Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)

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Gamera films
Gamera the Giant Monster
Gamera vs. Barugon
Gamera vs. Gyaos
Gamera vs. Barugon
The Japanese poster for Gamera vs. Barugon
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Giant Monster Duel:
Gamera vs. Barugon
(1966)
Flagicon United States.png War of the Monsters (TV 1967)
See alternate titles
Directed by Shigeo Tanaka
Producer Masaichi Nagata
Written by Nisan Takahashi
Music by Chuji Kinoshita
Special
effects by
Noriaki Yuasa
Production company Daiei Tokyo Studio
Distributor DaieiJP, AITVUS[1]
Rating Not Rated
Budget ¥80,000,000[2]
Running time 100 minutesJP
(1 hour, 40 minutes)
89 minutesUS
(1 hour, 29 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1JP
1.33:1US TV
Rate this film!
4.05
(39 votes)

Gamera burns the streets of Osaka in an instant! Barugon freezes Osaka Castle with a single gust! An underwater clash at Lake Biwa!
(一瞬に大阪市街を焼きつくすガメラか!ひと吹きで大阪城を凍らすバルゴンか!琵琶湖水中の大激突!)
„ 

— Tagline

Gamera breathes fire, burning across Tokyo! Barugon emits a frozen solution, freezing Osaka Castle! An underwater clash at Lake Biwa!
(東京全土を焼きつくす火を吐くガメラか!大阪城を凍らす冷凍液を噴くバルゴンか!琵琶湖水中の大激突!)
„ 

— Tagline

Gamera vs. Barugon (大怪獣決闘 ガメラ対バルゴン,   Daikaijū Kettō: Gamera tai Barugon, lit. "Giant Monster Duel: Gamera vs. Barugon") is a 1966 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Shigeo Tanaka and written by Nisan Takahashi, with special effects by Noriaki Yuasa. Produced by Daiei's Tokyo Studio, it is a sequel to the company's 1965 film Gamera the Giant Monster, making it the second entry in the Gamera series as well as the franchise's Showa series. It stars Kojiro Hongo, Kyoko Enami, Yuzo Hayakawa, Takuya Fujioka, Koji Fujiyama, Sho Natsuki, Yoshiro Kitahara, and Ichiro Sugai. The film was released to Japanese theaters by Daiei on April 17, 1966, as a double bill with Daimajin. American International Television released an edited English-dubbed version of the film titled War of the Monsters to television in the United States in 1967.

Following the events of Gamera the Giant Monster, the Z-Plan Rocket carrying the giant turtle to Mars is struck by a meteor, unleashing Gamera once again. Meanwhile, Keisuke Hirata embarks on an expedition to New Guinea to search for a huge opal his brother Ichiro discovered in a cave while serving in World War II. Keisuke is betrayed by Ichiro's former comrade Onodera and left for dead while Onodera returns to Japan with the opal. However, the opal is no mere gem but the egg of the reptilian kaiju Barugon, who hatches and lays waste to Kobe before moving on to Osaka. Keisuke and native woman Karen work with the JSDF to find a method of defeating Barugon while the newly-released Gamera challenges the beast to battle in Osaka. Gamera vs. Barugon introduced the formula followed by all subsequent films in the series, with Gamera battling an even more malevolent kaiju. It was followed by Gamera vs. Gyaos in 1967.

