Gamera: Super Monster

Gamera: Super Monster (宇宙怪獣ガメラ, Uchū Kaijū Gamera, lit. 'Space Monster Gamera')[lower-alpha 1] 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
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Noriaki Yuasa
Produced by	Masaya Tokuyama Shigeru Shinohara Hirokazu Ohba[1]
Screenplay by	Niisan Takahashi[1]
Starring	Mach Fumiake Yaeko Kojima Yoko Komatsu Keiko Kudo Koichi Maeda Toshie Takada
Music by	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Cinematography	Michio Takahashi Akira Uehara[1]
Edited by	Zenko Miyazaki Tatsuji Nakashizu Shoji Sekiguchi[1]
Production company	Daiei Film[1]
Distributed by	New Daiei
Release date	March 20, 1980 (1980-03-20) (Japan)
Running time	92 minutes[1]
Country	Japan

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 prehistoric dinosaur), 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

Staff

GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER

Produced by	Daiei Distributors
Planning, Producers	Masaya Tokuyama, Hirokazu Ohba, Shigeru Shinohara
Written by	Futazo Takahashi
Music	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Directed by	Noriaki Yuasa

STAFF

Director of Photography Sound Recordist Lighting Art Director	Akira Kitasaki Kimio Tobita Tadaaki Shimada Tsuneo Yokoshima
Editor Assistant Director Production Manager	Tamotsu Taga Hiromi Muraishi Kosuke Kuri
Monster Operator Set Decorations Makeup Scripter Girl Stils Stunt Arranger	Tetsuro Nakajima Nobuhisa Iwata Chie Tsuchiya Midori Kobayashi Tetsuo Nogami Satoru Matsuo
Assistants to the Crew	Shinichi Arai, Hosei Takei, Masato Sasaki, Shuichi Watanabe, Noboru Kurata, Michio Iwamoto Kentaro Tsuji, Hisao Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Yasukawa, Takaho Toyoizumi, Masayuki Okao, Satoshi Nishiyama Toru Kawai, Shoji Hirasaki, Yoichi Sakurai, Susumu Ozeki, Masami Hirota, Akihiko Iida, Makoto Noguchi, Shingo Miyauchi
Video Effects Models by Gekiga VFX Titles Sound Effects Costumes Recorded at Film Processing	Higashidori ecg system Hilma Modelcraft, Equis Productions Yuji Kaida Toru Ishida Den Film Effect P.A.G Toho Costumes Nikkatsu Studio Center Tokyo Lab

VFX Footage

Camera Sound Lighting Art Directors Monster Operators Sound Effects	Yonezaburo Tsukiji, Kazufumi Fujii, Yuzo Kaneko Riichi Watanabe, Yukio Okumura, Yotataro Shimizu, Hideo Okuyama Mamoru Ishizaka, Nao Kumaki, Shichirou Ishimori, Shinichi Fujino Akira Inoue, Hei Yamaguchi, Tomohisa Yano, Akitaka Ishizuka Hideo Erikawa, Yoshio Kaneko, Haruo Sekiya, Minoru Tanaka Nobuyoshi Ogura, Akira Kojima

Special Thanks

Itkin Jean d'Or Mibune Shibuya store Plunges Ginza Esperanza Mazda Familia Jonan Kanto Mazda Montou Tou Taisei construction Mitsubishi Electric Higashidori Daiei Film Studio YAMAHA MAZDA

Animation works provided by

Offices Academy Toei Animation

Production

Gamera: Super Monster contains extensive stock footage of the entire Gamera film series, as well as Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999.[3] 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.[4]

Release

Gamera: Super Monster was released theatrically in Japan on March 20, 1980 where it was distributed by New Daiei.[1]

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.[5][6]

Cinema Insomnia

In 2007, Gamera: Super Monster was shown on the horror hosted television series Cinema Insomnia.[7] Apprehensive Films later released the Cinema Insomnia episode onto DVD in both regular[8] and special "Slime Line" editions.[9]

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.[10]

Notes

1. Also known as Gamera: The Super Monster.[2]

References

1. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 311.
2. "Sneak Peek: Shout! Factory's GAMERA VS ZIGRA/ GAMERA: THE SUPER MONSTER Double Feature DVD". SciFi Japan. February 14, 2011. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
3. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 312.
4. Galbraith IV 1994, p. 258.
5. Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monster/They Came from Beyond Space : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video
6. DVD Verdict Review - Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monsters / They Came From Beyond Space Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Cinema Insomnia". Cinema Insomnia. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
8. "Gamera Super Monster DVD". Apprehensive Films. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
9. "Gamera Super Monster Slime Line DVD". Apprehensive Films. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
10. The Colossal Chelonian Lives! Shout! Factory Unleashes GAMERA on DVD!

Sources

• Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. ISBN 0-89950-853-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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 on IMDb