Customer Reviews

War of the Monsters

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I grew up watching Gamera movies on Detroit TV. They'd have Gamera week and Godzilla week and I'd race home from public school to watch em all.

Now as Gamera went I wasn't as big a fan. The whole flying turtle thing and too many pathetic little kids in the story lines really turned me off. BUT recently I bought the 90's Gamera box set and was blown away! The 90's movies are really good (too bad they didn't make a part 4). And thus wanting more I decided to take a trip down memory lane and wander the mine field of cheesy hokey cruddy Gamera films. I started with the first one which is totally ruined by American actor scenes which just make an already stupid movie EVEN worse. I checked out Gamera vs Monster X cause it was my all time childhood fave (the sub scene). It's OK but leans towards kiddy film heavily, although the cheese factor pulls it from a complete nose dive and several clever scenes keep it above water too. Nervous about trying more I decided to read the other reviews and most people rated War of The Monsters rather highly (one I don't remember all that well) so I gave it a shot- hell, Alpha DVD's are cheap as dirt (with equal quality). And I got to say I was happily surprised. Why??

A) Solid SCI-FI adult story line! Some loopy stuff but hey it's about a flying turtle damn-it.

B) Good action scenes. Loads of monster crushing stuff and decent human action as well.

C) Plausible evil monster. Okay the rainbow ray is a bit sissy and the baseball bat tongue is really odd. But he grew up quick and mean. GOOD human villian too!

D) NO stupid little kids. I repeat NO stupid little kids.

E) Hot chick in lead role. Got to like that.

F) Good soundtrack- no kiddy music!

So why not 5 stars??

A) Not enough Gamera. When it ends you realize Gamera just wasn't in there enough to make it a 5. Good- but needed more.

B) BAD special effects- good enough for B-Movie fans. Better than "Reptilicus" but still goofy bad and loads of wires. Monster blood looked like chocolate milk (maybe the reason why is located in C).

C) Pathetic Alpha Video quality dub. For three seconds the colour goes perfect and you realize why you are squinting your eyes. AND for those few seconds you realize how good this movie could look if done properly. Especially the island dancer scenes! Come on Alpha Video it doesn't have to suck this BAD!!

In conclusion: Solid Monster movie. Dreadful DVD quality dub. But a keeper in my B-Movie collection. I have a feeling this movie may last longer than Monster X (oh those stupid little kids! And all that kiddy music. Gotta remember the telephone poles in the ears and the sub scene... cheese factor- cheese factor- plugging hydro wires into his heart by taking a sub into his mouth- classic cheese).

It should be noted that this is the AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
version of this film. It features excellent dubbing and should not be confused with the horrible SANDY FRANK version that aired on
MST3K.

In "War of the Monsters: Gamera vs. Barugon" (known as "Daikaijû kessen: Gamera tai Barugon" in the Land of the Rising Sun) everybody's favorite jet-powered super-turtle Gamera battles Barugon, a gigantic horned dinosaur hatched from a huge opal. From his deadly horns, Barugon emits the devastating "rainbow ray" and he also has some wild tongue action that defies description. That means in this second edition of the Gamera series, the giant turtle gets to be the hero, so it sure was a good thing the Japanese Defense Forces decided to let him live at the end of the first film. Gamera was awakened by a nuclear explosion, but Barugon gets hatched when a bunch of stupid gangsters try to cash in on the giant opal, which, of course, is really a giant egg.

Unlike the first Gamera film, "War of the Monsters: Gamera vs. Barugon" is in color (which makes the special effects look cheesier) and in Japanese (which means unemployed American actors are sparred being spliced into the action, a ploy that only worked with Raymond Burr in the original "Godzilla" film). The first half of the film is arguably more boring than the original film, mainly because it is a monster movie with no monsters until the second half. But you do have the semblance of a fight between the two creatures in the end. Consider this one step forward and one step backwards with regards to the original Gamera film. The cast is headed by Kojiro Hongo as Keisuke Hirata, Koji Fujiyama as Onodera, and Kyôko Enami as Karen.

The sequel to Gamera The Invicible is about lies, trickery and greed. During WW2, someone left and "opal", he had discovered, hidden in a cave to be found when he came back. Years later he hires his brother and two other meant to go and get the "opal" They go to the island the older brother left the jewel only to be stopped by the villagers that inhabit the island. They are told that they shouldn't enter the cave because it is cursed and those that do go, they don't come back alive. Convinced that this is a myth used to scare people away from a hidden treasure, they continue anyway. Later in the cave, they find the "opal" and one of the three betrays the other two and leaves them for dead. Little does he know that what he has is not an opal at all, but something much worse... I originally didn't like this movie, but I watched it again and I loved it. This is definitely one of the best Showa Gamera films. This had nothing to do with children saving the day like the later movies would become. No kid in sight through the entire movie. This movie was amazing, some of the best fight scenes I have seen between Gamera and Barugon, and also some of the best fights scenes I have seen on a kaiju movie between the good and bad humans. Barugon's name is a rip off of Toho's Baragon, but the monster itself is original and amazing. This and the first movie Gamera the Invincible is definitely the two movies to watch if you're new to the Showa Gamera world.

