| Space Amoeba | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Ishirō Honda |
| Produced by | Fumio Tanaka Tomoyuki Tanaka Samuel Z. Arkoff (US release) Salvatore Billitteri (US release) |
| Written by | Ei Ogawa |
| Starring | Akira Kubo Atsuko Takahashi Yukiko Kobayashi Kenji Sahara Yoshio Tsuchiya Yu Fujiki Noritake Saito Yûko Sugihara Sachio Sakai |
| Music by | Akira Ifukube |
| Cinematography | Taiichi Kankura |
| Editing by | Masahisa Himi Eli Haviv (US version) |
| Distributed by | Toho American International Pictures (AIP)(USA, 1971) |
| Release date(s) | August 1, 1970 (Japan) August 4, 1971 |
| Running time | 83 min. |
| Language | Japanese |
Space Amoeba, released in Japan as Gezora, Ganime, Kamoeba: Decisive Battle! Giant Monsters of the South Seas (ゲゾラ・ガニメ・カメーバ 決戦! 南海の大怪獣 "Gezora Ganime Kameba Kessen! Nankai no Kaijuu"), is a 1970 Kaiju film produced and released by Toho Studios. This was one of director Ishirō Honda's last kaiju movies, and the first such movie made after the death of special-effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. This was also the final Toho film for which Sadamasa Arikawa acted as director of special effects.
While some fans deride the film as a last gasp of the kaiju eiga genre, others appreciate the fact that the monsters have been scaled down (only being 20 to 30 meters tall), making their interactions with human characters more compelling.
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A space probe, dubbed Helios 7, is sent to study Jupiter. En Route to the planet, the probe is invaded by Yog, an extraterrestrial being of pure energy. The probe lands in the South Pacific, where the disembodied alien leaves the device and invades the body of a Gezora, a giant cuttlefish, which proceeds to wreak havoc. When a photographer named Kudo and a small entourage landed on Selga Island, they are likewise menaced by Gezora. Gezora can generate extremely cold temperatures with its body, either naturally or due to Yog. When it is discovered that Gezora is vulnerable to fire, Kudo and his allies use a leftover Japanese World War II munitions cabin discovered on the island to set the monster aflame. Severely burned, the creature retreats to the water.
However, Yog continues its attack by similarly invading and controlling the bodies of two other rare giant creatures, a gigantic crab called Ganimes and a gigantic predatory water turtle called Kamoebas. The two monsters are coaxed into battling each other through the use of bats' natural sonar, which Yog has an aversion to. The two monsters stumble into an erupting volcano and meet their end, destroying Yog in the process.
| Toho character | |
|---|---|
| Gezora | |
| Species | mutant Cuttlefish |
| Height | 30 meters[1] |
| Weight | 20,000 tons[1] |
| Origins | Seized by an alien creature near Selzio Island |
| Shared Origin | Ganime Kamoebas |
| Weaknesses | supersonic waves (from bats or dolphins) and extreme heat |
| First appearance | Space Amoeba |
| Other appearances | “Godzilla: Final Wars” (stock footage)[1] |
| Portrayed by | Haruo Nakajima |
Gezora (ゲゾラ) is a fictional kaiju featured in the 1970 Toho produced film Space Amoeba a.k.a. Yog, Monster From Space. - Created through the traditional Japanese process of suitmation, Gezora joins the ranks of Toho's other daikaiju such as Godzilla and Rodan. When the spacecraft Helio 7 came into contact with an unidentified space creature, it turned around and crashed in the water near Selzio Island.[2] The first animal that the alien encountered happened to be a cuttlefish which it mutated to a huge size. The space monster then proceeded to attack the islanders.
Gezora is the first of three daikaiju that appear in the course of Space Amoeba. Gezora's impossibly cold body temperature causes it to constantly generate a field of freezing cold around itself while its touch can inflict wounds similar to frostbite. On the other hand, its cold temperature makes it highly vulnerable to heat. Once the humans on the island discover this, they explode barrels of gasoline under the creature as it chases them across the island. The monster is effectively defeated. However, the alien survives by creating the monsters Ganime and Kamoebas. The alien also enters the body of Obata, a man who has come to the island to steal the plans from the main characters.
The original appearance of Gezora is a scene of him attacking two fisherman. He grabs one although the other escapes. Later, in a cave that apparently connects to the ocean, Gezora's signature glow is seen, and a huge wave splashes the onlookers. Although the monster does not surface, a watch is found that had belonged to his first victim. It was apparently "burped" out along with the water.
The second time Gezora surfaces, he comes walking onto land and steals another man. He grabs a hold of a third, but the disturbance of nearby bats causes Gezora to release him, leaving him with severe frostbite on certain parts of his body.
Later, when two of the main characters are scuba diving, they find the Helio 7 as well as Gezora, but they are saved by a school of dolphins.
