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lifeform resembling a spider arrives on Earth and causes destruction. Giant Squid
Monster Arkitius (大烏賊アーキティウス, Oiki Akitiusu): During World War II, a Nazi U-boat is attacked by a giant squid called Arkitius. Giant Monster Momonra (怪獣モモンラ, Daikaiju Momonra): Japan is attacked by a giant mutated flying squirrel. And Reigon: Devil of the Seabed (海底の魔王レイゴン, Kaitei no mao Reigon): A giant manta ray dubbed “Reigon” appears one day and wreaks havoc across the world and then fights a giant iguana. This was the fourth and final unmade film in a series of concepts Nikkatsu Company had before making Gappa. This concept got the furthest into development out of the four scrapped projects, receiving a plot synopsis, speculative screenplay, and kaiju ideas. Planning was done by Hideo Kodama; the draft was written by Shunichi Yukimuro and Ryuzo Nakanishi.
309:, wants to turn into a resort. The island natives welcome the expedition, but two members, Hiroshi and Itoko, venture into a forbidden area despite the pleas of a native boy named Saki. They enter a cavern blocked by a fallen statue and find a giant egg, out of which hatches a baby "bird-lizard" monster, referred to as "Gappa". The natives plead with the skeptical scientists not to take the baby away, lest it anger the baby's parents, but they do so anyway. Inside the caverns, Gappa's two parents rise from the subterranean waters beneath the volcano, destroying everything in their path. Saki, the only survivor, is rescued by an American Navy fleet and brought to
320:. The Gappa parents ravage cities looking for their offspring and prove impervious to military weapons. Hiroshi, Itoko, Saki, and expedition scientist Professor Tonooka try to persuade the headstrong Mr. Funazu to let the baby go and return it to its parents. Mr. Funazu finally lets Gappa go back to its parents. Then the three go back to Obelisk Island.
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The year 1967 was the height of Japan's “Kaiju Boom” and many
Japanese film studios were doing their own monster film. Nikkatsu jumped onboard and decided to do their own film. Several ideas were hatched but not bore fruit. there was Giant Monster Gigant (大怪獣ギガント, Daikaiju Giganto): A giant alien
441:
In an interview with the film's screenplay writers, Gen
Yamazaki and Ryuzo Nakanishi, they explained that the film got government financing of about 500,000,000 yen (about $ 1.4 million), which was ten times the average of a Nikkatsu film. Eisei Koi, who was the producer of the film was classmates
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directed by
Haruyasu Noguchi. The film is about a group of Japanese reporters who discover an infant monster called a Gappa on Obelisk Island. The reporters cage the creature and take it to Japan where it becomes a media attraction. This angers the natives of the island and Gappa's full-grown
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550:(1984). The review complimented the film, noting that "the effects are excellent and the script is worthy of a witty children's comedy." Stuart Galbraith IV described the film as an unauthorized remake of the 1961 British film
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described the
American version of the film as poorly dubbed and that home video versions prior to 1994 are poor dupes taken from a 16mm television print. The film has been released on
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556:. Galbraith described the human characters as "colorless reporters and scientists" and that "none of the actors is especially appealing." Galbraith commented on
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concluded that "these are the only
Japanese monsters one might like to see again" and that "Most effects are well done, a few superb" noting the destruction of
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Meanwhile, Gappa makes global headlines and is experimented on by scientists. To the shock of the expedition members, two giant flying creatures appear over
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was released on Blu-ray in the United States on
February 25, 2020, with both Japanese and English language audio as well as English subtitles.
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Principal photography on Gappa lasted for about 40 days, twice the time that director
Haruyasu Noguchi usually took to shoot a film.
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in the "15 New
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parents, who head toward Japan to find their child. Its plot virtually duplicates that of the 1961 British film
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stated that the creature Gappa makes an "auspicious debut and reveals itself as "best monster" so far".
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The monster suits and effects in the film were created by Akira
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in Japan in 1967, but only received a direct-to-television release in the United States as
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The English language dialogue track in the film's English version is credited to
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Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! The Incredible World of Japanese Fantasy Films
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Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! The Incredible World of Japanese Fantasy Films
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with politicians in the Diet and used his political power to get the money.
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Terror on Tape: A Complete Guide to Over 2,000 Horror Movies on Video
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Certain shots of the Gappas attacking Japan were used in the 1991
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472:. The film was never released theatrically in the United States.
