Gappa: Triphibian Monster

I’ve only seen this film as a kid on vhs then dvd and it was so dark and grainy I couldn’t make heads or tails on what’s going on. This blu ray is crisp and clear. They did an amazing job restoring the footage as this looks brilliant. The film is one of the better kaiju films of the era that isn’t Godzilla. The effects and designs are on par of Tohos production. Wish there were sequels.

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of Gappa The Triphibian Monster released by Tokyo Shock in 2020. My rating is for the release as a whole, which includes the picture quality and the extra's. ABOUT THIS MOVIE: This is a Japanese 'kaiju' film made in 1967 by Japan's oldest movie company, Nikkatsu. It is about two kaiju from a tropical island that go searching for their offspring that was taken by humans to use as an attraction. TRIGGER WARNING: IF YOU FIND OFFENSE IN EVERY OLD MOVIE... and are easily triggered, please do everyone a favor and don't watch this one. You will pretend to be offended and nobody who likes these old movies is interested in your 'fake' outrage. BLU-RAY: If you are looking to purchase this release for the picture then you will be quite pleased. The picture is excellent. The colors are vibrant and the picture is sharp as can be. There are some imperfections here and there but the pictures is clean for the most part. Obviously the original elements were kept in very good condition. The picture is pristine for good chunks of this movie. Unfortunately the picture is so clear that it makes the miniatures look like tiny little miniatures! The movie is shown in a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. EXTRA'S: Unfortunately you don't get anything other than subtitles and an English dub for this movie. You can watch the movie in the Japanese or English languages. Both provide subtitles. *****WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT***** PLOT SYNOPSIS/SUMMARY: The publisher of 'Playmate magazine' wants to open a theme park on a nearby island with South Pacific theme. He sends a team of this employees to an island in the the South Pacific called Obelisk Island. They are to gather animal and plant life for the new island park. Once there, the natives greet them warmly. One of the employees, Kurosaki, goes and takes a look at a stone statue on the island. He is warned by an island boy that "Gappa will become angry". While next to the statue, a tremor takes place. A hole in the side of the mountain opens up and the statue falls. Inside the cave is a very large egg. Kurosaki sends the boy, Saki, to get the others. A creature hatches and the group capture it and take it back home. The baby creatures parents arrive and discover their baby is missing. The parents go on a rampage and the island is destroyed as a volcano erupts. Saki is rescued by a submarine (unfortunately!). Back in Japan, the baby Gappa is kept in a cell and it rapidly grows. It's parents arrive in Japan and start destroying stuff. After fighting it out with the military, the two go underwater for a break. The military coerces the creatures to abandon their rest after sound waves are sent below the water. It is decided to bring the baby Gappa to the parents in hopes of ending the destruction. PRODUCTION: This movie was released in Japan in 1967 by Nikkatsu. Nikkatsu is Japan's oldest movie company. 'Gappa' is Nikkatsu's one and only effort in the 'kaiju' genre. HOW ARE THE SPECIAL EFFECTS: The effects are spotty. The miniatures have very nice detail but most of the time look like exactly what they are... miniatures. The clarity of the picture only magnifies this. The actual miniature buildings look very good and are nicely detailed. Also, on the positive side of the equation, the effects team seems to have done a good job with some of the 'matte' shots. While some looked crude, others did a good job of showing the scale of the monsters. The way that the action was filmed is not on par with Toho at it's best. It's more on the level of the 'Gamera'. The monsters look like guys walking around in monster suits... which is exactly what they are. More thought and effort should have been put into this aspect of the cinematography. COMMENTS/THOUGHTS: HOW IS THE MONSTER? The monster, Gappa, all 3 of them, leaves something to be desired. The monster suits are just not very convincing. They look like a bunch of guys wearing Halloween costumes. The 'Gappa' creatures themselves are basically flying 'Godzilla's' (and they use wings unlike Godzilla in his one and only flight! Every Godzilla fan knowns exactly what I'm talking about!) In a way, they remind me of the flying monkeys from the 'Wizard of Oz' even though they don't actually look like them. I guess you can say that they are a cross between a lizard and a bird and have fire breathing (or something like that) ability. I FEEL LIKE I'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE... : If this movie's plot seems familiar, then you might have seen the British film 'Gorgo (1961). The story of that movie is very similar to 'Gappa'. That movie's plot was basically copied for this movie. If that is not all that seems familiar then... YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THIS MOVIE WITH A DIFFERENT TITLE: If you are like me and getting on in years, you might remember this movie with a different title. Before