RELEASE DATE: January 25, 2021
On January 25, 2021, Arrow Video is releasing the Blu-ray 4-disc set for the Gamera: Heisei Era collection, which includes Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris and Gamera the Brave (don’t miss our review for the actual films here).
Read the official details below:
After laying dormant for fifteen years, Gamera was rebooted for the big screen in a smash hit trilogy masterminded by director Shusuke Kaneko (Necronomicon), writer Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell) and SFX director Shinji Higuchi (who went on to co-direct Shin Godzilla).
Trading the campy, kid-friendly surrealism of the earlier films for a darker, more realistic tone and jaw-droppingly innovative special effects, the Heisei Trilogy are still regarded today as among the best – and by some, the very best – kaiju films ever made.
This unmissable trio is complimented by a bonus disc featuring Gamera the Brave, a heartwarming mix of family-friendly adventure and cutting-edge kaiju action that is the most recent Gamera film to date.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
- High Definition (1080p) transfers of all four films on Blu-ray, including 4K restorations of the Heisei Trilogy by Kadokawa Pictures
- Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio for all films
- Optional English subtitles for all films
- Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank
DISC ONE – GAMERA THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
- Commentary by Matt Frank
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 1, the first in an epic three-part documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- Interviews with director Shusuke Kaneko and SFX director Shinji Higuchi, filmed by Jörg Buttgereit in 2002
- Extended interview with Shinji Higuchi, focusing on the trilogy’s special effects
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Alternate English credits
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC TWO – GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION
- Commentary by Kyle Yount
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 2, the next part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- On-set footage from the shooting of the film’s main unit and special effects filming
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Alternate English credits
- “Lake Texarkana” comedic dub track
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC THREE – GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS
- Commentary by Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 3, the final part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Deleted Scenes
- The Awakening of Irys (Remix), a montage of behind-the-scenes footage and work-in-progress special effects footage
- Alternate English credits
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC FOUR – GAMERA THE BRAVE
- Commentary by Keith Aiken & Bob Johnson
- How to Make a Gamera Movie, a featurette hosted by director Ryuta Tasaki
- Behind The Scenes of Gamera the Brave, an all-access on-set documentary
- The Men That Made Gamera, a documentary looking back at the series from start to finish, featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Opening Day Premiere, a featurette showing the cast and crew presenting the film at its first showing
- Kaho’s Summer, an interview with the film’s young star
- Special Effects Supercut, a montage of effects shots overseen by FX supervisor Hajime Matsumoto
- Trailer and image galleries
Stay tuned for pre-order information.
Awesome, I’ll give the (two) US Blu-Rays for Gamera (90’s trilogy) to my nephew and get only the UK Heisei Era box! That trilogy is one of the best ever (the first is cool, the second is better and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris is IMHO one of the top five best giant monster movies ever made with 1954’s Godzilla,
2001 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (by Shuzuke Kaneko too), 2016 Shin Godzilla and, let’s say King Kong as a whole. By the way, I’m very fond of Gamera the brave, made more for the children but really cool because it doesn’t treat them as retards. P. S.: I also love Hong Kong’s 1977 The mighty Peking man.