Have Cheetah,Will View #131 – “Gamera vs. Guiron” (1969)

It’s 2:52 pm

 

Just when all hope was lost for a white Christmas,we are getting a snowstorm on Christmas’s Eve. The snow is falling fast and furious. I couldn’t think of a better Christmas Eve movie to watch then a Gamera movie. I got this movie years ago when I bought a couple of Public Domain packaged movies. Of course I had seen Gamera movies as a youngster,they used to show them on a pair of Creature Feature TV shows on our local TV stations. While the vast majority of us fanboys preferred Godzilla and Jet Jaguar,I always had a soft spot for the flying turtle who loved kids.
Gamera films were made in Japan by the Daiei Film Studios and were made as an answer to Toho’s immensely popular Godzilla franchise. While never gaining as much popularity as Godzilla,Gamera has earned a loyal following throughout the years.

 

 

In this story,two young friends,Akio and his American friend,Tom see a what they think is a spaceship coming to land nearby.  The boys try and tell Akio’s mom what they saw but she dismisses their story as a fairy tale.
The next day the boys,along with Akio’s sister,Tomoko,head off to find the spaceship. They in fact do find the spaceship,the boys enter the ship despite Tomoko warning them not to.

The spaceship is empty and the boys start playing with the controls,this activates the ship and it closes it doors and takes off. Tomoko is scared and runs to get help but the ship is already in space and gaining in speed. The ship is flying itself and the boys are helpless. When the starship starts to head to a asteroid field,it looks like the boys will be killed until Gamera suddenly shows up and blasts a way through the field.
Akio and Tom are saved but before Gamera can help any further,the ship speeds off with Gamera in pursuit but is soon left behind.

The ship lands on an advanced planet and the boys leave the starship. They find they can breath the air and as they start to look around,a huge Gyaos kaiju appears in the sky.
Akio and Tom take cover behind a rock and are wondering what to do next when sudden a river starts to run backwards and it opens up to release a huge knife headed monster.
The Gyaos attacks it with a laser beam out of its mouth but the knife headed monster deflects it back against the Gyaos. The beam cuts off the Gyaos’s leg. Badly wounded it attacks the larger monster again to no avail and the Gyaos is killed.

The larger monster is Guiron and he is the guardian to the last of the people on the planet. Akio and Tom are taken in by Florabella and Barbella. They appear friendly at first but soon reveal their sinister plans for escaping the planet.
Gamera arrives to try and help but is badly beaten by Guiron and is sent to the bottom of a huge lake.
On Earth,Tomoko’s story starts to gain traction as the authorities find where the space has landed and the press descend on Akio’s home looking for answers.
With the last two aliens looking to escape from the planet before it freezes over,there isn’t much time before Akio and Tom meet a gruesome end. Gamera appears done for and with Guiron breaking free of his handler’s control….things look very bleak indeed…

This is in all honestly,a bulletproof movie. One can sit here and try and poke fun at the grade Z acting and terrible looking monster suits. Or you can do what so many fanboys have done and just kick back and enjoy this for what it intended to be,a fun and action packed kaiju movie.
You already know what the cheetah and I are going to say,we love these type of classic Japanese monster movies and they can do no wrong in our eyes. Gamera loved kids and often put his life on the line to save children in peril and how can you go wrong in cheering for a huge giant turtle that can fly through space AND spew fire out of his mouth??

As the technology of today’s films are so cutting edge,it makes complete sense that many studios in Japan have gone back to bring these wonderful creatures into the modern era.
Gamera has made 4 films since 1995 and the word is that his new studio is planning to reboot the series next year. I have the modern trilogy that was released between 1995-99 and we’ll be looking at them in 2018.
“Gamera vs. Guiron” has a run time of 82 minutes and is rated “G”. It is a “public domain” movie and I put the entire film the clip above.
How about you? What has been your favorite monster movie either growing up or now?
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on either the old classics or the CGI goofiness of studios like The Asylum and their creature features.

A added bonus clip…..this scene between the Gyaos and Guiron was deemed too violent for American audiences and was cut from the film.