Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965) User Reviews

enjoyable on its own terms, whatever those are

[winner55 · 6/10 · 17 September 2007]

It doesn't make sense to give this film a bad rating - but it really doesn't make sense to rate it at all.

Don't assume that means that this film is so ridiculous, it's beyond redemption... well, it IS ridiculous and beyond redemption; but it is certainly enjoyable on its own terms.

If this film is easy to misunderstand, it's because it's really difficult to say what 'it's own terms' really are. It begins clearly intending to compete with the successful Godzilla series; but somewhere about mid-way, it suddenly decides to be about a lonely young boy. In order to salvage its science-fiction credentials, it then comes up with an impossible solution to the Gamera threat to the human race - I can't tell you what it is, but it would take the entire assets of the developed nations of the world to pull off - it might be better to let the big turtle stalk around and just stay out from beneath his feet.

On top of all this wild nonsense, the American release print, which is the only one I know available, adds on some wonderful campy stuff, like the televised debate about the possible existence of the big turtle, and lowest-budgeted attempt to portray a meeting of the UN Security Council you are ever likely to see - even the one in the Adam West Batman movie looks spectacular in comparison.

There is no way to wrap your brain around this one, so don't bother. A guilty pleasure to the max. And one more important point in its favor - unlike most of the other '60s Gamera films, this one moves along at a fine pace and never drags.

So microwave some kettle corn and munch down - you deserve not to take life so seriously you can't enjoy a bit of fluff like this.

Debut of the Tusked Turtle

[gigan-92 · 6/10 · 23 May 2012]

Gamera's debut film and the rise legendary rival of Godzilla as the King of Japanese monster cinema. I'm going to say this right now, but I'm not much of a fan of Gamera's early films. There were a few interesting ones, like "Gamera vs. Gyaos" and "Gamera vs. Barugon", however, the original series went to sh*t at a much faster rate than the showa Godzilla films. 1968's "Gamera vs. Viras" is a staple to that statement and of course the series would only get worse till the 80s film "Gamera: Super Monster". This film isn't as good as "Gamera vs. Gyaos" and "Gamera vs. Barugon", but is far superior to latter entries.

Positive notes, well for his debut, Gamera looks pretty awesome. The city stomping scenes are well done, of course Japanese studios by 1965 having had lots of practice. The pacing is brisk and believe it or not doesn't drag. Most kaiju films have interesting finales and if you haven't seen this one you'll either laugh or sit in awe. Either way good fun. And the score is far from Akira Ifukube quality, with wildly switching moods, but it hold together.

Bad points, eh, too much borrowed from other monster movies. A monster emerging from the ice, obviously lifted from "Beast from 20, 000 Fathoms" and the black and white look of the film is borrowed, if you will, from the original 1954 Gojira. I suppose that's what happens when you come in that lame in the game. Plus the child character kind of grated on my nerves, a true turtle lover all right. The movie takes itself rather seriously with notions of the Cold War as opposed to the 1965 Toho release "Invasion of Astro Monster" which was light-hearted but more memorable. That film had awesome colorful cinematography, the likes of three monsters (Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah!!" and a fun and yes zany plot. Plus it was scored by the maestro Akira Ifukube. Comparing it to this film isn't really fair, but Godzilla for the win this round.

However, I still highly enjoy the vintage sci-fi and I recommend the movie to classic sci-fi lovers.

Hmmm, Gamera doesn't like children in this one

[JohnSeal · 5/10 · 2 December 1999]

Gamera himself looks great, but the rest of this film is proof positive that Americans should NEVER be allowed to re-edit foreign films to make them more 'palatable' for US audiences. All it does is pad the running time unnecessarily, clutter the plotline, and highlight what is truly some of the most wretched acting I have ever seen on the small screen, never mind the silver screen. Who did they get to play the naval officers?? And did they get it all in one take? I have a big spot in my heart for the giant flying turtle (after all, he DID become the protector of small fry everywhere only a few years later) but he's not seen to best effect in this, his freshman outing.

Classic Kaiju!

