Gamera: The Complete Collection (1965-2006)

[chriszilla]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

Holy hell is everything between the first film and the Heisei series horrible. Super Monster is the worst culprit. Those Showa sequels are just embarrassing. The foes are the worst thing. I don't know how Gamera survived that shit.

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy them. Although I find ZIGRA to be so bad that it's actually enjoyable, I can understand someone not finding a lot of replay value in that film. And the last film can be difficult to get through, with its endless recycling of footage, and I'm personally not a big fan of it. But the remaining films are very enjoyable (sometimes for varying reasons), and most importantly, a whole lot of fun. GYAOS, GUIRON and JIGER are films that have a ton of replay value, at least to me! (Try to imagine a young kid staying up late to watch one of these for the first time, on commercial TV, not knowing what to expect, and perhaps you can get a sense of why some of us love these films).

In any event, I'm sure you'll get a lot more enjoyment from the Heisei films. A very large percentage of kaiju fans consider them amongst the greatest Japanese monster films of all time!

[Devion27]

OMG, so here is my dilemma, i ordered this set on 8-16 from Blowitoutofhere on ebay I sent them an email on ebay saying Friday I have yet to receive this item and then they gave me a refund of 120 that I bought it for, then I went back on ebay and bought the set from someone in California for 318 plus tax, its been shipped, then today I check the mail and its the first order from Blowitoutofhere, so looks like I got 2 sets to my name, all I got to say is wow this set is huge

[hyacinththreads]

Originally Posted by Devion27

OMG, so here is my dilemma, i ordered this set on 8-16 from Blowitoutofhere on ebay I sent them an email on ebay saying Friday I have yet to receive this item and then they gave me a refund of 120 that I bought it for, then I went back on ebay and bought the set from someone in California for 318 plus tax, its been shipped, then today I check the mail and its the first order from Blowitoutofhere, so looks like I got 2 sets to my name, all I got to say is wow this set is huge

should you really be on here bragging about how you got one over on them?

I've never seen more undeserving movies getting such a stellar treatment. I read through this thread and it was kind of nauseating; people bragging about how they have it and others wishing they did. The scalping is terrible but really these movies mostly suck and this is coming from a big kaiju fan. I'm more than content with my old blu-ray set. Maybe one day I'll purchase this deluxe set if the prices come back to reality when the hysteria ends but until then $400 for this is ridiculous.

[Rayjg]

I haven’t opened this set get. So is Gamera like a giant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or just Godzilla with a shell?

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by hyacinththreads

I read through this thread and it was kind of nauseating; people bragging about how they have it and others wishing they did. The scalping is terrible but really these movies mostly suck and this is coming from a big kaiju fan.

Two responses...

Firstly, I've never understood why anyone makes such a big fuss about these deluxe boxes. 9 times out of 10, the sets are released in regular editions with the exact same discs. Is it really that important to pay a hundred dollar premium to a scalper just for a fancy box and a book with some publicity pictures in it? I'm sure there are better books written on Japanese giant monster movies than this. Just get the regular set and order a book on Amazon to go with it.

Secondly, some of us don't care for the later serious giant monster movies as much as the earlier goofy ones. For us, there was a golden age of monster battles in the 60s and 70s and there are only so many Godzilla titles that fall into that period. When I was in high school and college, there was a show on TV on Saturday afternoons called "Godzilla Theater". It would show all the golden age Japanese monster and science fiction movies. Me and my pals would get together and smoke pot and drink cheap Lucky beer and watch it and laugh until we couldn't breathe. I know today most people with home theaters sit and watch movies by themselves with headphones on. Seen that way, I totally agree with you. These movies suck. But seen with a crowd intent on partying and having a fun time, this is top drawer stuff. In the past, movies were designed to be seen with an audience. Some movies, like these, don't work well without one. But invite a bunch of friends over, fill up an ice chest with beer and project one of these on the screen, and you are guaranteed to have a fantastic time.