the age of cable, VCR, DVD, etc., this movie was shown on regular television under the title of 'Monster from a Prehistoric Planet'. That was the name given to it when American International Television (part of AIP) rented it to television stations. Of course, Gappa is not from a prehistoric planet but who's checking? ANNOYING KID ALERT!: This movie is infected with the dreaded 'kaiju movie annoying kid' disease. Saki, his appearance notwithstanding, is incredibly annoying. His constant crying 'Gappa! Gappa!' is big time 'cringe' inducing. What was he doing running into the water after the Gappa's? It left me yelling, "let him go drown himself!". "SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THAT ENDING?": The ending of this movie is without question one of the worst I have seen in a 'kaiju' movie. There might be one worse somewhere but off the top of my head I can't think of one. Couldn't they even have the intelligence to drop the baby off by the parents? They had to bring it elsewhere and play a tape of it's cries over a loudspeaker?!? The tears are just too much for me. Then they fly off without using their wings while they are rising? Too make matters worse, this isn't the end. Then we have a "woman having a tantrum" scene with "man chasing after woman" to finish the movie. I hadn't seen this movie since I was a kid when I purchased this release. I won't be watching this again anytime soon, if ever. The only way I could sit through this again would be if there was an audio commentary added. FINALLY! A REAL WOMAN: Yes, all of you female empowerment types in the world today will just love the ending of this movie. We get a real strong female protagonist. At the very end of the movie, Itoko says she is quitting her job and she is going to "stay home, marry an office worker and have babies". Just as nature intended. OTHER COMMENTS: -'Playmate Magazine'??? I wonder where they got that idea from? The writers of this scripts really did not have an original idea anywhere in their heads. Can't say that I mind the name, it just doesn't sound right for a family magazine though. -The scenery is very good in this movie. The actual locations are well chosen and the camera work captures the beauty of the scenery. -The love story in this movie seemed very forced. I can remember as a kid, hating those scenes and I always wondered, even to this day, why they had to include them in seemingly every movie. The simple answer is to keep women interested but was that really necessary? -The special effects of the water crashing on shore would have looked a lot better if there were no people in the shots. The people running around just didn't look good even though the water itself looked pretty good crashing down. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: The reason to buy this release is simple. The picture is excellent. If you are a 'kaiju' fan and want to own all 'kaiju' movies from years gone by then you will have to buy this release. The lack of extra's is disappointing. This movie definitely could have used and audio commentary, if nothing else. The movie is quite simply a rip-off of a rip-off. It's a rip-off of 'Gorgo' and 'Godzilla' as well, which in turn is a rip-off of 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'. That doesn't mean it can't be good. Plenty of rip-offs are. Ultimately, this movie is a weak effort in the 'kaiju' genre. It's not any wonder why Nikkatsu made no more 'kaiju' movies. It's pretty obvious that basically every element of this movie was taken from another 'kaiju' movie. There really isn't anything original about it. DO I LIKE THIS MOVIE? No, I do not. 'Gappa' is a long way down on the list of my favorite 'kaiju'. WHY DON'T I LIKE THIS MOVIE?: There are a number of reasons and I'll give you some right below... 1) The plot is very weak and just about every aspect of the screenplay was taken from another movie. 2) The 'Gappa' monster is not a very inspired design. 3) The monster suit is terrible in my opinion. 4) No opponent other than the military. A 'kaiju' fighting the military had long since become boring even by the time this movie was made in 1967. An opponent would have been optimal or at the least, a much better plot. 5) Annoying kid syndrome - Saki is without question one of the most annoying kids every in a 'kaiju' movie. He makes you wish he wasn't rescued or got squashed on that island. To make matters worse, we get an annoying little girl too. 6) Monsters crying???... nuff' said. 7) The ending just feels like a Disney movie. IF YOU LIKE THIS THEN TRY...: The following 3 movies all have 'kaiju' who don't perish... -Gorgo (1961) - Very similar to 'Gappa'. -Gamera (1965) - Even though he is sent away at the end, he returns... -Mothra (1961) - Fan favorite, even if I'm not one of those fans. Also try... -The Beast from 20,000 fathoms (1953) - The movie that all 'kaiju' films are based on. RATINGS: Plot: 5/10 or 2 1/2 stars - it's not that the plot is poor, it's a direct rip-off. Picture: 9/10 or 4 1/2 stars - Excellent, you should be pleased with this. The Monster: 4/10 or 2 stars - In my opinion, this was not an inspired effort. SFX: 6/10 - This is a mixed bag. The miniature sets are excellent, the monster costume is not. Extra's: 1/10 or 1 star Overall: 4 stars - This release's main reason for being is the picture and that part it does very well.