[Eric-62-2 · 21 February 2001]

Sure the film is silly if you're not a fan of the Japanese monster movie genre. But if one catches the right version of this film, which is the original American dubbed version, and not the grotesque Sandy Frank re-dub that's been deservedly sent up on MST 3000 many times, then you'll end up watching instead a credible entry in the "kaiju" genre that was the first effort by Toho rival Daiei to come up with their answer to Godzilla.

The original Japanese version (and the Frank redub) has some particularly horrible scenes involving American Air Force personnel in the opening, including among others a would be actor playing the general who looks and sounds like he's auditioning to replace Curly in a Three Stooges short. The original US version thankfully replaces all of these scenes with more credible looking ones featuring some professional actors, especially Dick O'Neill ("The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three") as the general who is so good you wish he'd been in the rest of the movie instead of over the hill Brian Donlevy who plays the US general in charge of the operation.

Horribly good... but still horrible.

[FairlyAnonymous · 3/10 · 23 September 2011]

Ah classic Gamera. Well this is the first Gamera movie in a relatively large series. Generally the first movie is the best movie in the series, but not so with Gamera. Actually the latest ones are the best, while this one is one of the worst.

The plot revolves around a turtle that can shoot flames from its shell to fly around like a flying saucer... seriously. It's that bad. I really could get into a very large post about all the things wrong with this movie, the first of them being the annoying main character/kid who is entirely stupid and is trying to protect Gamera from the military, while Gamera kills innocent people. The kid says "Gamera saved my life" but Gamera never did! The kid was standing on a tower, Gamera smashed the top of the tower where the kid was standing, and as the kid was about to fall, Gamera catches him, and then drops him. Doesn't sound like a friendly turtle.

Either way this movie is pretty awful and the ending is the funniest thing in movie history. I honestly saw it coming, but it was still funny.

As was the case with the "Godzilla" series, first is almost always usually the best...

[dee.reid · 7/10 · 22 May 2010]

1965's "Gamera: The Giant Monster" is notable for three things: Daiei Studio's Gamera, the giant fire-breathing turtle of Atlantean origin, was the only significant rival to Toho Studios' Godzilla; two, this is the only movie in the "Gamera" series of films in which the titular chelonian does not battle another monster; and three, this was the last Japanese monster movie to be filmed in glorious black & white. Godzilla is my favorite movie monster of all time - "Gojira" (1954) is my favorite giant monster movie, period - since I was first exposed to the badly dubbed Japanese "kaiju-eiga" (Japanese monster movie) series of films as a young kid. Gamera was my #2 favorite monster from Japan. I deeply regret that Gamera never really obtained the same sort of recognition that his other fire-breathing rival did, but that does not mean that the movies were not bad.

Directed by Noriaki Yuasa, "Gamera: The Giant Monster" has a plot ripped straight from the original "Gojira," but with a significantly lower budget and lacking a meaningful social and political subtext or emotional resonance: at the height of the Cold War, American and Soviet bombers in the Arctic Circle clash with one another, leading to a Soviet plane being shot down and thus inadvertently detonating its atomic payload. The resulting explosion revives Gamera, who had been imprisoned in the ice for over 8,000 years. Gamera, who breathes fire and can fly, makes a beeline toward Japan where he soon causes great destruction and finds nourishment in fossil fuels such as gasoline and petroleum, and other rudimentary forms of energy. Since Gamera is impervious to conventional weapons and the so-called "nuclear options" are quickly ruled out, only a brilliant scientist, Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), has the means of stopping Gamera's destructive rampage once and for all.

"Gamera: The Giant Monster" is not a perfect film. I'll say that it pretty much pales in comparison to "Gojira." But that's because the "Gamera" series of films often had significantly lower budgets and one of the most nagging problems with these films were the inclusion of annoying little children as the main protagonists, which helped earn Gamera the nickname of "friend of children" and the films were often marketed as such toward children. (1966's "Gamera vs. Barugon," a direct sequel to "Gamera: The Giant Monster," is noteworthy for being the only film in the series to not feature any children as the main protagonists, and is my favorite film in the series after this one.) And although there is a kid here, an implacable young boy Toshio Sakurai (Yoshiro Uchida), he is at least made useful to the plot and does not become the annoying little nuisance that his successors would eventually become. And he is also sympathetic in some regard since he comes to view Gamera as his only friend (the exact circumstances of this "friendship" are actually quite touching if viewed with an open mind), and likewise we identify with this unique little bond.

