A Quick Look: WAR OF THE MONSTERS (1966/67 - color)

   WAR OF THE MONSTERS was the second film to star Gamera the giant, fire-eating, flying, prehistoric turtle. It's also one of the best Japanese giant monster movies of the boom kicked off by the runaway success of Godzilla. In the previous film, GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE, an atomic explosion released from the ice the monster Gammera, who naturally hit Tokyo while on his world tour. Scientists finally stopped Gammera by trapping him in the nosecone of a tremendous rocket and blasting him into space. As WAR OF THE MONSTERS picks up, a meteor smashes into Gammera's orbiting prison and releases the terror. (Actually, for the rest of the series, his name is spelled with only one M, as they were handled by a different company than the one that released the first film.) While Gamera searches the globe for sources of intense heat to feed on, some explorers trek into a forbidden jungle to recover what one fella thinks is a rare gem. Turns out the gem is actually the egg of a generational dinosaur called Barugon. In times past, the natives would use a big diamond to lure Barugon into the sea where he would dissolve. Unfortunately, this new Barugon is mutated and loose in Japan. Gamera shows up and gives battle, but is quickly outmatched by the new guy. Will he win the rematch? While GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE had been a successful theatrical release, AIP-TV scooped up the sequel and released it directly to the small screen. It played for decades, until more or less replaced by a new dub issued on video by Sandy Frank, under the title "Gamera vs Barugon" in the 80's. In more recent years, a scope transfer of the Japanese print hit the market, but the release lacked either dub track. The old AIP dub was vastly superior to the later Frank dub, which was the "international dub" if I recall correctly, but AIP's version was also edited for time constraints (which means you can't simply lay the superior dub onto the scope Japanese version). Despite those complications, though, the film was a very well-made, moody, and rather adult drama. Way back in the original Japanese release, it was noticed this more adult take failed to keep the kiddies in their seats, and the following films would get increasingly goofy in their efforts to entertain children.