Gezora continues his attacks by coming on land again and destroying a village. It is discovered then that the monster is weak against fire. This knowledge is used by the islanders when they destroy some barrels of gasoline and, by setting a huge area of land on fire, cause Gezora to be fatally burned. The creature retreats to the sea and dies, though the alien being survives and leaves the corpse, moving on to create the monster called Ganime.
Gezora is killed and never seen again in the showa period series. He was mentioned and seen through stock footage in Godzilla: Final Wars as one of many monsters that arose from the devastation brought by the World Wars, along with Varan, Baragon, Gaira, Titanosaurus, and Megaguirus
Gezora, although arguably the "main monster" in Space Amoeba, is one of the least recognizable and most obscure kaiju Toho has ever created. Other than brief stock footage in the monster-packed Godzilla: Final Wars, it has never been seen other than the poorly reviewed but cult classic Space Amoeba.[2]
Despite his lack of fame and popularity, he did appear in the 1988 Nintendo game Godzilla: Monster of Monsters as one of the earliest monsters the player would face, and he was arguably the weakest boss monster. Gezora, much like Varan and the original Moguera who both appeared as boss monsters in the game, was not related to Godzilla in any way other than being a Toho monster (though Varan appeared briefly in Destroy All Monsters). This has led a small community of fans to lobby for his appearance in future incarnations of the Godzilla Vortaak Saga by Pipeworks & Atari, especially since Varan has made a rare appearance in Godzilla: Unleashed as a playable monster.
The recent DVD release of the film has spread further awareness of Gezora and the amoeba monsters.[3]
| Toho character | |
|---|---|
| Ganime | |
| Species | mutant sand crab |
| Height | 20 meters |
| Weight | 15,000 tons |
| Shared Origin | Gezora Kamoebas |
| Weaknesses | supersonic waves (from bats or dolphins) |
| First appearance | Space Amoeba |
| Portrayed by | Haruo Nakajima |
Ganime (ガニメ) is a fictional kaiju from the Japanese science fiction film, Space Amoeba.
Controlled and powered by the malevolent intelligence of the Amoeba being, a gigantic stone crab, Ganime, attacked the island. Trying to finish the job that the now dead Gezora left undone, the monstrous animal waded further inland, before it was met with machine gun fire. However, this does little to deter the creature. Yet the humans once again managed to outsmart the bulbous monster by luring it into a pit, laced with hundreds of sticks of dynamite. The resulting explosion tore his body apart, leaving smoldering bits of flesh. However, the spiritual Amoeba was still alive, and crawled from the open carcass only to assimilate another stone crab. This duplicate Ganime was sent to aid another infected animal, this time a jungle turtle named Kamoebas, to eliminate the human threat. Though the partnership was soon dissolved, when a horde of bats besieged the twin giants. The supersonic waves created from their cackling cries broke the hold that the Amoeba possessed, and drove the monsters to fight. Ganime attacks relentlessly with its pinching claws, and spiting foams of blinding, coalesced seawater, but Kamoebas was able to hold its ground. So caught up were the monsters in their war, that they didn't notice the volcano that they fought on. So, they both proceeded to the lip of the mountain, and toppled inside. Killing themselves and the Amoeba beings that laid within.
Ganime was considered for Godzilla Final Wars, but it was replaced by Ebirah.
| Toho character | |
|---|---|
| Kamoebas | |
| Species | Irradiated Mata Mata Turtle |
| Height | 20 meters |
| Weight | 28,000 tons |
| Shared Origin | Gezora Ganime |
| Major Enemies | Ganime Godzilla Godman |
| Weaknesses | supersonic waves (from bats or dolphins) |
| First appearance | Space Amoeba |
| Other appearances | Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. |
| Portrayed by | Haruyoshi Nakamura |
Kamoebas (カメーバ Kamēba) is a fictional monster that appeared in the 1970 film, Space Amoeba. "Kame" is Japanese for "turtle".
In Space Amoeba, there were a race of wicked alien beings called the Space Amoeba, who mutated ordinary animals into huge, horrible monsters. Kamoebas was one of them; it was an ordinary turtle mutated by the Amoeba and grew to an enormous size. Rather than a beak like a normal turtle, Kamoebas has a mouth filled with sharp teeth (it also has an extendable neck, similar to the mata mata turtle).
Kamoebas and Ganime were sent to kill the people on Selgio Island. However, a group of bats showed up and their shrill cries created super sonic waves. The monsters were vulnerable to the waves and the alien mind control was severed.
The kaiju begin to battle ferociously. During the fight, they end up at an erupting volcano. In the end, Ganime tosses Kamoebas into the crater. However, Kamoebas clamped its powerful jaws onto the Ganime's claw. Ganime could not resist the immense weight of the turtle, and it was pulled into the crater along with Kamoebas. They both died and the Amoeba inside them died with them.
In Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. a Kamoebas was washed up on a Japanese beach after being killed by Godzilla who clawed its throat open. This Kamoebas however was depicted as a survivor from prehistoric times called megalo mata mata and has no other connection to Space Amoeba other than its name.
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