Having viewed the film for the first time in its original, uncut Japanese format, I can say that "Gamera: The Giant Monster" is a worthy kaiju film, despite its flawed attempts at a pro-environmentalist subtext and as an anti-Cold War message movie (different nations coming together to face a worldwide threat, etc.) The film marked the beginnings of another great movie monster, one who never really got the popularity that he really deserved. But at least since his movies are getting the DVD treatment and are being released in their original Japanese formats, a new generation of Gamera-lovers has the chance to view Japan's heartiest export next since the mighty King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla.

7/10

Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat

[daikaiju1954 · 3/10 · 28 February 2013]

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Ever since I've been a young kid I have always been a big fan of Japanese monster movies. For example, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and among many others.

Gamera is one of many of them. He is a giant monster turtle created by Daiei Motion Pictures Company in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios Godzilla during the daikaiju boom of the mid-to- late 1960s. Over time, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right. but not as much as Godzilla did.

The Gamera movies from the 1960's to 1980 were intended for kids and I think that is where there weak points are. However, they are a guilty pleasure for me and anyone else who loves to see monsters attacking Japan.

Entertainining in general, with one "standout" scene

[Skragg · 7/10 · 30 November 2005]

In spite of being a fan of these Japanese monster movies, I saw it for the first time (that I know of) less than a year ago. (I'm referring to the "American" version.) It was pretty entertaining in general, but there was one thing that stood out for me, and that was a comedy scene (and I don't mean an "unintentionally funny" one). Early on in the movie, the monster was mistaken for a UFO, and there was a televised debate between an astronomer and a ufologist (a traditional set of antagonists, in and out of fiction). I'm not sure about the astronomer, but the ufologist was played by Alan Oppenheimer (he wasn't in the credits, but there's no mistaking him if you've seen a lot of sitcoms). Anyway, the debate got out of hand in a comical way, with both men getting really frantic to win it (maybe whoever wrote the scene was neutral about the UFO subject), and to me, it was funnier than 90 per cent of those comedy scenes about UFO's that you see now (with their overworked jokes about "probes" and abducted hillbillies and so on). Anyway, that's what the original "Gamera" means to me.

Not the worst, but not too great

[DarkMog · 1/10 · 20 August 2000]

Gamera isn't the worst but it isn't quite on top, either. There are three words to describe this movie: stale, kiddie, and boring. Everything that is in this movie has been done before, and better, by a fire-breathing Toho-spawned monster whose name shall not be mentioned. Except in this movie there is an added "bonus": a little kid who whines about losing "Tibbie," his pet turtle, and actually interacts with the monster. The movie drags on and on, Gamera stomps on some buildings (the black-and-white helps make these scenes a little better, though), and the dubbing (by Sandy Frank...great) is serviceable but not very good. Watch this if it's on TV and you have nothing--repeat, NOTHING--else to do, or if you are a hard-core Gamera or kaiju eiga fan. Otherwise, skip this movie; if you're looking for a good laugh, try Gamera vs. Guiron.

A rung below Gojira 1954...if you find the right version.

[bassplace88 · 7/10 · 9 June 2012]

It helps to be a kaiju fan if you watch this as an adult. I was able to see the English subtitled version, and found it enjoyable for what it is. It's monster destruction along the vein of Gojira, albeit a cheaper budget, yet more updated special effects. The movie is short so its fairly easy to get through. I love the atmosphere of black and white, and the seriousness of Gamera as a threat to humanity. There is a child present, but he will not totally turn off adults. I'm not gonna pick the film to pieces and tell you what's wrong. It's just good kaiju fun! This movie is as important to the series as the original Godzilla was to his. I recommend it to all true fans of the genre.