I was talking with a younger friend the other day about professional wrestling. He discovered old school clown show wrestling on youtube and was blown away. Apparently current wrestling is competing with MMA and that sort of thing, and has gotten rid of the hero and heel characters. Big mistake. The whole fun in stuff like this is how silly and extreme it is. I guess heels are starting to make a comeback. Hopefully, they will and maybe we'll get a series of CG goofy giant monster movies again too. I saw a movie last night called Zombie For Sale. It was Korean and was a comedy zombie film, a lot like Shawn of the Dead and Return of the Living Dead. It was fun and they grafted the Korean dysfunctional family theme into it too, making it even better. It's good to not take yourself and your entertainment so seriously.

I think the problem is that young people today don't get together to watch movies because of Covid or general anti-social tendencies. They probably don't drink enough cheap beer and smoke enough cheap weed either. You gotta know how to have fun.

[hyacinththreads]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Two responses...

Firstly, I've never understood why anyone makes such a big fuss about these deluxe boxes. 9 times out of 10, the sets are released in regular editions with the exact same discs.

Because people have a collector mentality these days more so than actually enjoying the films. How many people just collect these things because it looks pretty on their shelf and never actually watch all the films? I'm sure quite a few. It will be interesting to see if the price drops when the regular edition comes out.

[bigshot]

Yeah. I think it has to do with wanting to own ALL of something... They proudly say, "I own the ENTIRE "Whatever" series on blu-ray!" But the truth is that beyond the first movie in the series, there usually isn't much worth watching. I didn't understand the Phantasm box set. Does anyone really want the Phantasm sequels? Why? As a tribute to the directoral genius of Don Coscarelli? (snort) And what do you do with a chromium plated plastic ball? Toss it in the swimming pool? Let the dog chase it around?

[stvn1974]

Why collect discs even? Why not just stare at a wall all day?

[chriszilla]

Originally Posted by hyacinththreads

Because people have a collector mentality these days more so than actually enjoying the films. How many people just collect these things because it looks pretty on their shelf and never actually watch all the films? I'm sure quite a few. It will be interesting to see if the price drops when the regular edition comes out.

No doubt some people do simply collect movies so that they can display them on their shelves; I really don't know. But the kind of people that are going to come into a thread dedicated to a particular release, and discuss the pluses and minuses of such a collection, I would wager are legitimate fans of said films.

[hyacinththreads]

Originally Posted by bigshot

Secondly, some of us don't care for the later serious giant monster movies as much as the earlier goofy ones. For us, there was a golden age of monster battles in the 60s and 70s and there are only so many Godzilla titles that fall into that period. When I was in high school and college, there was a show on TV on Saturday afternoons called "Godzilla Theater". It would show all the golden age Japanese monster and science fiction movies. Me and my pals would get together and smoke pot and drink cheap Lucky beer and watch it and laugh until we couldn't breathe. I know today most people with home theaters sit and watch movies by themselves with headphones on. Seen that way, I totally agree with you. These movies suck. But seen with a crowd intent on partying and having a fun time, this is top drawer stuff. In the past, movies were designed to be seen with an audience. Some movies, like these, don't work well without one. But invite a bunch of friends over, fill up an ice chest with beer and project one of these on the screen, and you are guaranteed to have a fantastic time.

Don't get me wrong when I said they "suck" I meant in comparison to Godzilla films of the time and some other kaiju movies. 60s-70s is my favorite era of kaiju. They're kitsch and cheese and I get enjoying that but they can be excruciating at times too. I would've gladly bought this set for the bit over $100 it was but no way in hell am I spending $400 on movies I'm not super fond of to begin with just for some books and fancy packaging.

[Dollar Colonel]

We're physical media collectors in a hobby forum. Of course people are going to highly value releases based on availability, price, goodies, and shelf appeal.

[gpn]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

Holy hell is everything between the first film and the Heisei series horrible.

[pixote]

Originally Posted by hyacinththreads

Because people have a collector mentality these days more so than actually enjoying the films. How many people just collect these things because it looks pretty on their shelf and never actually watch all the films? I'm sure quite a few. It will be interesting to see if the price drops when the regular edition comes out.