AKA GAMERA VS. BARUGON THIS IS THE FIRST GAMERA MOVIE SHOT IN COLOR, BUT IT'S REALLY BARUGON WHO IS THE STAR OF THIS ONE! GAMERA APPEARS EARLY IN TINTED FLASHBACK SCENES FROM THE ORIGINAL B&W GAMERA FILM & THEN QUICKLY RETURNS TO EARTH FROM THE COSMOS TO BLOW UP A DAM. NEXT WE GET A STORY ABOUT 3 TREASURE HUNTERS WHO THINK THIS BARUGON-EGG IS SOME GEM WORTH A FORTUNE. ONE TREASURE HUNTER DIES FROM A SCORPION BITE & THE 3RD TRIES TO KILL THE 2ND & MAKE OFF WITH THE GEM. ANYWAY, BARUGON HATCHES & GOES ON THE EXPECTED DESTRUCTIVE RAMPAGE. TREASURE HUNTER #2 & HIS ISLAND/NATIVE? GIRLFRIEND RETURN AS DOES GAMERA FOR THE FINAL MONSTER BATTLE!!! TREASURE HUNTER SCUMBAG #3 & BARUGON GET THEIRS & ALL ENDS WELL...
PLAYED STRAIGHT, NO LITTLE KIDS TO GET IN THE WAY, THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD MONSTER BASH WHICH I'VE WATCHED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE YEARS...
HOWEVER...THE ALPHA DVD IS REALLY PRETTY BAD WITH WASHED-OUT COLOR. I COMPARED IT TO THE EXTENDED PLAY VHS I HAVE " GAMERA VS. BARUGON " & THE VHS WINS HANDS DOWN. IT'S PACKAGED AS CELEBRITY HOME ENTERTAINMENT(1987) UNDER THEIR " CELEBRITY JUST FOR KIDS " SERIES WHICH FEATURES OTHER GAMERA FILMS AS WELL. THE COLOR HERE IS SO MUCH BETTER (AFTER I'VE ADJUSTED THE TRACKING). THIS IS THE SANDY FRANK EDITION WHICH I UNDERSTAND HAS AWFUL DUBBING( SEEMED JUST FINE TO ME-I LIKED THE INANE LINES ), BUT IS THE MORE VIOLENT UNCUT VERSION. WHATEVER...
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT MY OLD VHS WAS LIGHT YEARS BETTER THAN WHAT ALPHA HAS OUT THERE ON DVD.

"War of the Monsters" is a sad print (grainy, the ends cropped so sometimes the monsters' heads barely peek into either side of the frame) of a quite good monster movie. The human characters in this one actually inhabit a decent story of their own, and have some interaction with the monsters, rather than being mere spectators. Our beloved Gamera and his enemy for this battle Barugon are both cleverly conceived and well realized. There are no little kids in this one, which some will see as a blessing.

This film is great, it can be emotional at some points, and the fighting scenes are great. Although the picture isn't too good and it is in full screen, this doesn't take away from this film. The characters are great, the monsters are great. This is the only showa Gamera film that doesn't have a child that doesn't have a child star. Gamera looks very good in this film, with an evil look in the face, Barugon looks realistic as well. If your a fan of these films, then this is worth the time and money.

Its about time we started to see the AIP-TV versions of these classic films. This one is a pretty good monster movie, but the series would not really get down to business until the next sequel. This one only features Gamera in three quick scenes which also appear in DESTROY ALL PLANETS. The rest of the movie is a story about three jewel thieves who unwittingly bring the egg of a giant lizard creature to Japan, thinking they have found a rare opal. Theres no little kids cheering for Gamera just yet, and the giant turtle isnt quite a hero, destroying a dam for his first appearence in the film. But even though the dvd is not great quality, the movie is pretty cool. The only AIP dubbed Gamera film to still be unavailable is RETURN OF THE GIANT MONSTERS, hopefully coming out soon!

I know Gamera had two fights, but one was short. Barugon may be one of Gamera's most amazing enemies, but out of an hour and a half, Gamera gets 20 minutes of screen time while Barugon gets half the movie! Still I like the battles and Gamera looks destructive. I like the fact that Barugon is a mutated demon. I would of given it 4 but the DVD's terrible.

War of the Monsters, aka Gamera vs. Barugon, is one of the showa (60s - 80s) Gamera series' highlights. The film is perhaps the most serious entry in the series and is the first color Gamera film.

However, the DVD from alpha video isn't quite up to task of showing this classic kaiju film in all of its brilliance. The worst problem on the disc is the print of the film. The film is in color, but you might not know that unless you knew it was beforehand. The colors are so faded on the film, it could be thought that it was filmed in black and white. Yet, this film can not be found on region 1 DVD anywhere else, and for 7 bucks, I highly recommend you pick it up, despite its faults.