Let's hear it for TURTLE POWER!!!

[Flixer1957 · 3/10 · 23 August 2002]

**May Contain Spoilers**

A plane carrying atomic materials is shot down in the Arctic; the crash splits open the ice and out comes Gamera the giant fire-breathing turtle for the first of many adventures. (The special effects here are some of the hokiest ever and believe it or not, the picture only gets goofier from here). The characters are all nitwits, especially a moronic reporter and an annoying young boy who's fascinated by turtles. The usual amusement is provided by bad English dialogue poorly lip-synched to Japanese actors but the American actors playing military top brass and speaking in their own language are even funnier. Albert Dekker and Brian Donlevy became embarrassed-looking guest stars when the usual re-editing for U.S. release was done. Gamera, lest I forget, does a considerable amount of damage to human life and real estate. Laying waste to a city in one scene, he stands on his rear legs next to a tall building which explodes; this scene is so poorly edited that it looks like Gamera breaks wind and knocks the building over. He flees one confrontation with the army by shooting fire out of holes in his shell and soaring away "like a flying saucer." On his off-time he retreats to a coal-burning plant to eat flames–"his favorite food"–and replenish his energy. In one sickening sub-plot Gamera rescues the aforementioned boy who tries to convince everybody that Gamera is good-hearted. The allegedly gentle giant fights a few more battles with his tormentors before falling victim to "Plan Z" and being launched to Mars in a spaceship. That should have been the end of him but Gamera the flatulent turtle became such a big hit in Japan that he was back again the following year.

An excellent movie for lovers of the genre.

[cloud77712577 · 10/10 · 21 July 2005]

First off, let me begin by saying, you must be a fan of monster movies. Even then, it's a long stretch for some to enjoy this movie. It was basically Godzilla replaced with a flying turtle and pro-environmental message. If this sounds ridiculous, it is. The movie is full of continuity problems, there are blatantly obvious plot holes, the list goes on for quite a ways.

So to enjoy it, what do you need to watch? I say pay attention to all the errors and enjoy yourself. If you try to take this movie seriously, you will be disappointed miserably. However, if you can watch movies with a sense of humor, you could find yourself enjoying this movie a lot. Laugh at the problems you notice instead of analyzing them to death. This is the kind of movie this is. If you think you'll be watching the best movie since Gone with the Wind, you will be sorely disappointed. So just take it for what it is, and remember to have a good time.

A decent kaiju.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 25 March 2014]

This production from Toho rival Daiei definitely does not compare to "Gojira", the high water mark among of all these Japanese monster movies; it doesn't have the same level of gravitas or panache. But that also doesn't mean that it's bad at all; it is pretty entertaining. Director Noriaki Yuasa creates some reasonably exciting action scenes. The acting from the main actors is good, but I watched the version where there are some hilariously awful thespians playing American bit parts. Tadashi Yamauchi composes a good music score, and the atmospheric black & white cinematography by Nobuo Munekawa likewise impresses. Best of all is Gamera itself, an interesting addition to the Japanese creature canon. It's well designed and performed in the best "man in a costume" tradition.

Representatives from a college are visiting an Eskimo community to dig up information on the legend of an enormous turtle named Gamera when the Arctic is disrupted by an A bomb test. This creates a great big crack in the ice from which Gamera emerges. And it's a bad ass: a fire breathing, jet propelled thing that lays waste to much of its surroundings. Individuals such as scientist Dr. Hidaka (Eiji Funakoshi), his assistant Kyoke Yamamoto (Harumi Kiritachi), and photographer Aoyagi (Junichiro Yamashiko) are among those who are witness to the events, and it's up to the dedicated Hidaka and his associates to devise the best way possible of dealing with this out of control menace.

