Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

The Basics: It's the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka and all is right in the world until, at the nearby Wester Island, an ancient statue is removed unleashing the mighty kaiju Jiger! Gamera comes to save the day and loses. He comes back...and loses again...Will Gamera ever be able to beat Jiger? And why was I never able to pilot a mini sub as a child? Also, why is the Gamera march theme so darned catchy?

The Plot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamera_vs._Jiger


The Kaiju:

Gamera:
Yeah he's back and a little less fierce looking than before. Each Gamera since 67 has gotten increasingly cheaper and cute looking. Still, there are no large differences in the suit or how his flying or fire breath are brought to life.

Jiger:
She's one bad mamma. Very effective quadraped suit and manages to avoid the "walking on knees" thing that most other 4 legged kaiju suffer from. She has an incredible array of powers and abilities making her one of Gamera's deadliest foes ever. I love the recycled Barugon roar. Design wise she's a little "meh" BUT...there's enough there to work with for an awesome re-design. Which brings me to the Trendmaster's Jiger figure. One of the best re-vamps of a kaiju I've ever seen. Just my personal taste. I love that figure. And even though her design is a little lacking...I love the latter series Showa kaiju in the Gamera films...Guiron, Jiger and Zigra are where it's at! Heck I just love the Showa Gamera kaiju in general.

Though I will say Jiger's "flying" ability is one of the most bug nuts insane things ever on a kaiju film to behold. Not a fan of Jiger flying lol.

The Acting:
You know...it occured to me while watching this film that the children in these movies really don't annoy me like I always hear fans complaining about. They're kids...they get into trouble and do stupid things but that's to be expected. Largely, all of the children in these films are interchangeable....wise Japanese boy and his gajin American partner.

The SPFX:
I think the effects in this movie are superb for the most part. This film reintroduces minatures once again and most of them look great. The matte effects shots are done pretty well there's a great scene of a 4 legged Gamera on a beach confronting a research party that blends relatively smoothly together.

Gamera's internal system could use a little work...it seems a little cheap even for these films but it's not bad enough to hurt the film really.

The Other Stuff:
-Gamera gets the crap beaten out of him in the film...twice!! Usually the formula for these films has Gamera arriving to save the day, losing, and then coming back for the win but in this film he loses twice before finally coming out on top.
-I love how the children are just able to walk into a secret military meeting
-The Jiger larvae could use a little work...looks a little too close to the adult form to come across effectively.
-This is the second film in this series to show children hijacking a mini sub...such an odd plot point to be featured once...let alone twice
-I'm not really sure how far away the island is supposed to be...maybe I missed it, at times it seems like it's supposed to be in Africa and at other times it seems like it's right next to Japan
-The sub-plot involving Gamera's parastites is slightly horrific, and pretty cool for a kaiju film
-I enjoy how there's always an attempt to educate children in these films with science and usually some zoological footage of some sort...it's just the right amount of education and it doesn't seem preachy or dull...

Some great shots in this one aside from what's already been mentioned...

- terrific shot of Gamera and an erupting volcano over the opening title, along with probably the best rendition of the Gamera March in the entire series.

- Jiger walking away in the foreground as Gamera struggles on his back in the background with the spears through his legs.

- after pulling out the spears in his forearms, Gamera, flying with his back jets, turning on his front jets and beginning to spin all in the same shot.

I love the bizarreness of the final battle. Gamera, spinning on his shell like he did in Gyaos, suddenly coming to a audible screeching halt when Jiger fires her ray at him. Then there's Gamera sticking telephone poles in his ears and beating on Jiger's tail until it turns black and blue. It's hilarious.

Just recently had a chance to see the Shout! Factory DVD release of this film. In fact, it was the first time I had ever seen this movie at all!

The Shout! Factory transfer looks amazing! Beyond that I can't say anything that really hasn't already been said. I was very happy with this movie. The monster suits look good (the Jiger performer's movements create the best quadruped performance I have ever seen in a kaiju film). Gamera and Jiger have three fights rather than the standard (is it a standard?) of two. And there is no stock footage that I recognized, outside of the opening credit sequence.

The kids certainly are S.O.P. for Showa Gamera, but they didn't seem quite as annoying as the Guiron boys. Maybe it's because they had that cool submarine--I love how after it has been discovered that they stole the submarine the first time (to kill baby Jiger), that they are allowed to take charge of the mission to drive the sub back into Gamera to provide him with an electric jolt. Really?! Really, Japanese Military? You aren't going to send in a special team, or even maybe just some lowly scientists? ... no? Just send a couple kids in to do the job?!

Very enjoyable film, and let me applaud Shout! Factory once again for doing a marvelous job with the Gamera films on DVD.

After two Gamera movies dealing with alien invaders, and with two more following it, this one harkens back to the first three with a straightforward monster-on-the-loose story. There are shades of Gamera vs. Barugon with the evil monster brought about by the Japanese tampering with ancient relics against the warnings of the natives, but this film is hardly a rehash (and it's better).

The kids here are a little older than the ones in the other films. The way they openly discuss Gamera's behavior with each other and are inexplicably involved in military operations reminds me of the stories I would write as a kid. The Fantastic Voyage-esque journey into Gamera's body is fun. Is that the same suit used for both Jiger and her offspring?

This film is loaded with eye candy. Lots of impressive miniatures and dazzling, colorful cinematography. The shot of Gamera switching from flying with his back jets to spinning around (appropriately set to his theme song) works really well. That must have taken some precise timing. There's also a nice tracking shot of Gamera stumbling to the harbor after Jiger impales him.

I like how the monsters are treated as characters here. When Jiger first appears on the island and Gamera confronts her, there aren't any human characters present. Gamera and Jiger carry the sequence on their own. Even without any dialogue, they convey their personalities and motivations to the audience effectively. We get to see them fight three times throughout the film and their combat is creatively staged. Jiger incapacitates Gamera by getting him on his back and lodging her spears in his limbs, keeping him from retracting into his shell and flying. Later, Gamera sticks two telephone poles into his ears to protect himself from Jiger's ray. Hilarious.


:th-up:


And damn, another harsh death for the enemy monster. This one is just plain graphic. I love how acceptable that is (was?) in Japanese kids' films.

This is the pinnacle of the Showa Gamera series!

Yeah, I prefer Jiger to Gyaos as it's just a lot more fun!! Baurgon I like even though most people find it boring. Viras is great if you just fast forward through the clip show stuff...

About to watch this for the first time.

*SIGH*

Here goes nothing.