Gappa (film)
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Gappa (大巨獣ガッパ Daikyojū Gappa, lit. Colossal Beast Gappa) is a 1967 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Nikkatsu Corporation. The film was released to Japanese theaters on April 22, 1967.
Plot
An expedition from Tokyo heads to Obelisk Island, which the greedy Mr. Funazu, president of "Playmate Magazine", wants to turn into a resort. The natives of Obelisk welcome the expedition, but two members, Hiroshi and Itoko, venture into a forbidden area despite the pleas of a native boy named Saki. They enter a cavern blocked by a fallen statue and find a giant egg, out of which hatches a baby monster, referred to as a "Gappa". The natives plead with the skeptical scientists not to take the baby away, lest it anger the baby's parents. Sure enough, they take the baby away, and soon, inside the caverns, its two parents rise from the underground waters beneath the volcano, destroying everything in their path. Saki, the only survivor, is rescued by an American navy fleet and brought back to Japan.
Meanwhile, back in Japan, the baby monster is making world headlines, not to mention being experimented on by scientists. To the shock of the expedition members there is news of two giant flying creatures appearing over Sagami Bay. The Gappa parents ravage cities looking for their offspring, and are impervious to military weapons. Hiroshi, Itoko and Professor Tonooka (a scientist from the expedition) realize that the "Gappas" aren't a legend after all. They, and Saki, try to convince the headstrong Mr. Funazu to let go of the baby and return it to its parents. Will they convince him before the Gappas destroy Japan and perhaps the world?
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Haruyasu Noguchi
- Written by Ryuzo Nakanishi and Gan Yamazaki
- Produced by Hideo Koi
- Music by Seitarô Ômori
- Cinematography by Muneo Ueda
- Edited by Masanori Tsujii
- Assistant directing by Masaru Konuma
- Special effects by Akira Watanabe, Yoshiyuki Nakamura, Kenji Kaneda, and Isamu Kakita
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Tamio Kawaji as Hiroshi Kurosaki
- Yôko Yamamoto as Itoko Koyanagi
- Yuji Okada as Daize Tonooka
- Kôji Wada as Mashida
- Tatsuya Fuji as George Inoue
- Keisuke Inoue as President Funazu
- Zenji Yamada as Captain of the Kamome-maru
- Bumon Koto as Chieftain
- Kôtarô Sugie as Reporter #1 (as Hiroshi Sugie)
- Saburô Hiromatsu as Hosoda
- Binnosuke Nagao as Commander Riku
- Masaru Kamiyama as The Professor
- Kokan Katsura as Saburo Hayashi
- Shirô Oshimi as Oyama
- Yoko Oyagi as Aihara
- Sanpei Mine as Islander #1
- Takashi Koshiba as Reporter #2
- Kensuke Tamai as Islander #2
- Minoru Sato as Reporter #3
- Kiyoshi Matsuoka as Islander #3 (as Seiji Matsuoka)
- Hiroshi Itoh as Reporter #4
- Mike Danine as Petty Officer
- Ruich Fidancer as Captain of the Sea Angels
- Paul Scheman as Professor
Appearances
Monsters
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Weapons, Vehicles, and Races |
Development
- Main articles: Reigon: Devil of the Seabed, [[, Gigant, Arkitius, Momonra]].
Gappa was the fifth and final kaiju film project idea that Nikkatsu had come up with, after Giant Monster Gigant, Giant Squid Monster Arkitius, Giant Monster Momonra, and Reigon: Devil of the Seabed. Planning for all the unmade films was done by Hideo Kodama.[1]
Gallery
- Main article: Gappa (film)/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Gappa (Soundtrack).
Alternate Titles
- Gappa, The Colossal Beast (Daikyojū Gappa; Japan)
- Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (United States)
- Gappa, the Triphibian Monsters (United States video title)
- The Monster That Threatens the World (El Monstruo Que Amenaza el Mundo; Spain)
- Gappa, the Descendant of Godzilla (Gappa, le Descendant de Godzilla; France)
- Gappa, the Monster of the Sea (Γάππα, το τέρας της θάλασσας; Greece)
- The Triphibian Monster (Ang Triphibian Halimaw; Philippines)
- Gappa - Frankenstein's flying Monster (Gappa - Frankensteins fliegende Monster; West Germany)
Video Releases
Tokyo Shock DVD (2000)[2]
- Region: 1
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
- Special Features: Four pages of liner notes by Guy Mariner Tucker
- Notes: Subtitles correspond to the English dub's script. Out of print.
Bootleg/Public Domain Releases
In the United States, Gappa is in the public domain, and the fullscreen English-dubbed version has been released by numerous companies, including Alpha Video, Sling Shot, EastWest, Pop Flix, DVD Cult Classics, RPH Productions, Image Entertainment, and PC Treasures. The following list of known public domain releases is not complete.
Kaiju DVD (2000)[3]
- Audio: English
Alpha Video DVD (2003)[4]
- Region: Region 1
- Language: English
Videos
Trailers
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References
This is a list of references for Gappa (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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