instead of a beloved giant moth goddess, you have a feared demonic iguana that can freeze everything around thanks to its tongue and that emits rainbows from horns on its back. But beside this rip off aspect, I gotta say the movie is kinda fun to watch. Gamera actually has little screen time (less than 10 minutes at the beginning, a bit where it fights Barugon in Osaka and the last few minutes for the final fight with Barugon) and most of the movie is dedicated to Barugon and how to destroy it. I found it looked very rubbery, but the design is creative (see the description above) and the numerous sets are pretty nice, with good effects when Barugon causes havoc in Kobe and later in Osaka. Lots of gore in this one (Barugon bleeds a lot - its blood is purple (!), but still), and no annoying little kid. This second point actually surprised me: there is not a single kid among the main characters. The summaries for several of the other movies on the Legacy Collection set highlight the fact Gamera has "aid" from a couple of kids, but here, not a single one plays a key role or utters a word. To be fair though, these films where kids play big parts are from later on, when Godzilla had gone kid-friendly (with Son Of Godzilla and Godzilla's Revenge as the greatest examples of that marvelous turn) and the makers of Gamera probably didn't want to be left behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted December 2, 2015 Member Share Posted December 2, 2015 That's the one I picked up a while back, was going to get the last 3(I haven't seen) BRs but grabbed this instead. Most of these movies imo didn't hold up well over the years, but fna it's a giant turtle monster that has jets for arms and legs:tongue: Going to start watching the last 3 tonight.I finally got around to watching the first one of the newer movies - Gamera: Guardian of the Universe - not bad, some good effects for the time, I would of liked to see a better kaiju to fight Gamera but sure the next one will be better. The main actor I recognized but couldn't pinpoint where, I was racking my brain the whole movie then realized he was one of Chiba's ninjas in one of the Shadow warriors seasons, the female leads were both beyond cute. It looks as Gamera hasn't changed much over the years compared to Godzilla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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