Gamera is truly a force to be reckoned with here, as traditional weapons don't work against it; it seems to derive only sustenance from firepower. Finally, experts decide that a plan Z will be used. What this will involve should intrigue the viewer to some degree. Anyway, one hopes that this will work because it doesn't look like there will be any deus ex machina to help our heroes out. The main debit from this viewers' perspective is that annoying kid Toshio (Yoshiro Uchida) who keeps putting himself in danger because he's a turtle addict and is convinced that the big guy doesn't mean any harm. But overall this is still an amusing bit of escapism that is somewhat adult; the sequels, however, were decidedly more kid-friendly.

This is good entertainment for fans of this genre.

Seven out of 10.

We have a giant turtle, the Z plan and Kenny!!!

[Aaron1375 · 3/10 · 8 August 2011]

This film features a giant turtle kaiju which is simply a knock off of Godzilla and that is that. Sure, the Gamera films in the 90's did feature good effects and darker stories, but I would still take a Godzilla film as it was the film that inspired the people at this studio to make their fire breathing turtle. This would be the first of several films that would, like the Showa era Godzilla films get more kid like and goofy as they went on. Godzilla would, however, at least close out the Showa era with a couple of good films, Gamera would not. Granted, the woman in the bikini in the Zigra film at least looked really good. This film is the origin film where we get to see Gamera emerge for the first time and would feature no other monsters other than the title monster. Godzilla would become more friendly as his movies progressed, but in his first film, he was clearly the villain as he stomped through Tokyo and created damage and mayhem. Here, Gamera does just about the same, only they try to make him sympathetic too as he saves a very deranged child named Kenny in the dubbed version I watched. It is almost laughable as at one point Gamera lets his fire breath loose on people trying to escape the terror this beast unleashed and then you have Kenny trying to persuade everyone that Gamera is good. This aspect of the film is a fatal flaw and one not present in Godzilla, he was bad and he was killed. The Godzilla in the later Showa era films would be a different Godzilla. However, the goofy lovable monster in the later Gamera films is still this same monster that killed a few thousand people.

The story is a bit messed up at the beginning. There is an expedition in the arctic and something with some planes overhead and they interject some Americans in this, I am guessing the same way they put Raymond Burr in the original Godzilla. The original Japanese Godzilla film is immensely better than the Americanized version and I am guessing it is the case for this one too, but I have only seen the Sandy Frank version. Well, Gamera is released rather quickly, not too much build up here and soon there are reports of a UFO too! Well, Gamera reemerges at a lighthouse and saves Kenny, the dark child who loves turtles and will always stand by Gamera no matter how many he kills; however, the Z plan lurks on the horizon and may prove the only way to defeat the might Godzil...Um, I mean Gamera.

I saw this film as an episode of MST3K. The show would do several of the Gamera films of the original era only skipping three of them, though it is a shame they didn't do the one with the giant squid monster. This one provided a lot of laughs as they riffed poor Kenny too and Joel was on top of his game here doing Kenny's voice. All the episodes featuring Gamera films are pretty good, the least funny being the next film in the series featuring Baragon, probably because the gang on the satellite of love did not have a child who loves Gamera to riff!

So, no, I am not a huge Gamera fan as to me it is just a rip off of Godzilla. I did like the three Gamera films made in the 90's a bit, but at the same time, I found that they were overrated as well. That they were trying too hard to distance Gamera from the monster that is said to be friend to children. I also thought the third part of that particular trilogy was really anticlimactic. Here, we get what we normally get, huge monster stomps through city while nothing anyone does seems to hurt said beast. Heck, not only had Godzilla done this, but the British too, by this point with the film Gorgo. Which, coincidentally also features a child who delights in the deaths of many people as he pulls for the monster.

The only "serious" original Gamera flick

[giantdevilfish · 16 July 2003]

What I loved about this movie is that Gamera is treated as a "bad-ass" villain monster out to destroy Tokyo like Godzilla in his earlier films. The rest of the movies turned Gamera into a child loving superhero. The effects were great rivaling and even surpassing most of the Godzilla films at the time. The scenes of American actors that were shot were actually quite well done. It was fun watching the U.S and Soviet ambassadors arguing at the U.N. Gamera looked pretty cool as well with his glowing eyes and elephant-like roar. Loved the psychedelic glowing animated flying sequences. Got to love that "Plan Z" over-the-top ending. And you can't help but dig that cool theme song. Gameraaaa! Gameraaaaa! Yeah!