Plot

Six months after Z-Plan successfully launched Gamera into outer space aboard a rocket ship bound for Mars, a meteor strikes the rocket, freeing Gamera. Hungry for more energy, Gamera returns to Earth and lands at Kurobe Dam in Japan. Gamera destroys the facility around the dam, consuming the hydroelectric power and fire, then retracts back into his shell and flies into the dam, causing it to split open and flood the surrounding area. Sensing the eruption of a volcano south of the equator, Gamera flies away to feed on the molten lava. Meanwhile, in Osaka, Ichiro Hirata organizes an expedition to New Guinea, where he had served in the Japanese military during World War II and discovered a huge opal in a cave. Hirata hid the opal under a pile of rocks in the cave before he was captured and placed in a POW camp, and believes it is still hidden there. Because Ichiro walks with a limp now and is unfit to travel, he sends his brother Keisuke and his former comrades Onodera and Kawajiri to New Guinea in his place, aboard the Awaji Maru. Kawajiri poses as one of the ship's captains, while Keisuke and Onodera work as janitors. After weeks at sea, the ship approaches New Guinea, and Keisuke brings the three of them to shore aboard a helicopter. They arrive in a small village, where they are greeted by Dr. Sato, a Japanese physician who has taken up residence in the village to help treat local diseases. Dr. Sato's assistant, the young native woman Karen, warns the three men not to venture into the Valley of Rainbows, as an ancient obelisk standing in the middle of the village tells of great danger there. Onodera believes the villagers are telling them not to go there because they are hiding even more treasure there, so he leads Keisuke and Kawajiri into the jungle, bound for the Valley of Rainbows. As they approach the cave, Onodera wanders into quicksand and nearly sinks, but is rescued by Keisuke and Kawajiri. Finally, the three reach the cave where Ichiro hid the opal, and set up camp near the entrance before beginning their search. Onodera spots a highly venomous scorpion that Ichiro warned them about crawling on the wall, then shoots it with his pistol. He tells the others to keep a lookout for other scorpions, then the three of them search the cave. Kawajiri finds the pile of rocks, and wrapped in a cloth underneath it he uncovers the opal. Kawajiri excitedly exclaims that they will all be rich, but Onodera spots a scorpion crawling up Kawajiri's leg. Rather than warn Kawajiri, Onodera says nothing until the scorpion finally stings Kawajiri, causing him to fall to the ground in agony. Keisuke tries to treat Kawajiri's wound and prevent the venom from spreading, while Onodera grabs a first-aid kit. By the time Onodera arrives with the kit, the venom has already taken hold and killed Kawajiri. Keisuke breaks down and sobs over the body of his friend, but Onodera tells him to get over it and that they must leave with the opal now. Keisuke says he will hand Onodera the opal if he gives him his gun, and Onodera agrees. As Onodera walks to the exit of the cave with the opal, he decides to ensure he will not have to share the treasure with Keisuke and lobs a hand grenade in his direction. The grenade explodes and buries Keisuke underneath rubble, while Onodera escapes back to the Awaji Maru with the opal.

When Keisuke comes to, he finds himself in a clinic in the village, being treated by a local nurse. Karen enters the clinic and confronts him about stealing the opal. When she learns that Onodera has taken the opal back to Japan, Karen becomes distressed and speaks to Dr. Sato. Sato tells Keisuke that the object Onodera took from the cave is no mere opal, and the villagers believe it will bring great disaster. Karen insists on traveling to Japan to warn the people, and says that Keisuke can act as her guide. Keisuke agrees, and the two depart for Japan. In the meantime, Onodera is traveling back to Japan aboard the Awaji Maru. As the ship prepares to dock in Kobe, Onodera leaves the opal inside his jacket pocket underneath the infrared lamp he uses to treat a foot fungus he contracted from the jungle. The opal begins to glow under the heat of the lamp, then cracks open. A small lizard-like creature breaks free from the opal, then almost instantaneously grows to gigantic size, causing the ship to break apart. Onodera gets to shore safely and meets with Ichiro and a Chinese buyer for the opal. Onodera lies and tells Ichiro that Kawajiri and Keisuke died by falling from a cliff, but says they can still save the opal by hiring a diver to dredge it from the sea floor. Suddenly, a huge reptilian monster emerges from the sea and comes ashore in Kobe, smashing all structures in its path. Onodera and Ichiro flee to Ichiro's apartment in Osaka to discuss plans to salvage the opal. During the conversation, Onodera lets it slip that he killed two men to retrieve the opal, leading Ichiro to the realization that Onodera murdered both Kawajiri and Keisuke. Ichiro attacks Onodera, but Onodera overpowers and nearly kills Ichiro. Ichiro's wife Sadae tries to break up the fight, but Onodera punches her and knocks her unconscious. He then topples a bookshelf onto Ichiro, trapping him. When he overhears that the lizard creature is approaching Osaka, Onodera flees, leaving Ichiro and his wife helpless as the monster destroys the apartment and kills them.

