Gamera Stomps into the Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho!

The Gamera/Daimajin display at Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On August 11, I returned to the Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho for a wonderful double feature of Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) followed by Gamera vs. Zigra (1971). Seeing these titles on the big screen is exceedingly rare, but the digital transfers were fantastic. I had a great time with both films.

Last night, I was able to take in a showing of Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), and its elaborate SFX were a marvel to see on the silver screen. I've never seen the film look any better.

Screenings at the Kadokawa Cinema Yurakucho will continue, but that's about it for Gamera. The remaining showings will focus on Daiei's other tokusatsu and genre pictures, including ghosts and yokai. I hope to be checking out a few more before the festival ends.

A Very Daiei Evening!

Shin Minatsu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, May 10, I attended a play in which two former Daiei actors appeared. They are both veterans of the Gamera series, and given how few opportunities there are to meet Showa Gamera alumni, I jumped at the chance.

The first actor I met was Shin Minatsu, who appears in Gammera the Invincible (1965), Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), and Gamera vs. Gyoas (1967) in small roles. In Gyoas, he plays the reporter who gets eaten by the titular creature toward the beginning of the film. He went on to appear in Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) as Mr. Yamada, the mustached dolphin trainer at Kamogawa Sea World.

Junichiro Yamashita. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

After I met Minatsu-san, I was also privileged to meet Junichiro Yamashita. Yamashita-san stars in Gammera the Invincible as  Aoyagi and Daimajin Strikes Again (1966) as Shohachi. He also appears in Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967).

The meetings were pretty brief, as the actors had many other attendees with whom to mingle. But as someone who's enjoyed the Showa Gamera series almost as long as the Godzilla series, it was wonderful to meet two Daiei stars who were always quite recognizable to me.