Perfect condition works perfectly and no problems 😊 👌 👏 🙌 👍 😀

This was a one-off for the Japanese studio which produced it. What a joy to find a decent release of this movie. It's not great, but it's terrific to compare and contrast the special effects, plot, et cetera with the much more familiar Toho releases. A giant monster stomping civilization flat? Sign me up. I love giant monster movies from the 50s and 60s. Incomparable fun. You really ought to at least see this movie. If you collect old sci fi monster movies, you've GOTTA buy a copy while this is still available. These are really old movies by this time! And they certainly don't make movies like this any more that I can find. A lot of the charm is the special effects compared to the computer effects which basically stole all the fun out of movie effects. It's all fake. No spaceships on strings or guys in monster suits stomping on model cities.

Sure it is a corny giant monster movie, trying to cash in on the success of Godzilla, but it is a very fun movie, and finally, available in it's original Japanese. I remember seeing an interview with the producers of this movie, and they were always surprised by the success. If you enjoy fun monster destruction, you can't pass this one up. Just a fun movie.

I first saw the English version of this giant monster feature which had poor quality, but now fans can see a better picture of the Kaiju chaos that is Happy, with better quality, Japanese dialog, English subtitles.

Good action movie

First shown on American TV as MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET, this movie has had numerous video releases of inferior quality. There was even online talk that a pristine print could not be found, even in Japan. Well- somebody found one, as this Tokyo Shock Blu-ray is a huge improvement over any previous release, including the previous Tokyo Shock DVD. This is the Japanese print with optional English-dubbed soundtrack, and if you're a Gappa fan at all, you won't regret placing an order. I hope to see more such releases from Tokyo Shock/Media Blasters.

普通に再生出来たので、リージョンフリーだと思います！音声は日本語、英語、英語字幕は消せます！元の画質を知らないので分かりませんが、画質は綺麗だと思います！中身はディスク１枚のみで、英語解説など入ってません！

リージョンフリーのブルーレイですので、我が国のレコーダーでも鑑賞可能。勿論皆日本語をしゃべっています。特典映像は全くなし。画質はかなり良いと思います。 私は小さい頃から怪獣大好きで、幼少の頃は父親と一緒に土曜日の深夜に放映される東宝の怪獣映画をよく観たもんです。 映画館にも観に行きましたが、最寄りの映画館は東宝直営と東映直営でしたので、松竹と日活の作品は観る事が出来ませんでした。なのでギララとガッパは還暦近くなるまで未見。 漸く本ソフトで初めてガッパを拝む事が出来、嬉しい限りですし、思っていた以上に面白かったので、2000円チョットで本ソフトを入手出来、これまた嬉しい限りです。 タイトルロールでいきなりベンチャーズのテケテケ奏法が始まり、1度聴いたら暫く耳に残ってしまう主題歌を美樹克彦が歌い出した時『こりゃ失敗したかな？』と思いましたが、本編が始まるとその杞憂は一蹴されましたね。 東宝の某怪獣映画とよく似ているお話の展開はご愛嬌として、60年代後半からお子様向け怪獣映画に成り下がってしまったゴジラやガメラに対し、本作はガキンチョが殆ど絡んでこないので （雑誌社の強欲社長の娘とインファント島じゃなくてオベリスク島の原住民の男の子は少し絡むが）大人でも充分楽しめる怪獣映画になっています。 ガメラの主題歌の様なガキンチョの歌声を聴かずに済みますし、何よりガキンチョに振り回されるストーリーじゃないのがヴェリー・ヴェリー・グーッドです。 ガッパの風貌も個性的で良いです。初代「ウルトラマン」に出てくるドラコのような貧弱な翼（特に子ガッパはそう）がイタイですが、父母ガッパの見分けもちゃんと出来るし（頭の角の長さ） 怒っている時は目が充血している点なんか、他の怪獣では見られない特徴で良いですねぇ。 ラストで親ガッパの目から涙ポロリは少しやり過ぎ感もありますが、ハッピーハッピーなエンディングは他の怪獣映画では見られませんから。最後の最後での川路民夫と山本陽子のやり取りも必要なかったかなぁ。 ちなみにラスト近くで強欲社長と社長の娘の会話のみ英語字幕が表示されますが、これはアメリカでの公開当時もしくはテレビ放映時にカットされたシーンであり英語吹替が収録されず、 本ソフトはノーカット版で英語字幕が挿入されたとの理解で宜しいでしょうか？誰かご存知の方はコメントにて教えて下さい。

ブルーレイ映像が綺麗です。 古い映画ですが､力作です。 味わいのある特撮映像‼️ 私的に大好きです。 この作品がアメリカでも 評価されている事が分かります。

当時の日活といえば不良性が売りですが本作のコンセプトとして「暴力や破壊を肯定するようなものを子供に見せてはいけない！」だったとのこと。 何故いきなり真面目になる？怪獣映画ですが？ それゆえか映像面頑張ってるのに尻すぼみでした。ガッパもっと暴れて欲しかった。

国コードの問題や強制英語字幕もなく、日本の通常のブルーレイ・プレイヤーで再生可能です。 日本では未BD化であり、価格も併せて購入の価値大です。