Schlock-cinema mogul Fred Olen Rey recently signed up his DVD production label Retromedia for distribution through Image Entertainment. One of the first releases of this unholy alliance is the double bill pairing of two public domain titles, GAMERA VS. MONSTER X (original Japanese title, GAMERA TAI DAIMAIJU JIGER) and MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET (DAIKYOJU GAPPA). Both these giant monster movies originally played in Japanese cinemas in 1970 and 1967 (courtesy of Daiei and Nikkatsu studios), respectively. American International Pictures purchased both these films, dubbed them into English for the international market, and released them to directly to television to the delight of young and old monster lovers everywhere. Its no secret that Retromedia uses worn television prints as the sources for all their monster classics, so don’t expect much quality for the double feature disc of GAMERA VS MONSTER X and MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET.

GAMERA VS MONSTER X

A scientific team travels to Wester island and attempts to procure a giant stone idol (called the Devil's Whistle) for displaying at Japan’s World Expo Center. Gamera the prehistoric turtle intrudes tries to prevent the idol from being taken, but the creature fails and the idol is uprooted by helicopters and placed aboard a ship en route to Japan. The idol, however, was the seal which kept dormant a giant triceratops-like monster, called Jiger, which after facing Gamera and seriously wounding it, starts towards Japan to destroy the idol that kept it at bay for millennia. The ship arrives in Japan with most of the crew mysteriously ill. A submarine designer is building mini-subs for the children to use at the Expo, and his sons are friends of the British explorer who directed the excavation of the idol. Jiger arrives in Japan, and starts to wreak havoc en route to the Expo Center: Aside from its sheer size and bulk, it is capable of projecting a city block-wide death ray, and launching javelin-like spikes with deadly accuracy. Gamera is finally able to get rid of the javelins with which Jiger nailed its arms and legs, and, retracting them, is capable to fly towards Japan, where it attacks Jiger, which is able to plant a larva in Gamera's lungs via a retractable sting housed in its tail. Scientist understand this and two children, using one of the Expo’s mini-submarines , are able to enter Gamera's body and defeat Jiger's larva (shaped exactly like Jiger, but man-sized), which was draining the prehistoric turtle’s lifeforce. Once Gamera is healthy again, it is able to attack and defeat Jiger immediately on the grounds of the World Expo '70 center.

MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET

GAMERA VS. MONSTER X is easily the better of the two films, yet this movie too is far from perfect. Though the science fiction and militaristic concepts of this movie are well done, just the fact that some annoying ten years olds are the lead characters is a major stumbling block to an otherwise above average monster flick. The special effects are pretty good for the time, resulting in some entertaining military and monster battles. Gamera’s monster opponent, Jiger, is an inspired creation (perhaps one of the best designed foes from the original Gamera series) with multiple built in bio-weapons to threaten both mankind and heroic dino-turtles. An interesting screenplay and good direction by Daiei veteran Noriaki Yasuaki make GAMERA VS. MONSTER X one of the better entries in the Gamera saga. Haruyasu Noguchi’s MONSTER FROM THE PREHISTORIC PLANET is more contrived in plot and production as it borrows heavily not only from Godzilla, but Gorgo and King Kong as well. For instance, the main character of the movie is an infant prehistoric gargoyle whose presence drives the entire plot. The creature’s parents do not react well to the fact that their offspring has been captured by humankind and taken from their island paradise. The budget and production values are low, as is the level of talent associated with the production. MONSTER FROM A PREHISTROIC PLANET lacks the talent and filmmaking savvy of Toho Studios pantheon of top-notch visionaries (Inoshiro Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, Akira Ifukube, etc).

Retromedia presents GAMERA VS. MONSTER X/ MONSTER FROM A PREHISTROIC PLANET in the 1.33.1 full frame ratio, castrating these kaiju films from their original 2.35.1 presentations. Furthermore, Retromedia used really beaten up and faded TV prints which really hurt the eyes. Both movies are dark, scratchy, and grainy. The sound is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. Though muffled at certain points, the sound holds up better than the audio. The sound effects including explosions, monster roars, and attacking airplanes are prominent in the mix. The scores for both movies are not Akira Ifukube-quality, but they serve their purpose well. The English dubbed dialog is clear in the soundtrack (and very well done, I might add for GAMERA VS. MONSTER X). There are no movie-related extras on here, not even a trailer.

Retromedia’s GAMERA VS. MONSTER X/MONSTER FROM THE PREHISTORIC PLANET DVD is a mixed bag. Both movies are worth a look by cult fanatics, but the lousy transfers spoil this prospective double feature. MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET is available on DVD in Region 1 under various labels though the best version available is a fine widescreen print under the title GAPPA from Media Blasters. GAMERA VS MONSTER X is available as an expensive Region 2 import with a beautiful widescreen transfer with English subtitles. However, monster movie completists and nostalgia buffs may want to invest in this disc to get the English dubbed version GAMERA VS. MONSTER X, a rare movie unlikely to show up on Region 1 in a deluxe presentation anytime soon.

GAMERA VS MONSTER X/MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET available from DVDEmpire.com

-  Phil Chandler