Keisuke and Karen land at an airport in Japan and see the monster's rampage on television. Karen recognizes the creature as Barugon, a terrifying creature that menaced her people thousands of years ago and hatched from the opal. She realizes they are too late, and she and Keisuke track down Onodera. Keisuke confronts Onodera in a bar and attacks him, and with some help from Karen is able to subdue Onodera and tie him to a pole. Keisuke and Karen leave Onodera behind and contact the JSDF to decide countermeasures against Barugon. The JSDF assaults Barugon with tanks and missile launchers, but the beast wipes them out using chilling vapor emitted from his extendable tongue and a rainbow-colored death ray fired from his back. As Barugon approaches Osaka Castle, Gamera is attracted by the heat from the creature's rainbow ray and flies overhead. Gamera lands and roars at Barugon, challenging the creature to battle. The two monsters fight, with Gamera using his superior strength and fire breath to attack Barugon. However, Barugon extends his tongue and sprays chilling liquid at Gamera, freezing him solid almost instantly. Barugon approaches the frozen Gamera and begins poking him with his horn, but Gamera manages to move his arm enough to deliver a powerful blow beneath Barugon's eye, tearing through his flesh and causing him to bleed profusely. Barugon knocks Gamera onto his back and uses the chilling liquid again to completely freeze Gamera. Victorious, Barugon leaves the area and continues rampaging through Japan. Karen and Keisuke tell the JSDF that Barugon has one critical weakness: prolonged contact with water eats away at Barugon's flesh. In the past, Karen's people sank large diamonds into the ocean, luring Barugon to his death beneath the waves. She presents them with a huge 5,000 carat diamond and tells them to use it to lure Barugon into Lake Biwa and kill him. The diamond is suspended from a helicopter in front of Barugon, but he does not seem to notice it and does not follow. With the plan a failure, the JSDF uses artificial rain to keep Barugon immobile while it works on another plan. Once Karen learns that Barugon's egg was incubated by an infrared light, she proposes that he may not be as sensitive to shiny objects as the Barugons that menaced her village in the past, and that the diamond's brilliance must be magnified to be effective. Using an experimental infrared device, the JSDF is able to successfully magnify the diamond's brilliance, then places it on a truck to lure Barugon. Barugon notices the diamond and follows the truck to the lake, where it is placed on a boat. When Onodera learns that a 5,000 carat diamond is being sunk into Lake Biwa, he believes that he can steal it and make up for the lost opal. Onodera's lover frees him from his bonds, and he gets into his car and drives to Lake Biwa. Onodera steals a boat and rides it out to the boat carrying the diamond. He shoots one of the soldiers on the boat and holds everyone else at gunpoint, demanding they hand over the diamond. Onodera gets his hand on the diamond and takes it onto his boat. As Onodera flees, Barugon extends his tongue and grabs Onodera and the diamond with it, then swallows them both whole.

