Gamera is a fictional monster, or kaiju, originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla film series. Since then, Gamera has become a Japanese icon in his own right, appearing in a total of 12 films produced by Daiei Film and later by Tokuma Shoten and Kadokawa Daiei Studio respectively, and various media.
Gamera vs. Guiron is a 1969 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, written by Niisan Takahashi, and produced by Daiei Film. It is the fifth entry in the Gamera film series, following Gamera vs. Viras, which was released the previous year. Gamera vs. Guiron stars Nobuhiro Kajima, Miyuki Akiyama, Christopher Murphy, Yuko Hamada, and Eiji Funakoshi. The film was released theatrically in Japan on March 21, 1969. It did not receive a theatrical release in the United States, but was released directly to American television that year by American International Television under the title Attack of the Monsters. The film was followed by Gamera vs. Jiger the following year.
Shochiku Co., Ltd. is a Japanese entertainment company. It started its business in 1895 by managing kabuki theaters in Kyoto, and in 1914, it also acquired ownership of the Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo. In 1920, Shochiku entered the film production industry and established the Kamata Film Studio. Currently, it is considered one of Japan's Big Four film studios and is the oldest among the Big Four. Shochiku is a member of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ).
Shintoho Co. Ltd. was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company following a bitter strike in 1947.
Gamera, the Giant Monster is a 1965 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, with special effects by Yonesaburo Tsukiji. Produced and distributed by Daiei Film, it is the first film in the Gamera franchise and the Shōwa era. The film stars Eiji Funakoshi, Harumi Kiritachi, and Junichiro Yamashita. In the film, authorities deal with the attacks of Gamera, a giant prehistoric turtle unleashed in the Arctic by an atomic bomb.
Super Giant is a Japanese superhero featured in a successful series of serial-like tokusatsu short feature films produced between 1957 and 1959 by Shintoho. He is also known in Japan as Giant of Steel, is known in The United States as Starman, and known in France and Italy as Spaceman.
Planet Prince is a 1958 Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series created by Masaru Igami and produced by Senkosha, the series aired on NTV from November 4, 1958 to October 6, 1959, with a total of 49 episodes. It was created to capitalize on the success of Shintoho's Super Giant (Starman) movie series. In fact, the title hero bore a strong resemblance to Super Giant. The pair of Planet Prince theatrical featurettes, adapted from the Senkosha TV series, were produced by Toei Studios and filmed in black and white ToeiScope format.
Moonlight Mask, a.k.a. Moonbeam Man, is a superhero appearing in Japanese tokusatsu and anime television shows and movies since his TV debut in 1958. The six theatrical films were made in black and white/ToeiScope format. Created by writer Kōhan Kawauchi, Moonlight Mask is best described as Japan's answer to The Lone Ranger, Batman and Zorro.
Ambassador Magma is the title and protagonist of a manga and tokusatsu TV series created by Osamu Tezuka. The TV series, produced by P Productions, aired on Fuji TV from July 4, 1966, to June 26, 1967, lasting a total of 52 episodes. It is the first color tokusatsu TV series in Japan, beating Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman to the air by six days. The show later aired in the US, dubbed in English by Krantz Films, as The Space Giants. Digital Manga crowdfunded the manga, and it is currently available for digital purchase on their Emanga site.
Gappa is a 1967 Japanese kaiju film directed by Haruyasu Noguchi. The film is about a group of Japanese reporters who discover an infant monster called a Gappa on Obelisk Island. The reporters cage the creature and take it to Japan where it becomes a media attraction. This angers the natives of the island and Gappa's full-grown parents, who head toward Japan to find their child. Its plot virtually duplicates that of the 1961 British film Gorgo.
Matango (マタンゴ) is a 1963 Japanese horror film directed by Ishirō Honda. The film stars Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno and Kenji Sahara. It is partially based on William Hope Hodgson's short story "The Voice in the Night" and is about a group of castaways on an island who are unwittingly altered by a local species of mutagenic mushrooms.
The Green Slime is a 1968 tokusatsu science fiction film directed by Kinji Fukasaku and produced by Walter Manley and Ivan Reiner. It was written by William Finger, Tom Rowe and Charles Sinclair from a story by Reiner. The film was shot in Japan with a Japanese director and film crew, but with the non-Japanese starring cast of Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel and Luciana Paluzzi.
Gamera: Super Monster is a 1980 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa and produced by Daiei Film. It is the eighth film in the Gamera film series, following the release of Gamera vs. Zigra in 1971.
Gamera vs. Barugon is a 1966 Japanese kaiju film directed by Shigeo Tanaka, with special effects by Noriaki Yuasa and Kazufumi Fujii. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the second entry in the Gamera franchise, and stars Kōjirō Hongō, Kyōko Enami, and Yūzō Hayakawa, with Teruo Aragaki as Gamera. In the film, Gamera returns to Earth to battle a reptilian monster born out of an opal brought to Japan by greedy entrepreneurs.
Gamera vs. Gyaos is a 1967 Japanese kaiju film directed by Noriaki Yuasa, with special effects by Yuasa. Produced by Daiei Film, it is the third entry in the Gamera franchise and stars Kojiro Hongo, Kichijiro Ueda, Tatsuemon Kanamura, Reiko Kasahara, and Naoyuki Abe, with Teruo Aragaki as Gamera. In the film, Gamera and authorities must deal with the sudden appearance of a carnivorous winged creature awakened by volcanic eruptions.
Atomic Rulers of the World is a 1965 film edited together for American television from films #1 and #2 of the 1957 Japanese short film series Super Giant.
Attack from Space is a 1965 science fiction compilation film produced for American television. It is the third film, following Atomic Rulers of the World and Invaders from Space, to be comprised from the six installments of the Japanese short film series Super Giant from Shintoho.
Invaders from Space is a 1964 film edited together for American television from films #3 and #4 of the 1957 Japanese short film series Super Giant.
The X from Outer Space is a 1967 Japanese science fiction kaiju film directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu, and stars Eiji Okada and Toshiya Wazaki.
Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature is a 1967 Japanese superhero kaiju film directed by Hajime Tsuburaya, with special effects by Koichi Takano. Produced by Tsuburaya Productions and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first film in the Ultraman franchise, consisting entirely of re-edited material from the original series. In the film, an extraterrestrial defends Earth from giant monsters who pose a threat to humanity.
