i must have seen a different film!!

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

I am one of the more open-minded viewers you'll find when it comes to reviews. I love all sorts of films--including international films. However, for the life of me, I no idea why anyone would enjoy the Japanese giant monster films. The only one I ever enjoyed at all was the original "Godzilla"--otherwise I just don't get them. They are like Mexican luchador films, they just don't make a lot of sense to folks outside of the country."Daikyojû Gappa" is the only giant monster film made by Nikkatsu Studio. Yet, amazingly, the formula and look is pretty much the same as you'd see in the Gozilla, Rodan and Gamera films. Once again, some guy is dressed up in a monster suit and he stomps around the set smashing tiny model villages, plane, tanks and the like. And, inexplicably, there's a super-annoying kid who somehow knows EVERYTHING about the monsters and has a special bond with them. This time, the annoying know-it-all brat is different only in that the studio poured some silly paint all over his skin to show us he's Polynesian--though he just looks like a Japanese kid who painted himself with brown paint. And finally, you have inane dialog--particularly between the guy and his love interest.The bottom line is that this film offers nothing new other than a mommy, daddy and baby dinosaur-like creature. If you think this sort of thing is good, you'll probably like it. If you are like me, you'll wonder afterwards why you even bothered, as the film is incredibly dumb and lacks originality.

Nikkatsu Studio was one of the six largest movie studio in Japan at the time this movie was made, but due to the proliferation of TV sets, Japanese movie industry was in a steady economic decline. Kaijyu or giant monster movies were about the only franchise that were still making good money, and Nikkatsu made an attempt to jump in to this genre with this movie.A Japanese expedition to the south pacific island unwittingly stumble onto a newly hatched baby triphibian reptile which the natives call "Gappa", and brings it back to Japan. A greedy publishing magnate, and an amusement park promoter notices a good thing when he sees one and decides to display the baby at his park. This didn't sit well with the parents of the baby reptile, and they show up in Japan to claim their kid. Rest is stereotypical giant monster mayhem.This movie as far as I know is the only movie that features a complete family of giant monsters or "Kaijyu" ever to be shown together. It's also a first Triphibian monster that can walk, breathe underwater, and fly. The story is bit derivative where I can see little pieces off of Gorgo, Mothra, Godzilla, King Kong etc. and not very original, but the special effects in this movie is surprisingly good for a studio's first attempt. Gappa is not just an mindless monster, but actually seems to have intelligence behind their actions. This lowers the tension of the monster's character as an engine of destruction, and the movie carries on with bit of a bore, but the overall production is good, and ranks as an average giant monster movie. You get to see a very young Yoko Yamamoto playing the star in this movie. She's still acting after nearly 50 years since this movie was made, and amazingly, still beautiful in her roles.

First let me state that I didn't hate sitting through this film nor did I find it as bad as some others may have painted it. Nonetheless, there is no doubt it is not a particularly well-made movie nor is it cleverly acted nor are the special effects really good even for its time nor is the story very well-conceived. Some rich Japanese guy sends his magazine reporters with scientists to find tropic flora and fauna in the South Seas. They end up discovering an island with Easter Island-like totems/idols, some very primitive yet surprisingly educated jungle natives, and a prehistoric egg that happens to house Gappa - one of the dinosaur, reptilian bird-like creatures that has lorded over the island since the beginning of time or such. The egg opens and this crew decide to take this creature back home for a theme park island. Trouble awaits them though when the baby bird-like creature's parents rise up from a watery pit and look for their spawn - destroying Japanese industry, homes, and everything that lies in their path. It seems that the baby can emit some kind of signal to its parents alerting them where he/she is, but they have no idea as they continually land in heavily populated areas so we can see them destroy miniature sets. The miniature sets are probably the best thing about the film as they are first-rate, but the costumes of the monsters are rather ludicrous as is their sound and the flying that they do. This film has some campy fun moments reminiscent of Godzilla movies, but also lacks some of the creativity and talent ion particular behind the director's chair. Still, this movie is okay I guess. Not much of a recommendation but certainly not a condemnation.

A group of intrepid explorers is sent on an expedition to find exotic animals (and people) for a new theme park to be built by a magazine tycoon who also happens to publishes Playmate Magazine. Soon, the group lands on an island in the South Pacific, where they discover an isolated tribe of natives who worship a mysterious God named Gappa. When the land is ruptured by an earthquake, the explorers come upon a cavern containing a reptilian egg. They take it back to a Japanese research center, where the creature hatches and is studied by a group of not too bright scientists. Unfortunately, the parental Gappas show up to claim their newborn lizard, trashing most of Tokyo in the process.I had a great time watching this piece of nonsense. Just about everything in this film is a complete riot. After a somewhat slow first half, the action is almost non-stop and there's plenty of stupendous dialog to keep you entertained. The production values consist mostly of hilariously cheap-looking scale models, the story and the acting are ridiculous and most of the characters are empty-headed idiots, especially for a group of scientists. The monster, Gappa, is a kind of bird-lizard, basically a ridiculous looking over-sized chicken. When it flies, it sounds like an airplane, but that's probably the result of a slip-up in the sound effects, because the creature gets attacked by fighter planes a couple of times.Made by the Nikkatsu Studios to make a late cash-in on the success of Godzilla- and many other monster movies and - what I understand - it was also meant as a kind of satire on the monster movie craze. Well, that aspect of the film was a bit lost on me, or probably got lost in time or translation, but then, I'm hardly an expert on Japanese old-school kaiju-flicks.Camera Obscura --- 6/10