With all hope seemingly lost, Keisuke examines the remains of several missile launchers destroyed by Barugon's rainbow. He notices that the only things not vaporized by the beam are small mirrors. Using this, he proposes a new plan to the JSDF: the construction of a gigantic mirror that can reflect Barugon's rainbow back at him and fatally wound him. The JSDF puts the plan into action, creating a giant parabolic lens surrounded by several remotely controlled tanks. Barugon is lured toward the Giant Parabolic Mirror, and the tanks open fire on him. Barugon retaliates with his rainbow, which strikes the mirror and is reflected directly back at Barugon, searing his flesh and causing him to collapse to the ground. Unfortunately, the wounds are not enough to kill Barugon, and he learns from his mistake and does not fire another rainbow. Just as Keisuke, Karen and the JSDF accept they have no way to stop Barugon, Gamera begins to thaw back in Osaka. He takes flight and flies to Lake Biwa for a rematch with Barugon. The monsters fight again, but this time Gamera gains the upper hand and throws Barugon into the lake. When Gamera realizes that the water injures Barugon, he clamps his jaws onto Barugon's neck and forcibly drags him to the bottom of the lake, where Barugon finally drowns and fires one last rainbow out of the lake as he dies. Gamera flies out of the lake and disappears over the horizon, leaving humanity safe from Barugon's reign of terror. Keisuke tells Karen he will take her back to New Guinea, as he now has nothing to live for and is completely alone after the death of his brother and best friend. Karen grabs Keisuke's hand and tells him that he is not alone after all.

Staff

Main article: Gamera vs. Barugon/Credits.

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

  • Directed by   Shigeo Tanaka
  • Written by   Nisan Takahashi
  • Executive producer   Masaichi Nagata
  • Planned by   Yonejiro Saito
  • Music by   Chuji Kinoshita
  • Cinematography by   Michio Takahashi
  • Edited by   Tatsuji Nakashizu
  • Production design by   Atsuji Shibata
  • First assistant director   Masao Segawa
  • Director of special effects   Noriaki Yuasa
  • First assistant director of special effects   Shima Abe

Cast

Main article: Gamera vs. Barugon/Credits.

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

  • Kojiro Hongo   as   Keisuke Hirata
  • Kyoko Enami   as   Karen
  • Yuzo Hayakawa   as   Kawajiri
  • Takuya Fujioka   as   Dr. Sato
  • Koji Fujiyama   as   Onodera
  • Sho Natsuki   as   Ichiro Hirata
  • Yoshiro Kitahara   as   Professor Amano
  • Ichiro Sugai   as   Dr. Matsushita
  • Bontaro Miake   as   Self-Defense Force general
  • Jutaro Hojo   as   Self-Defense Force commander
  • Kazuko Wakamatsu   as   Sadae Hirata
  • Yuka Konno   as   Onodera's lover
  • Eiichi Takamura   as   governor of Osaka
  • Kenichi Tani   as   Lee
  • Koichi Ito   as   Metropolitan Police superintendent-general
  • Hikaru Hoshi   as   Awaji Maru captain
  • Osamu Abe   as   Awaji Maru crewman
  • Jun Osanai
  • Yoshihiro Hamaguchi   as   Awaji Maru crewman
  • Joe Ohara   as   Karen's father
  • Tsutomu Nakata   as   Hayashi
  • Yuji Moriya   as   news announcer (voice)
  • Shinji Kawashima
  • Gai Harada   as   Kishimoto
  • Kazuo Mori   as   Awaji Maru crewman
  • Shin Minatsu   as   Awaji Maru crewman
  • Takehiko Goto
  • Toichiro Kagawa   as   man at observatory
  • Nobuko Shingu
  • Hiroko Nishi
  • Michiyo Hikari
  • Takashi Masuda Dance Company
  • Teruo Aragaki   as   Gamera

International English dub

  • Michael Kaye   as   Keisuke Hirata
  • Linda Masson   as   Karen
  • Ted Thomas   as   Kawajiri / governor of Osaka / Lee / broadcaster
  • Warren Rooke   as   Ichiro Hirata / Dr. Sato / Professor Amano
  • Unidentified dubber   as   Onodera[3] / narrator
  • Barry Haigh   as   Self-Defense Force general / Dr. Matsushita / crewmate
  • Saul Lockhart   as   Awaji Maru captain / crewmate / JSDF pilot / JSDF soldiers

AITV English dub

  • Ted Rusoff   as   Keisuke Hirata
  • Anthony La Penna   as   narrator

Appearances

Monsters

Weapons, vehicles, and races

Gallery

Main article: Gamera vs. Barugon/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Gamera vs. Barugon (Soundtrack).