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heads to Obelisk Island, which the greedy Mr. Funazu, owner of
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List of films in the public domain in the United States
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Hiroshita Atami and Takashi Konagaias as Gappa (male)
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408:Ruich Fidancer as Captain of the Sea Angels
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1017:Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews
842:"Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967)"
781:"Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (1967)"
584:List of science fiction films of the 1960s
360:Zenji Yamada as Captain of the Kamome-Maru
171:84 minutes (Japanese) / 90 (international)
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363:Bumon Koto as Chief of Obelisk Island
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270:. It received positive reviews from
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1036:Reference Guide to Fantastic Films
411:Paul Scheman as Professor McDonald
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1107:Films set in Yamanashi Prefecture
478:Monster from a Prehistoric Planet
474:American International Television
372:Binnosuke Nagao as Commander Riku
268:Monster from a Prehistoric Planet
1097:Films set in Tochigi Prefecture
546:discussed the film in his book
501:by various companies including
399:Kiyoshi Matsuoka as Islander #3
378:Kokan Katsura as Saburo Hayashi
579:List of Japanese films of 1967
390:Takashi Koshiba as Reporter #2
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1052:Gappa: The Triphibian Monster
954:Galbraith IV, Stuart (1998).
1122:Works about kappa (folklore)
1015:Willis, Donald, ed. (1985).
665:. Feral House. p. 110.
661:Stuart Galbraith IV (1998).
515:Gappa the Triphibian Monster
505:, Mill Creek Entertainment,
405:Mike Danine as Petty Officer
393:Kensuke Tamai as Islander #2
375:Masaru Kamiyama as Professor
1077:1960s science fiction films
402:Hiroshi Itoh as Reporter #4
366:Kôtarô Sugie as Reporter #1
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1019:. Garland Publishing Inc.
981:. New York : Morrow.
542:In retrospective reviews,
539:as one of the highlights.
476:first offered the film as
396:Minoru Sato as Reporter #3
387:Sanpei Mine as Islander #1
369:Saburô Hiromatsu as Hosoda
342:Yuji Okada as Daize Tonoka
973:Hardy, Phil, ed. (1984).
525:In contemporary reviews,
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33:Theatrical release poster
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150:April 22, 1967
996:O'Neill, James (1994).
1034:Lee, Walter W (1973).
381:Shirô Oshimi as Oyama
1132:Films about families
1127:1960s Japanese films
1082:1960s monster movies
1038:. Chelsea-Lee Books.
933:Galbraith IV, Stuart
384:Yoko Oyagi as Aihara
1087:Giant monster films
1000:. Billboard Books.
913:Craig, Rob (2019).
511:Image Entertainment
491:Stuart Galbraith IV
333:as Hiroshi Kurosaki
301:An expedition from
245:is a 1967 Japanese
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1092:Films set in Atami
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16:1967 Japanese film
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817:Galbraith IV 1998
756:Galbraith IV 1994
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339:as Itoko Koyanagi
307:Playmate Magazine
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195:¥500 million
167:Running time
158: (Japan)
143:Release date
88:Tatsuya Fuji
1112:Kaiju films
869:Willis 1985
507:Tokyo Shock
503:Alpha Video
72:Produced by
39:Directed by
1072:1967 films
1066:Categories
884:Hardy 1984
829:Craig 2019
805:Craig 2019
738:August 31,
590:References
564:'s work."
544:Phil Hardy
423:Production
348:as Mashida
318:Sagami Bay
278:Phil Hardy
154:1967-04-22
127:Production
105:Muneo Ueda
696:March 20,
691:Red Dwarf
595:Footnotes
521:Reception
346:Kōji Wada
289:episode "
286:Red Dwarf
110:Edited by
96:Kōji Wada
75:Hideo Koi
935:(1994).
846:AllMovie
785:AllMovie
768:Lee 1973
733:Nikkatsu
729:"大巨獣ガッパ"
568:See also
291:Meltdown
209:Japanese
187:Japanese
184:Language
135:Nikkatsu
118:Music by
80:Starring
64:Story by
906:Sources
533:Variety
528:Variety
461:Release
437:Filming
428:Writing
273:Variety
232:
217:Hepburn
176:Country
152: (
129:company
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213:大巨獣ガッパ
192:Budget
553:Gorgo
537:Atami
466:Gappa
311:Japan
303:Tokyo
256:Gorgo
248:kaiju
203:Gappa
179:Japan
22:Gappa
1057:IMDb
1021:ISBN
1002:ISBN
983:ISBN
960:ISBN
941:ISBN
919:ISBN
853:2015
792:2015
740:2016
698:2017
667:ISBN
509:and
455:Toho
324:Cast
297:Plot
276:and
250:film
229:lit.
1055:at
499:DVD
293:".
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