Gamera vs. Viras

Gamera vs. Viras (ガメラ対宇宙怪獣バイラス, Gamera tai Uchū Kaijū Bairasu, lit. 'Gamera vs. Outer Space Monster Viras') is a 1968 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, written by Niisan Takahashi, and produced by Daiei Film. It stars Kōjirō Hongō, Tōru Takatsuka, Carl Craig, and Michiko Yaegaki, and is the fourth entry in the Gamera film series, after the previous year's Gamera vs. Gyaos. The film also features Teruo Aragaki as the giant flying turtle monster Gamera, and introduces the extraterrestrial monster Viras.

Gamera vs. Viras
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNoriaki Yuasa[1]
Produced byHidemasa Nagata[1]
Screenplay byNiisan Takahashi[1]
Starring
  • Kojiro Hongo
  • Toru Takatsuka
  • Carl Craig
Music byKenjiro Hirose[1]
CinematographyAkira Kitazaki[1]
Edited byShoji Sekiguchi[1]
Production
company
Release date
  • 20 March 1968 (1968-03-20) (Japan)
Running time
81 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Gamera vs. Viras was released theatrically in Japan on March 20, 1968. It did not receive a theatrical release in the United States, instead being released directly to television by American International Television in 1969, under the title Destroy All Planets. The film was followed by Gamera vs. Guiron the following year.

Plot

A deadly alien force approaches Earth. Gamera intervenes and destroys the alien vessel; but before the ship is destroyed, the aliens broadcast a warning to their world, stating that Gamera is their enemy.

Later on Earth, a Boy Scout troop is visiting an aquarium to see the scientists working on a small two-man submarine. Masao and Jim, two of the scouts, manage to talk their way aboard the sub. While in the water they spot Gamera, who engages in a little race with the boys. However, their hijinks come to an end when the second alien vessel envelops the both of them in a super-catch ray. Gamera helps the boys to escape, but he remains trapped in the force field while the aliens scan his memories. They learn of Gamera's one weakness, his soft spot for children. Soon after, the field weakens and Gamera is free. The aliens capture Jim and Masao, threatening to kill the boys. Powerless to help them, Gamera lands. Attaching a brainwave control device to Gamera's head, the aliens force the turtle kaiju to do their bidding.

While aboard the spaceship, the boys continually try to escape. Gamera, however (under the influence of the aliens), is destroying dams and cities by the handful. Jim and Masao discover a squid-like creature, thinking that he is another captive of the aliens. In fact, he is the leader of the aliens. The boys help Gamera break free from the brainwave device and he begins to attack the spaceship. Grounded by Gamera, the aliens reveal that their human forms were just disguises. The aliens all merge to form the giant monster Viras. Gamera and Viras duke it out in a big beachside battle. Gamera manages to pull Viras into the upper atmosphere, freezing him to death. He then flings Viras' body back into the ocean. The boys and a crowd of adults celebrate Gamera's victory.

Cast
  • Kōjirō Hongō as Nobuhiko Shimada
  • Tōru Takatsuka as Masao Nakaya
  • Carl Craig as Jim Morgan
  • Michiko Yaegaki as Mariko Nakaya
  • Mari Atsumi as Junko Aoki
  • Junko Yashiro as Masako Shibata
  • Kōji Fujiyama as the Commander of Jietat
  • Genzō Wakayama as the boss's voice
  • Teruo Aragaki as Gamera

Production

Gamera vs. Viras was filmed at Daiei-Tokyo Studios.[2] The film is the fourth in the Gamera film series.[1]

Daiei was in "financial trouble" at the beginning of 1968 and as a result cut the film's budget to ¥20 million, about $56,000 at the time. Footage from previous Gamera films was re-used in some parts of the movie. The film was shot in 25 days.[3]

The agreement between Daiei and AI-TV stipulated that an American boy be cast as one of the two main child characters. No American child actors who spoke Japanese could be found at the time of production, so "Carl Craig, the child of a U.S. Army man stationed in Japan" was cast, even though he had no acting experience."[3]

Release

Gamera vs. Viras was released in Japan on 20 March 1968.[1] It was "such a big success in Japan" that the studio asked director Yuasu if he could produce two additional Gamera films per year. Although Yuasu said that that was impossible, it opened the door to additional Gamera films being made.[3]

The film was never released theatrically in the United States.[1] It was released directly to television by American International Television in 1969 as Destroy All Planets.[1]

Reception

In a retrospective review, AllMovie stated that the film offers "everything one expects from a massive zero-budget monster battle film" while also having "unintentionally brilliant quirky moments like the hypnotized army, Japanese men with glowing eyeballs, and a fiendishly fake-looking squid alien who wishes to attack Earth for its supply of nitrogen."[4]

Phil Hardy, the British film critic, calls the move "a straightforward children's film" and that it "continues the shift of the monster genre towards a space opera context," which diminishes "the thematic interest of the genre."[5]

American writer John LeMay said that "in terms of character utilization and script, Gamera vs. Viras could be the film where it all came together. But, in terms of budget and [special effects], it was the film where it all started to fall apart."[3]

References

Footnotes
  1. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 150.
  2. Galbraith IV 1996, p. 150, Jefferson NC.
  3. LeMay, John (2017). The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Volume 1: 1954-1982. Biceps Books. pp. 163–165. ISBN 9781536827880.
  4. Gibner, Jason. "Destroy All Planets (1968)". AllMovie. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. Hardy, ed., Phil (1995). The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction. Woodstock NY: The Overlook Press. p. 272. ISBN 0879516267.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)

Sources
  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (1996). The Japanese Filmography: 1900 through 1994. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0032-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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