Alternate titles

  • Giant Monster Duel: Gamera vs. Barugon (literal Japanese title)
  • Gamera vs. Barugon: Chilling Monster (English Japanese DVD title)
  • War of the Monsters (United States)
  • Revenge of the Fire Monster (United States 16mm title) [4]
  • Gamera Strikes Back (United States video title) [5]
  • Godzilla - The Dragon from the Jungle (Godzilla - Der Drache aus dem Dschungel; West Germany) [6]
  • Panic - Dinosaurs Threaten the World (Panik - Dinosaurier bedrohen die Welt; German video title)[6]
  • Gamera vs. Godzilla (Gamera gegen Godzilla; German video title)[6]
  • Dragonwars: War of the Monsters (Dragonwars - Krieg der Monster; German DVD title)[6]
  • Gamera vs. Barugon - Frankenstein's Dragon from the Jungle (Gamera gegen Barugon - Frankensteins Drache aus dem Dschungel; German DVD title)[6]
  • Warning! The monsters arrive (Attenzione! Arrivano i mostri; Italy)
  • Gamera Against Barugon (Gamera Contra Barugon; Portugal)
  • Gamera Against the Monster Barugon (Gamera Contra o Monstro Barugon; Brazil)
  • The Monsters Attack (Les monstres attaquent; France)
  • The Monsters of the End of the World (Los monstruos del fin del mundo; Spain)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - April 17, 1966
  • West Germany - 1967
  • Spain - 1968
  • Canada - December 18, 1969
  • France - December 31, 1969

Foreign releases

U.S. release

Alpha Video's War of the Monsters DVD cover

Gamera vs. Barugon was acquired by American International Television and dubbed into English in Rome, Italy, by the English Language Dubbers Association under the supervision of Salvatore Billitteri.[2] Retitled War of the Monsters, AITV first offered its version to U.S. television stations in 1967 as part of the "15 New Science-Fiction" syndication package.[1] AITV's version was also offered on 16mm in a further abridged 60-minute cut retitled Revenge of the Fire Monster.[4] AITV's version of the film was thought to be in the public domain for many years and has been released on DVD by countless different home video companies as a result, with all of these releases using a film chain of a print originally issued on VHS by the video label Sinister Cinema. King Features Entertainment later released the film to television and VHS as Gamera vs. Barugon on July 14, 1987.[2][7] The international English dub of Gamera vs. Barugon, as released by Sandy Frank Film Syndication, was featured on Season 3 of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was also the first Gamera movie riffed on the show during its original broadcast on the Minneapolis-area station KTMA. Both Shout! Factory and Mill Creek Entertainment have released the uncut Japanese version of Gamera vs. Barugon on DVD with English subtitles. Both the international English dub and AITV's cut were included on Arrow Video's Blu-Ray sets Gamera: The Complete Collection and Gamera: The Showa Era in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

French release

Compagnie Parisienne de Films released a 92-minute version of Gamera vs. Barugon under the title "Les Monstres attaquent" (lit. "The Monsters Attack") on December 31, 1969 with a French dub by Gallia Productions, adapted by Jacques Michau with dialogue by Lucette Gaudiot.

Video releases

Shout! Factory DVD (2010)

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese (1.0 Mono)
  • Special features: Audio commentary by August Ragone and Jason Varney, booklet, original movie program

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

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

  • Region: N/A
  • Discs: 2
  • Audio: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0)
  • Special features: None
  • Notes: Packaged with Gamera the Giant Monster, Gamera vs. Gyaos, and Gamera vs. Viras.

