302-Gamera

Film Year:  1965
Genre:  Kaiju, Science Fiction
Director:  Noriaki Yuasa
Starring:  Gamera!  Friend to all children!
MST Season:  3

The Movie

*I HAVE SURVIVED WATCHING THIS MOVIE UNRIFFED*

A gant turtle breaks loose from the arctic and tears crap apart in Tokyo.  A little boy named Kenny runs around and claims it is misunderstood and a friend to mankind…as this turtle is stomping around and killing thousands.  Yeah, we believe you kid.

I had seen this movie several years before I had even known it had been on the show.  As soon as I found out, my instant reaction was “good.”  This is one stupid assed movie.  Gamera as a monster has grown on me over the years, but this movie is just has poor ideas at every turn.  Every new power Gamera showcases makes the viewer flinch and go “really?”  The main character of Kenny isn’t sympathetic in the slightest, or maybe I’m just biased against kids who wander around the military and tell generals what to do.

I don’t get it.  Yeah it’s camp, but it’s kind of insulting camp when you think about it.  We’re supposed to believe Gamera is a good monster, but if we do we have to also believe he’s self aware of the horrible things he’s doing.  Hell, even when in the scene where he saves Kenny from the crumbling lighthouse it needs to be pointed out that the only reason Kenny’s in danger at all is because Gamera purposefully pushed the damn thing over.  This means we’re meant to sympathize with Gamera because he saved one child he almost killed out of the thousands of people he did kill.  It just doesn’t make sense.  Not a lot about Gamera entertains me, even in my youth it didn’t.  Considering I’m usually an apologist for this type of film, that should tell you a lot.

The Episode

What the hell is this?!?!  We've seen this movie before?!?!  FUCK THIS SHOW!!!

The only explanation is that Frank purchased a movie package thinking that Dr. Forrester would be pleased with all the bad movies he found him, unaware that they had done them before Frank signed on.  Boy, did Frank get a good killin' that day!

But the real reason is that the Mystery Science Theater crew doesn't really think of the KTMA episodes as canon (the episode counts in the relaunch seasons disagree with that, however).  The guy were offered another crack at the Sandy Frank catalog, so they took it.  They were now seasoned professionals and felt they could do something much much funnier.  And they did.  There is really no question that the third season episodes of these movies are much better.  Though oddly enough I give a higher rating to the KTMA Gamera vs. Gaos than I do the third season episode.  Call it grading on a curve, though I'm in no hurry to watch both back to back in order to find out.

In the case of the original Gamera, the KTMA version had Joel riffing by himself, which suuuuuuuucked.  While I think the episode is actually a bit more enjoyable than its reputation, there was definite room for improvement there.  There's a lot that can be done with Gamera, since the movie is rather schizophrenic, as it can't decide whether it wants to commit to the misunderstood creature or the cold-blooded killer trope of movie monster as it leans toward the former without realizing it's actually portraying the latter.  Our riffers make note of the strange relationship between boy and monster in this movie and approach it as a love story between Kenny and Gamera.  It's the correct outlook on this movie, as Kenny displays a strange sympathetic relationship with just about everything he comes across (up to and including a bunch of rocks), which makes Kenny just as much an MST icon as Gamera as far as I am concerned.  Of course the cheap production values and silly dub come under fire as well, but the real star of the show is Kenny.

Though probably the highlight of the riff is the climax where Gamera is defeated by being shot into space and the Bots start razing Joel, noticing similarities with his predicament.  They even start singing the theme song!

The host segments are highlighted by a visit from Gamera, played by Michael J. Nelson.  Mike plays Gamera like a Tom Cruise type of "Yep, I know it's me" celebrity and the entire exchange is just fabulous.  This episode also brings us Tom Servo's ode to Kenny's pet turtle Tibby, which is probably this season's "Creepy Girl," and the Bots trying to voodoo torture Kenny through a Jim Varney doll, knowutImean?  The Invention Exchange is more of a magic trick demonstration than actual "inventions,: as a bunch of leaves pop out of Tupperware and Frank accidentally sucks up a birdcage in a vacuum.

Gamera may not be a beginning to end laugh riot, but the episode features a wide open movie that's just asking for it and they hit it with just enough of a punch to make this silly thing more endearing.  Occasionally they go overboard with "toy boat" riffs and the like, but it doesn't really detract from what is in the end just a good time in the Mystery Science Theater.  Gamera is a favorite and a must-see for that reason.

Classic

The DVD

This episode was among the five episodes in Gamera celebratory collection Shout Factory release Volume XXI:  MST3K vs. Gamera.  Audio and video were good, while special features kicked off with a retrospective on the giant turtle's legacy on MST.  Joel, Jim, Trace, Frank, and Josh discuss the beloved icon, what drew them to his movies, what the challenges were, and what their favorite moments were.  Also featured here are segments from the MST Hour version as well as a Japanese trailer for the film in glorious widescreen.