It will never be confused with Godzilla

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 13 November 2007]

To be such a legendary kaiju and to have spawned a hoard of sequel, Gamera is a decidedly pedestrian film. Gamera was originally designed to be Daiei Studio's answer to Toho's Godzilla, but it's really no competition. From the moment Gamera makes his first screen appearance, the creature looks terribly silly. While I can believe in any number of kaiju (Godzilla, Rodan, etc.), Gamera never works for me. A giant bipedal turtle with long arms and the ability to fly and breath fire - it's just too absurd for words.

But to be honest, the monster is the least of Gamera's problems. I don't know if the little Japanese boy, Kenny, is as annoying in the other versions, but I wanted to strangle him the moment he appeared on screen. And his constant protests to save Gamera because he is good and a friend to children everywhere is particularly stupid given Germa rampage through downtown Tokyo. Some friend, huh?

Another big weakness is the use of miniatures in Gamera. Toho was particularly adept at solid miniature work. Even when they looked like miniatures it didn't matter because they looked so cool. Sadly, based on this movie, I can't say the same thing about Daiei's work. The miniatures in Gamera look more like toys than anything else. Fisher Price makes more authentic looking boats. It's difficult to take anything seriously when the special effects are so weak.

Finally, the plot in Gamera is neither very good nor original. The parts that work seem to have been lifted from Godzilla and similar Toho movies. The parts that don't work are just plain old ridiculous. Take the final scenes and Gamera's fate - I sat with my mouth open in amazement at what the movie was asking me to swallow.

So in the end, while I can appreciate the importance of Gamera and its place in history, that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965)

[jonahstewartvaughan · 7/10 · 19 June 2023]

Cult Cuts Volume 25

#4/4: Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965)

(7/10): So here we have the introduction of the second largest Kaiju monster and rival to Toho's Godzilla, which is Daiei Studio's Gamera.

Most known for being the friend of all kids, Gamera wasn't always that way, in his debut Daiei chose to more directly make him a destructive force like Godzilla was in his original film.

For those who don't know who Gamera is, Gamera is the Friend of all children and was created by Toho company's (the Japanese company that created Godzilla) rival company Daiei Studios as a form of competition for the money making titan Godzilla.

It's a simple story of Japanese planes and American planes having an aerial fight when they accidentally strike the glacier which was keeping the last living creature called a Gamera, which is a giant prehistoric Turtle, frozen. From then onwards Gamera proceeds to rampage through cities and towns destroying everything in his path and the American and Japanese governments must join forces to stop the creature.

The effects are rather primitive but they have a way of working in spite of themselves as many people who are fans of giant monster movies are very familiar with rubber suits and also even strings attached to planes.

The film itself isn't that great but it's far from the worst of its kind as well, it's just kinda middle ground but enjoyable nonetheless.

It's more about its significance that this is where the character started, but from what I understand Gamera has a trilogy of some of greatest Kaiju films ever made.

I regret to announce that my prediction was correct

[TheUnknown837-1 · 4/10 · 21 April 2011]

For a long while, I was not the biggest Gamera fan. With the exception of the three marvelous movies directed by Shusuke Kaneko in the 1990s, I hadn't seen very many movies with the fire-breathing terrapin that I wholeheartedly enjoyed. Even though I am starting to warm up to the older Gamera movies now, I must sadly confess that my opinion remains unchanged about the one that started it all. In my review for its Americanized version, titled "Gammera the Invincible" I predicted that the new footage cut into the movie didn't add or take away much from it. Having seen the original Japanese print, now available in the United states, I must make another regrettable announcement: my prediction was correct. It is, simply put, just as boring and devoid of joy as its dubbed and re-edited counterpart.