Arrow Video Blu-ray (2020/2021) [Gamera: The Complete Collection and Gamera: The Showa Era]

  • Region: A and B
  • Discs: 8 (The Complete Collection] or 4 (The Showa Era)
  • Audio: Japanese and both English dubs (DTS-HD Master Audio Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Special features: Audio commentary by August Ragone and Jason Varney, introduction by August Ragone (8 minutes), two Japanese theatrical trailers, opening and end credits from the AITV and Sandy Frank versions of the film (3 minutes), and an image gallery. Gamera: The Complete Collection includes 12 art cards by Matt Frank, a map of Gamera's appearances throughout the world, and two books; the first collects A History of Gamera by Patrick Macias, a 1996 Noriaki Yuasa interview by David Milner, kaiju x-ray illustrations by Jolyan Yates, three Fangoria articles on the Heisei Gamera trilogy by Norman England, a guide to the English dubs of the Gamera series by James Flower, and information on the transfers presented in the set, while the second reprints the comics Gamera and The Last Hope.
  • Notes: Gamera: The Complete Collection is out of print. Packaged with the other 11 Gamera films in The Complete Colection and the other seven Showa Gamera films in The Showa Era. Due to the large number of special features in these sets, only the supplements on the Gamera vs. Barugon disc are described above.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese Gamera vs. Barugon trailer
Textless Japanese Gamera vs. Barugon trailer
Japanese newsflash for Daimajin and Gamera vs. Barugon
King Features Entertainment Gamera vs. Barugon TV spots
Celebrity Home Entertainment Gamera vs. Barugon video promo
West German Gamera vs. Barugon trailer

Miscellaneous

All shots from Gamera vs. Barugon removed from War of the Monsters
Sandy Frank Film Syndication opening credits
Sandy Frank Film Syndication end titles
Gamera vs. Barugon on Commander USA's Groovie Movies

Trivia

  • This is the only Showa Gamera film not to feature a child protagonist.
  • This is the first Gamera movie to feature another monster, with at least one villainous monster featuring in every subsequent film. Barugon is unusual in that he never causes Gamera to bleed, something achieved by every subsequent villain except for the secondary antagonists Hyper Gyaos in Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999). It was also the first film to portray Gamera as a protagonist, which would become an enduring trait of his character ever since.
  • This is the only Showa Gamera film not to be directed by Noriaki Yuasa. Yuasa did, however, serve as the film's director of special effects.
  • This is the first Gamera film featuring actor Kojiro Hongo, who would go on to appear in three more films in the franchise.
  • Gamera vs. Barugon marked Teruo Aragaki's first role as Gamera's suit actor. Aragaki would reprise the role in the following two films, making him the only actor to play Gamera more than twice.
  • Gamera vs. Barugon has been adapted into a manga three times. The first adaptation was released to tie in with the film in 1966. A second adaptation was part of a series of manga adaptations of the Showa Gamera films published by Tokuma Shoten for Gamera's 30th anniversary in 1995. The film's plot was later adapted into a manga published by Kadokawa in 2002, which placed it into the continuity of the Heisei trilogy.
  • Gamera vs. Barugon was one of a record seven giant monster films to be released theatrically in Japan in 1966, the others being The War of the Gargantuas, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Magic Serpent and the Daimajin trilogy. The television series Ultra Q and Ultraman also premiered in 1966.

References

This is a list of references for Gamera vs. Barugon. 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]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Craig, Rob (2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 401, 402, 429. ISBN 9781476666310.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Stuart Galbraith IV (1998). Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo!. Feral House. pp. 74, 433. ISBN 0-922915-47-4.
  3. That VHS Guy (1 February 2015). "Unidentified Hong Kong Voice Actor 1". YouTube.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Classic Horror Film Board: "Revenge of the Fire Monster"
  5. Classic Horror Film Board: "GAMERA STRIKES BACK?"
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 OFDB - Godzilla - Der Drache aus dem Dschungel
  7. Variety 1987-07-08 Gamera CHE.png

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