from Shout! Factory:
IN STORES AUGUST 2
Shout! Factory, in association with Best Brains, Inc., is proud to announce MST3K vs. Gamera: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. XXI (Deluxe Edition), will be released on August 2, 2011. The 5-DVD set is housed in a limited-edition tin, with 5 mini-posters, and includes the titles Gamera, Gamera Vs. Barugon, Gamera Vs. Gaos, Gamera Vs. Guiron and Gamera Vs. Zigra. SRP $64.99. Through a special offer only from Shout! Factory, fans who order the set at the Shout! Factory Store will receive a free Gamera postcard pack and MST3K Stress Ball.
What could possibly be better suited to the always-quotable wisecracks of beloved SoL captive Joel Robinson and his faithful robot sidekicks, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, than a monster movie about a giant flying turtle? The answer is — four other movies about same flying turtle! Behold the first-ever themed collection of Mystery Science Theater 3000 classics: all five Gamera episodes from the particularly fertile third season of the long-running cult comedy television series… in their own shell!
In Gamera, East-West tensions literally ignite an atomic explosion in the Arctic, and scientists must find a way to stop one very unexpected fallout: the rampage of a giant, flying turtle unearthed from its glacial tomb in the lost city of Atlantis. If ever there was an argument for world peace, this would be it. On the Satellite of Love, a much more familiar version of the reptile is celebrated in the now-legendary torch song tribute to Servo’s pet turtle, “Tibby, Oh Tibby!” Bonus features include the MST Hour host segments, original Japanese trailer, and So Happy Together: A Look Back At MST3K & Gamera.
In Gamera Vs. Barugon, Gamera is back, only this time he’s playing for our team. In color! When a private expedition to retrieve a mysterious opal unwittingly unleashes a monster lizard, Gamera returns to Earth for the ultimate reptilian rumble. Climate change meets Theatre of the Absurd as our favorite fire-spewing turtle takes on a larger-than-life lizard with freezing breath. On the SoL, the jokes fly faster than an airborne turtle, and Crow and Tom fan the flames of another battle of the ages: PC vs. Mac. Like it’s even a question. Bonus features include the original Japanese trailer and Gamera Vs. The Chiodo Brothers, in which the acclaimed special effects team (Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Elf) waxes nostalgic about Gamera, Japanese monster movies and men in rubber suits.
Gamera solidifies his new status as protector of humanity in Gamera Vs. Gaos, when he’s called upon to defeat Gaos, an enormous bat with deadly spit-lasers. What Gaos is prepared to do with those lasers to survive, you’ll have to watch and see — but feel free to make your own “I Kept My Eyes Open For 92 Minutes” T-shirt. Much like Gaos, the riffs are relentless, strange and funny. And so is the SoL’s extremely short-lived production of Gameradamerung. Bonus features include Gamera Obscura: A Brief History by August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters), and the original Japanese trailer.
Gamera comes to the rescue of two young boys abducted by alien women with a taste for growing brains in Gamera Vs. Guiron. As if that doesn’t keep the heroic turtle busy enough, there’s Guiron (part monster, part cutlery) to contend with. Yes, it’s another heaping portion of giant monsters going at it and not “using their words” — fortified with essential messages about trust and kindness. Also, live from Deep 13 and the SoL: a very special evening of tributes to the Gamera theme song. The MST Hour host segments and the original Japanese trailer of the film are included as bonus features.
The final installment of the original Gamera series, Gamera Vs. Zigra, was completed shortly before Daiei Studios went bankrupt, and it’s not hard to see why. Gamera returns to save Earth from yet another alien with Earth envy. But lest you worry that it’s another portion of more of the same, this time the monster can talk, and this time it looks like a fish. Zigra (it’s a ship and a monster and a planet) blames our “Earth science” for rendering his home planet’s oceans uninhabitable. Needless to say, we are all punished for it. Invention exchanges, dioramas and two more wildly different takes on Gamera’s theme song… the wait is over. The original Japanese trailer is included as a bonus feature.
MST3K vs. Gamera Bonus Features:
So Happy Together: A Look Back At MST3K & Gamera
Gamera Obscura: A History by August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters)
Gamera Vs. The Chiodo Brothers
MST Hour host segments
Original Japanese Trailers
5 Exclusive Mini-Posters By Artist Steve Vance