The basic plot is the same. An airplane transporting nuclear weapons is shot down over the Arctic Circle. The explosion shatters the ice floes and releases a giant, fire-breathing turtle named Gamera from a hibernation lasting millions of years. The giant monster begins a rampage across the world, eventually making his way to Japan, and it becomes a desperate struggle to either kill the beast or quell his rage. Meanwhile, a young boy (Yoshiro Uchida) sad off the loss of his pet turtle looks for the gentle nature in the gargantuan's ferocious exterior.

Now that is a plot I root for. Not only is Gamera an original concept for a giant movie monster (and he has gone on to become an icon), but the story has a bit of a heart to it. Children love monsters and they love their pets, too. As a child, I had an affection for turtles myself. I can still affectionately remember Snappy, the spiny softshell we found in Lake Zumbro. So the movie has good intentions and it means nothing but the best, however it just does make a big enough of an effort to stimulate interest or emotion. In fact, even though Gamera is now one of the most recognizable and beloved monsters in cinema history, in his debut I'm afraid that he's less-than-interesting. In fact, he's a bore. Astonishing as it may sound, but from beginning to end, it frankly did not matter to me whether he survived or was killed off. Sometimes, believe it or not, he almost seemed to be upstaged by the incredibly bland humans running amok in the foreground.

That's my chief complaint. The movie lacks an interesting monster. Thankfully, that would change with the first sequel, "Gamera vs. Barugon" which is twice the movie this is. But there are other problems. The first Gamera movie was rushed and unfortunately it shows. The fact that it was only director Noriaki Yuasa's second movie also counts as a strike against it, as his flow with the images is rather choppy and static. He would improve as time went on. The screenplay by Nisan Takahashi opens doors for great plot points but never exploits them. The dynamic between Gamera and the little boy could have been sweet, sentimental, and heart-warming. Sadly, it is not, because not enough is fleshed out upon either of them.

There is also the lack of big moments. Most scenes with Gamera combating the military are slow and stodgy and a number of stock footage scenes with narration really detracts from the pacing as well. The action scenes, few as they are, are not very riveting and they just add up to a climax which is so absurd and laughable that I simply could not buy it.

In regard to the comparison to its United States version, it is slightly better. Slightly. Only because the new American actors, which included Dick O'Neill and Albert Dekker, are infinitely better than the wooden-faced hacks who appear in some of the early scenes here. Ironically, they are only credited by their surnames.

I'll bet the actors were appreciative.

So bottom line, I still fail to see the magic in this movie that so many others have. However, I am very thankful to say starting with the first sequel, Gamera would become more interesting as a monster and a character and be given starring roles in far more entertaining and interesting movies.

Gamera!

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 29 March 2020]

I'll come clean. As a kid, I liked Gamera more than Godzilla. Sure, Daiei Film Studios was just following the success of Toho's kaiju superstar, but I always felt a kinship to a monster who could just withdraw into his shell. Gamera was, after all, a friend to all children. And man, I wanted to be his best pal.

Originally released on November 27, 1965 in Japan, a re-edited version with new footage was released the following year in the U.S. as Gammera the Invincible. It was the only movie in the series to get a theatrical release in this country.

Over the Arctic, a nuke blows up and awakens a prehistoric giant turtle that just so happens to have big tusks. That's Gamera, but he's no friend to anyone at this point. He can also breathe fire, which he does to blow up an American jet real good.

These scientists that he battles are pretty much morons. They're smart enough to come up with freeze bombs, but they think that if they get him on his back, he'll die of starvation. So Gamera just pulls all his arms and legs inside his shell and starts spinning around like a UFO.

This movie will also teach you that turtles are not even. They're just turtles.

Back to those scientists. A whole bunch of Russian, Japanese and American ones invent this thing called Z Plan. You know what it is? They put Gamera in the nose cone of a missile and send him to Mars, all excited about how their scientific ways have triumphed over idealogy.

You know what's really awesome? This movie was originally going to be called Dai Gunju Nezura (The Great Rat Swarm), but all of the real rats that were going to run over the miniature city got fleas.

This is the only Gamera movie where he doesn't fight another monster and also the singular black and white film in the series. He's also a good guy in every movie after this.

Watch this and imagine a young Sam losing his mind screaming, jumping all over the TV room, so happy to see a turtle flu.

