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Gamera 3 - Revenge of Iris Director: Shusuke Kaneko Number of Items: 1 Format: Color Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 110 minutes Studio: A.D. Vision Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 "Ultimate Kaiju Movie" This is the best kaiju movie I've ever seen. The Gamera and Gyaos legend is given more details here. The creatures known as Gyaos have started appearing in areas outside of Japan. A research team has found a graveyard of Gamera skeletons on the ocean floor, just south of Japan. ...all before the opening credits. Ayana's parents were killed during the events of the first movie. (She didn't appear in that movie. There's simply a flashback to the events.) She blames Gamera for their deaths, and her hatred causes Iris to be created. Personally, I happen to like the more metaphysical elements in the story. They also explain why Japan attracts monsters. There is real emotion here. This isn't a shallow plot at all. Even the monsters seem to show emotions. This movie goes far beyond the simplistic kaiju movies of the 1960s and 1970s where there was a pro-wrestling quality to the fights. The Gamera movies have never been tame - even when the special effects were poor. In this newer trilogy, Gamera ends up with serious injuries. In the Godzilla series, Godzilla either bleeds or ends up completely destroyed. In Gamera 2, after defending the helicopter, you can see a chunk of Gamera's shell missing near his shoulder. In Gamera 3, he gets even more serious injuries. Although there is still the traditional man-in-suit, this movie has some of the best special effects I've ever seen. (This doesn't include the opening titles which use clips from G1.) Gyaos is mainly done with CGI. The images of Iris and Gamera flying are most likely CGI too. The best special effect moments are Chapter 7 (for the fight between Gamera and Gyaos in the Shibuya District) and within Chapter 18 - (air battle between Gamera and Iris) starting at 1:11:36 (hour:minutes:seconds), briefly interrupted by a scene at Kyoto Station, and continues at 1:14:42. That second half has the best example of how much special effects have improved in kaiju films - involving the patriot missles. Some reviewers feel the effects are better than TriStar's Godzilla. In some ways, I agree. Even the director indirectly admits he was trying to match that movie. I also feel G3 is far superior to Godzilla 2000. Gamera 3 was released March 6, 1999 in Japan. Godzilla 2000 was released on December 11, 1999 in Japan. I have not seen the 3 newer Godzilla movies yet so I can't compare G3 with them. (There are three more Godzilla movies after Godzilla 2000.) I think Shusuke Kaneko directed the one relased in 2001 which had Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Baragon. Most of the extras are nice. I prefer the real material - the behind the scenes material, interviews, and trailers. I am truly sick of that song that ADV chose to repeat throughout some of the material here and on the G2 DVD. They could have varied the music some. I would have prefered muted music with some subtitled dialogue. We have more of the fake outtakes which I wish they would have called something like Fun In The Studio or anything else. Something similar was done on the DVD for Legend of the Last Labyrinth, but they labeled it as "Fun In The Studio With Coastal Recording." I'd rather see real outtakes - like the guy in the Gamera costume slipping on the set perhaps or an actor messing up lines. I'd rather have something real plus the made-up material, not just the made up stuff. I don't want a fake commentary either. I don't want to hear about some fictional person named "Ralph" who has appeared off screen in every Gamera movie or the limited casting opportunities for tentacled actors like Iris. If Kaneko or Higuchi have trouble with English, give us some fans or experts on the commentary tracks. The commentaries don't have to be serious like most seem to be, but they should be informative on some level. The Evangelion movies and Red Dwarf had some fun commentaries mixed with real background information. This is the one movie in the trilogy where I know what was on the Japanese LaserDisc. There are more extras that could have been added like the Juliana music video. She sang the song during the ending credits. I don't know if music videos existed for the songs in the other two movies. I would have liked to have seen more of the public interviews rather just a few minutes. Among the ADV Previews, there is the Gamera 1 preview with the quotes from reviewers including Roger Ebert's "Thumbs up!" (The reviews were for G1's limited US theatrical release.) I do have a few technical issues with the movie like the graphics from the Dreamcast looking more like a Genesis or PC game and the fact a CD-R is used for the game. I know I'm being picky, but I notice this stuff. I still love the movie. My issues with the extras aside, G3 is a wonderful movie that I would highly recommend. There is a chance non-kaiju fans may enjoy it too. "The High Watermark for Kaiju Film." Gamera III, directed by Shusuke Kaneko and visual effects by Shinji Higuchi. Gamera III set the high watermark for visual effects in Japanese cinema. With a budget of only 7,000,000 Dollars, they managed to create fantastic action sequences that are orchestrated flawlessly. Some of the SFX are better than the American Version of Godzilla (1998). The movie has this epic tone that makes it seem more than just a monster movie flick. I have seen this movie countless times and I never seem to get tired of it. I recommend this to anyone, not just fans of Gamera or Godzilla. You will not be disappointed. If you are disappointed, I recommend seeking some mental help. "Visceral reality" The first thing that struck me seeing this movie was how real it felt. It was the first monster movie I saw that treated the idea of monsters fighting in a city seriously; these aren't empty models they are destroying, they are real buildings with real people inside. Or so it seems. And then the public reaction is perfect! It is something probably lost on most American viewers, but all of the newscasters you see in this film are real newscasters. "The Wide" is an actual news show in Japan. The "man on the street" interviews are just like you would see on a show like "The Wide". I lived both near Kyoto and in Tokyo for a few years, and the reality in which these cities were brought to the screen (and subsequently destroyed) was amazing. And the air battle between Gamera and Iris is dynamic and incredible. For some the movie may lack in quantity of monster battles (although I think it makes up with quality), and for others the movie's story and premise may be silly. But I liked it, and I think if you like monster movies at all, you probably will, too. "GREAT FX, MEDIOCRE STORY" While this is clearly the most visually stunning of the three Gamera films--the sequence where Gamera fights Gyaos in downtown Tokyo will set the benchmark of Kaiju battles--the story relies so much on the metaphysical that it's hard to understand. Add two characters who do nothing but extrapolate this confusing plot just before they die senselessly, and you find yourself scratching your head and wondering how this could come from the same writer/director as the first two Gamera films. Still the monsters are great, and turning Gamera into an anti-hero--as hinted at with the closing line of Gamera 2--was inspired. The special effects will knock you out of your seat, and for that alone the movie is worth the purchase price. "A classic by any determination!!" The final film in the Heisei Gamera series, G3 is a jewel. True, the meta-spiritual sub-plot does go a bit "deep" ifyaknowhatImean, but overall this is VERY fine movie with good performances and many great SFX shots that Mssr's Devlin & Emmerich should have taken a note or two from. This comes Stratospherically recommended!