This right here. It’s amazing how often I can find sealed copies of limited edition movies in local classifieds. Some people buy them and never get around to watching them. It’s not unlike the current LP market and the record store day chud that people buy and leave sealed because of perceived value.

[hyacinththreads]

Originally Posted by pixote

This right here. It’s amazing how often I can find sealed copies of limited edition movies in local classifieds. Some people buy them and never get around to watching them. It’s not unlike the current LP market and the record store day chud that people buy and leave sealed because of perceived value.

The record store day stuff is sometimes bought up and resold for scalping prices too. Some of it definitely ends up as unsellable junk that nobody wants though for sure.

[arromdee]

Grr. The subtitles for Gamera vs. Guiron constantly refer to "star" when it obviously means "planet", a problem which happens in some official dubs too.

The *commentary track* by a person who admittedly does not speak Japanese claims that this is a script problem because they say "hoshi", which means "star".

This is wrong. "Hoshi" can mean either "star" or "planet" and the translator needs to pick the right one depending on context. It's not mentioned in every dictionary, but I found at least two online ones that had it as well as pages about the problem.

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by hyacinththreads

should you really be on here bragging about how you got one over on them?

I've never seen more undeserving movies getting such a stellar treatment. I read through this thread and it was kind of nauseating; people bragging about how they have it and others wishing they did. The scalping is terrible but really these movies mostly suck and this is coming from a big kaiju fan. I'm more than content with my old blu-ray set. Maybe one day I'll purchase this deluxe set if the prices come back to reality when the hysteria ends but until then $400 for this is ridiculous.

Well for me, I didn't have the original releases. I like that I now have the full collection in one set. Plus my wife loves Gamera (particularly the Heisei films) so for me, spending $100 means I get a cool collection that sits nicely with my Godzilla set, more Kaiju films to watch in good quality, and have a happy wife.

Bargain!

[hanshotfirst1138]

Originally Posted by Mr. Chaverria

I always liked Gamera, yet never saw his films. He always looked and sounded cool. And was interested in this set solely from a historical viewpoint aside from those Heisei films. I've been wanting to see those since forever cuz they looked badass.

Liked the first Gamera. That one was fine.

Holy hell is everything between the first film and the Heisei series horrible. Super Monster is the worst culprit. Those Showa sequels are just embarrassing. The foes are the worst thing. I don't know how Gamera survived that shit.

The commentary on Super Monster is damn near brutal when that dude talks about the film. Deservedly so. But I didn't expect it. hahaha.

I'm excitedly starting on the Heisei series. Man, i'm so pumped.

Baragon is something of an oddity, but it’s pretty good, and I do like Gyaos. The other Showa sequels are mostly weak.

[hyacinththreads]

Originally Posted by bongozoid

Well for me, I didn't have the original releases. I like that I now have the full collection in one set. Plus my wife loves Gamera (particularly the Heisei films) so for me, spending $100 means I get a cool collection that sits nicely with my Godzilla set, more Kaiju films to watch in good quality, and have a happy wife.

Bargain!

and my point was spending $400 is not a bargain

[Shinya]

Originally Posted by starsteam

Well here's a surprise: MST3K vs Gamera DVD set is back in print. No new packaging (not even a new listing) it's just back up for sale.
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product...roduct_id=6007

Thanks so much for this. Just placed my order. I always put this one off and it went out of print. Always kicked myself for it and when this new Gamera set was announced, it just reminded me of what my collection would be missing. Not no more.

[cgurley]

Originally Posted by Devion27

OMG, so here is my dilemma, i ordered this set on 8-16 from Blowitoutofhere on ebay I sent them an email on ebay saying Friday I have yet to receive this item and then they gave me a refund of 120 that I bought it for, then I went back on ebay and bought the set from someone in California for 318 plus tax, its been shipped, then today I check the mail and its the first order from Blowitoutofhere, so looks like I got 2 sets to my name, all I got to say is wow this set is huge

In this current environment, two weeks or less is nothing. Two weeks to a month is not unusual these days.