Where Is the Giant Snail?

[Hitchcoc · 3/10 · 10 April 2016]

First of all, he looks likes big serving dish with spikes. Secondly, he is still a turtle and the effects look ridiculous, like he is on a string or something. Then there are those awful children who befriend him. The little fat guy with the baseball cap. The scenes of destruction are as tiresome as can be with little or no imagination involved. I wonder if these silly movies could have been written a little bit better. Granted, what most people want to see is destruction with people running down the streets and buildings toppling over, but maybe some decent writing and a true science fiction plot (even a bad one) would have made it a little more engaging. Finally, the usual tanks and fighter planes that never work use up the first half of the movie before someone finds a more unique way to do something. Of course, the monsters always come back.

Gamera Begins

[AaronCapenBanner · 6/10 · 3 May 2014]

Rival Japanese studio Daiei, in an effort to compete with Toho studios' Godzilla franchise, created Gamera, a giant prehistoric turtle that is jet-propelled and determined to destroy Japan, and anything else in its way. A young Japanese boy, obsessed with turtles, believes that Gamera is really his pet turtle grown gigantic, and decides to befriend him, after it seemed like it spared his life. The military and scientists are not so friendly however... Filmed in Black & White like the first two Godzilla pictures, film isn't bad, though the idea of a giant threatening turtle took some getting used to! First in an annual series of films that ran several years.

One of the worst movies ever made.

[Grand · 1/10 · 21 August 1999]

Gamera the Invincible is one of the worst, most shoddily-produced movies ever made. Doing a storyboard of the opening five minutes will show that the editor and director have Air Force planes flying directly towards each other (the "180 line" is crossed about a dozen times in the first three minutes alone!), differing numbers of passengers in the vehicles, a U.S. Air Force General who looks, acts, and sounds like some drunk they found in a Ginza gutter, etc. And that's just the first few minutes! The whole thing looks and sounds as bad as any movie an unimaginative child might have shot with a Super-8 sound camera (notorious for being out of sync), but most children could have probably built better models than the ones used in this sub-infra-Roger-Cormanesque piece of poo.

Amazingly, the movie gets WORSE as it progresses! Stay far, far away from this dreck-

Great, rollicking Japanese monster film

[Hessian499 · 8/10 · 7 August 2005]

Gamera is one of those classic Japanese horror films that contains awful acting, worse English dubbing, and sometimes laughable special effects, but is still great fun to watch. A skirmish between American and Soviet jets over the arctic results in one of the Soviet bombers crashing and its nuclear bomb load detonating, which causes Gamera to be melted out of the ice and wreck havoc on the world (particularly Japan). As usual, a little kid who is sympathetic to the monster is thrown in, and probably as a result Gamera is not killed at the end (though I have to admit, if it really could have worked, the way they dispatched Gamera at the film's conclusion was rather ingenious). Probably the funniest scene is at a dance for teenagers in Tokyo, where a band is singing the Gamera theme song and eventually the monster himself makes an appearance! All in all, this is not a film that takes itself too seriously, and if the viewer takes the same attitude it is a whole lot of fun to watch. Gamera rules!

If Godzilla Were a Turtle

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 25 November 2013]

From out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.

This film was created to rival the success and popularity of Godzilla, and it shows. This is quite clearly inspired by the better-known monster. Unfortunately, Gamera is far less active and therefore will probably always remain second-tier.

This film has the dubious distinction of being featured not once but twice on "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I have only watched the first one (from the pre-Comedy Central days), which relies heavily on the jokes connecting Kenny (Toshio) and Gamera as friends.

Turtle Power Forever

[carflo · 1/10 · 30 October 2003]

Gamera rules. How can anyone not love a turtle that flies by have flames coming out of his feet, swirling around and around like a pinwheel. No fire breathing dinosaur can equal him. He's the coolest reptile on earth. Eat your heart out, Ninja Turtles!

If you can watch this movie without rolling on the floor laughing, you need to get a serious adjustment to your funny bone.

Turtle Power Forever!!!