Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)

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Credits for Gamera vs. Gyaos


Gamera Films
Gamera vs. Barugon
Gamera vs. Gyaos
Gamera vs. Viras
Gamera vs. Gyaos
The Japanese poster for Gamera vs. Gyaos
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Giant Monster Dogfight: Gamera Against Gyaos (1967)
Flagicon United States.png Return of the Giant Monsters (TV 1967)
See alternate titles
Directed by Noriaki Yuasa
Producer Hidemasa Nagata
Written by Takahashi Niisan
Music by Tadashi Yamauchi
Distributor DaieiJP
American International TelevisionUS
Rating Not Rated
Budget ¥60,000,000
Running time 86 minutesJP
(1 hour, 26 minutes)
84 minutesUS
(1 hour, 24 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1

Gamera vs. Gyaos (大怪獣空中戦 ガメラ対ギャオス,   Daikaijū Kūchū-sen: Gamera tai Gyaosu, lit. Giant Monster Dogfight: Gamera Against Gyaos) is a 1967 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company and the third entry in the Gamera series. It was released to Japanese theaters on March 15, 1967.

Plot

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Express Engineering Corp is building a highway in the forest near Mt. Fuji. Challenged by local villagers, foreman Shiro Tsutsumi and his crew are plagued with protests and sabotage. Nearby, a survey team from the United Nations is killed when their helicopter is literally cut by a beam emitted from a cave in the mountains. A small boy, Eiichi Kanamura, grandson of the village elder Tatsuemon Kanamura, finds reporter Okabe snooping around. Okabe and Eiichi check out a strange light - which leads them to the cave where Gyaos, a giant bat-like bird-monster, is currently residing.

Running for his life, Okabe ditches Eiichi at the cave - but runs into Gyaos who devours him. Shiro and his crew (who are also checking out the light from the cave) arrive just in time to see an epic battle where Gamera and Gyaos exchange blows (with Eiichi in the middle). During the battle, it is shown that Gyaos can't withstand fire. Realizing this, Gamera grabs the young boy and gets him to safety. After alerting the public about Gyaos and his abililties, zoologist Dr. Aoki investigate Gyaos's prehistoric origins. The public is put on alert - stay indoors at night - Gyaos is nocturnal. But after another battle with Gamera, Gyaos seems to be the victor, as Gamera tends to his wounds at the bottom of the sea. Even after using light flares to annoy Gyaos, the Japanese Self-Defense Force is still annihilated by the monster.

After another battle, Gamera holds Gyaos in the water while the sun rises. But Gyaos, sensing its mortal danger, chooses to sever its own foot with its sonic beam in lieu of death and flies off. A plan is put into effect that would draw Gyaos into the sunlight after experiments reveal that the sun causes the severed foot to shrink. The Defense Force constructs a rotating platform with a giant bowl of synthetic blood on it. Gyaos, landing on the platform and drinking the blood, will become dizzy and not be able to get off before the sun rises. The plan ultimately fails, but Gamera arrives to do battle with Gyaos once more. During the battle, the sun rises, weakening Gyaos. Gamera seizes the opportunity and throws the weakened Gyaos into the crater of an active volcano, killing it.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

  • Directed by   Noriaki Yuasa
  • Written by   Nisan Takahashi
  • Executive producing by   Masaichi Nagata
  • Produced by   Hidemasa Nagata
  • Music by   Tadashi Yamauchi
  • Cinematography by   Akira Uehara
  • Edited by   Tatsuji Nakashizu
  • Special effects by   Kazufumi Fujii, Yuzo Kaneko

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Kojiro Hongo   as   Foreman Shiro Tsutsumi
  • Reiko Kasahara   as   Sumiko Kanamura
  • Taro Marui   as   Mite-no-Tetsu
  • Yoshio Kitahara   as   Dr. Aoki
  • Akira Natsuki   as   Self-Defense Force General
  • Kichjiro Ueda   as   Tatsuemon Kanamura
  • Fujio Murakami   as   Dr. Murakami
  • Naoyuki Abe   as   Eiichi Kanamura
  • Teruo Aragaki   as   Gamera

Appearances

Monsters

Gallery

Main article: Gamera vs. Gyaos/Gallery.

Alternate Titles

  • Giant Monster Dogfight: Gamera vs. Gyaos (Literal Japanese Title)
  • Return of the Giant Monsters (United States)
  • Gamera vs. Gaos (U.S. Home Video Title)

DVD and Blu-ray Releases

Shout! Factory DVD (2010)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (1.0 Mono), English (1.0 Mono, international and AIP-TV dubs)
  • Special Features: Gallery of publicity materials
  • Notes: All versions of the film use the same Japanese video track. Packaged with Gamera vs. Viras.

Mill Creek DVD (2014) [Gamera: Legacy Collection]

Mill Creek Blu-ray (2014) [Gamera: Ultimate Collection, Volume 1]

Videos

Japanese Gamera vs. Gyaos trailer
American Gamera vs. Gyaos trailer (Just For Kids VHS)
English inserts in the AIP-TV version

Trivia

  • Gamera vs. Gyaos was released on a double bill with the re-release of the 1966 Japanese-Soviet collaborative film Little Fugitive (小さい逃亡者,   Chīsai tōbō-sha).
  • This film marks the introduction of Gyaos, who would go on to appear in several more films (the only enemy monster in the series to do so) and become Gamera's arch-enemy.
  • Breeding Cave Larva seen in the Sonorama book
    In the Gamera vs. Gyaos Sonorama adaptation, it is shown that insects that resemble Meganulon live and breed deep into the Gyaos' cave.
  • The 1995 reboot to the Gamera series, Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, contains many references to this film. Its Japanese title, Gamera: Daikaiju Kūchū Kessen, is similar to this film's Japanese title, Daikaiju Kūchū-sen: Gamera tai Gyaosu. The theatrical poster for Gamera: Guardian of the Universe is also designed to resemble this film's poster. Gamera's final battle with Super Gyaos in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe also shares many similarities with scenes from Gamera vs. Gyaos, notably the scene when Super Gyaos severs its own foot with its sonic beam to escape Gamera.
  • The international dub of Gamera vs. Gyaos, as released by Sandy Frank Film Syndication and under the title "Gamera vs. Gaos," was featured on Season 3 of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was also riffed on the show during its original broadcast on the Minneapolis-area station KTMA.
  • Gamera vs. Gyaos was one of four Gamera films to be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2015 to celebrate Gamera's 50th anniversary.
  • This film was released in 1967, a year where four of Japan's major studios released at least one giant monster film: Daiei released this film, Nikkatsu released Gappa, Shochiku released The X from Outer Space and Toho released both King Kong Escapes and Son of Godzilla.

External Links


Daiei
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Movie
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