Gamera tai uchu kaijû Bairasu (1968)

Director:

Noriaki Yuasa

Writer:

Nisan Takahashi (writer)

Release Date:

20 March 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Family | Horror | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Gamera the Flying Turtle falls under the spell of evil aliens, but two children free him and he returns to fight the aliens' monster, Viras.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Gamera | Turtle | Monster | World Domination

Cast

Kojiro Hongo	...	Scout Master Mr. Shimida
Tôru Takatsuka	...	Masao Nakaya
Carl Craig	...	Jim Crane (as Kurl Crane)
Peter Williams	...	Dr. Dobie
Carl Clay	...	Carl Crane
Michiko Yaegaki	...	Girl Scout
Mari Atsumi	...	Junko Aoki
Junko Yashiro	...	Masako Shibata
Kôji Fujiyama	...	Commander of Jietat
Genzô Wakayama	...	Voice of Boss
Chikara Hashimoto	...	General
Kenichiro Yamane	...	Mr. Shibata
Kenji Go	...	Commander at Dam
Akira Natsuki	...	Soldier
Ken Nakahara	...	Soldier
Mary Morris	...	Mrs. Crane (as Merry Muras)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yoshiro Kitahara	...	Alien
Kei'ichi Noda	...	Alien

Directed by
Noriaki Yuasa		(as Kenji Yuasa)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nisan Takahashi		writer (as Fumi Takahashi)

Produced by
Hidemasa Nagata	....	producer
Masaichi Nagata	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kenjiro Hirose

Cinematography by
Akira Kitazaki

Film Editing by
Shoji Sekiguchi

Production Design by
Tomohisa Yano

Production Management
Salvatore Billitteri	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Kimio Tobita	....	supervising sound editor (as Kimio Hida)

Special Effects by
Kazufumi Fujii	....	special effects
Yuzo Kaneko	....	special effects

Editorial Department
Eli Haviv	....	post-production editor (AIP-TV release)
Emil Haviv	....	post-production editor

Other crew
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	presenter (AIP-TV release)
Bret Morrison	....	re-release director (AIP-TV release)
Masaichi Nagata	....	presenter
James H. Nicholson	....	presenter (AIP-TV release)
Ryosaku Takayama	....	monster design

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Daiei Studios (1968) (Japan) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Retromedia Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• American-International Television (AIP-TV) (????) (USA) (TV)
• Celebrity Video Presentations (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Filmax Home Video (????) (Spain) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Titan Productions Inc.  sound re-recording (English version)

Also Known As:

Destroy All Planets
Gamera tai Viras
Gamera vs. Outer Space Monster Viras
Gamera vs. Viras

Runtime:

USA:75 min | USA:90 min (TV version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Daiei Tokyo Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Daiei Studios

Trivia:

This was the first film in the series to use flashbacks from the previous Gamera films as a way of saving money on the production. In this film, the flashback sequence lasts approximately fifteen minutes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gokudô kuroshakai (1997)

Support recycling: watch this movie!

Viras (a sort of space squid) and a shipful of aliens who dress like surgeons attempt to take over the Earth, two Boy Scouts at a time. Along comes Gamera... Suddenly, the movie grinds to a halt: we're treated to ELEVEN MINUTES of miscellaneous footage from the first three Gamera movies. Once the movie gets going again, we find Viras has implanted a mind-control device in Gamera's neck. He sends our hero turtle off to wreak havoc. This time we get to see even MORE footage from the previous movies: the dam attack scene from "Gamera vs. Barugon" and -- here's the kicker -- black and white footage from the original "Gamera", spliced in with no concern for continuity. The rest of the movie features some astonishingly gruesome images, including disembodied floating arms and Gamera getting impaled on Viras' pointy head. Basically, it's a cheap, cheap thrill for eleven-year-olds and immature adults like me.