Talkback: Gorath (1962)

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Dash 7
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Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Dash 7 »

Gorath

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Use this topic to discuss the 1962 movie Gorath, aka Suspicious Star Gorath.

Just ordered this film the other day expecting it in the mail soon. Looks really cool, the first of Toho's disaster flicks, and i hear Kumi Mizuno has a bath scene in this movie! Hehe! In all honesty, the film holds up extremely well even without Maguma, as I feel Honda intended it to be his first disaster flick as well as a sci-fi movie.
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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by DaikaijuSokogeki! »

I dunno, it's an okay flick. The movie starts out very strong with the crew of the JX-1's big sacrifice and Jun Tazaki's powerful performance. However, the movie in my opinion quickly slows down. The SPFX are amazing for sure, but the rest of the film is kinda bland and uninteresting. Maguma, while an interesting design, is simply out of place. I really can't blame Brenco for deleting his role in the movie entirely. The cast is mostly dull; I've never been a Ryo Ikebe fan and Akira Kubo doesn't really do amnesia well. Finally, the music score is totally unmemorable. Why Honda didn't opt Ifukube for the score is beyond me.

It's not a bad film, but I found it to be pretty boring. Just watch it for the FX.

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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by merbermaniac123 »

Hello all, first post. In regards to Gorath, I've never seen it. But I do have a question, if anyone can answer, about this two-disc DVD I've seen of it floating around the internet. I want to see the movie but as far as I know it's never been released on DVD in America. Is the DVD being sold (by a seller) on Amazon a bootleg or a R2 release? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by Goji »

MGM, I believe. I think they have the rights to all of Brenco's film library. This includes THE HUMAN VAPOR as well.
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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by Kubo »

Tyler wrote:Let's charge MGM with torches.
Geez Tyler you forgot the pitchforks! No wonder you never lead any successful riots.
Giving myself brain damage wishing too hard upon a star.

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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by Showa Gyaos »

I remember August saying on the old boards how the footage was in bad condition, or something. :?
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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by Kyono_Rei »

I just rewatched Gorath after many, many years really. SPOILERS AHEAD:

I like it better now than I did as a kid. The effects are good, some disaster scenes could match some of the ones found in modern movies. Also, which is pretty rare for a Toho film of taht era, they got the props right. Most of the uniforms look real, the space suits are similar to real space suits of that era (not the acid-trip construction worker types from DAM).

The main plot is good, it is admittedly the "deadly comet/meteor/planet from space", but it has a few very original twists that make it more cool than most "apocalypse from space films". First Gorath is not actually going to hit earth, but will come close enough to suck the atmosphere and water, as despite ts small size it has a gigantic mass and thus a big gravity effect (someone did his physics homework here - rare for a tokusatsu film). Other thing is taht instead of destroying the planetoid, they are going to shift the earth's orbit - again pretty original.

The films starts off very good, with the actors on the first spaceship giving a very good performance. But sadly, that's the best acting of the film. I was never a big fan of Kubo and he doesn't shine here either - I wish most of his subplot was scrapped to be honest. Ikebe (in this film he looks suprisingly a whole lot like my grandfather when he was younger) and Mizuno are ok, but nothing special. Most other actors are easy to forget.

Ah and we have a kaiju taht appears for a few short senes. Actually, I think the idea of having a daikaiju film set in the antarctic scenery, with giant glaciers, immense depths of icy waters, whales and a polar base and all is a great idea and I like it a lot. Sadly, it does not fit the theme of this film and the kaiju feels out of place and "forced" here. I really wish they would have made a separate "arctic kaiju" film and left kaiju out of "Gorath".

OK, I probably ranted about all the things that do not work too much, but the truth is that the vast majorirty of things work well and things that don't work perfectly do not interfere with the film that much. "Gorath" is a very good and origina SF film in comparison with other Japanese and American SF films of that era. The Special effects, props, space and disatser scenes are great and still fun to wacth after 50 years which is saying something.
I think its one of the best japanese films of the 60s and in general one of the best SF films in the world in the 60s.
Kumi Mizuno has a bath scene in this movie!
She has, but its that "bubble bath" type of scene you can find in lots of movies (also american) of the era. This is a science fiction film, not a yakuza eiga after all ;)
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Re: Suspicious star Gorath(1962)

Post by The Dark Uniter »

I have the movie myself. It's very good and I find it to be better than Battle in Outer Space storywise. However, The Mysterians still is one number.

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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Arbok »

This was one of the later "classic" Toho special effects films I got to see. Had quite a bit of anticipation because in the book Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo they gave it a flawless review score.

So... was a little disappointed by the result. The concept of the movie is solid, mixing a silly premise with something that is a bit unique and original for the genre. However, the pacing, acting and characters are a little abysmal, making the movie feel incredibly long to sit through and watch. It needed more moments like the opening with the original JX crew, which backed more meat in that little segment that would payoff than the development of all the characters to follow afterwards.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by eabaker »

I haven't watched this one in years. I remember the dub being one of the most obvious cases of, "Almost every single voice is Paul Frees."

I mostly remember really loving the opening sequence, and finding it interesting what a dick Akira Kubo's character was at times. Oh, and, like most of the Ishiro Honda/Hajime Koizumi collaborations, I always thought the photography was gorgeous.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Arbok »

eabaker wrote:...and finding it interesting what a dick Akira Kubo's character was at times.
Yeah, an odd role for him. He usually gets cast as the good natured supporting or hero role, so odd to see him in the mean spirited one he had in Gorath. Pretty over the top how incentive he was, while the film never really makes it a point what an asshole he is in terms of how the other characters interact with him.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by o.supreme »

Way to dig up some Necroposts ;). Anyway, I'm glad I finally got a decent copy of this on DVD (Both the Japanese and the Brenco US Versions). I have 2 VHS tapes of the US version both with less than steallar picture because of degradation from 20+ years. I enjoy this film however and hope that someday it does get a proper release even if it is from a less than perfect source. The one on Amazon Prime is sufficient IMHO.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Space Hunter M »

A German TV version of Gorath (used for the DVD) is based on the Brenco/Heritage cut (The TV version, not theatrical), but it's unfortunately cropped to 1.85:1, exclusive footage and all. http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=112766

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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Beef Bigshot »

I don't knowwhy but I really like maguma
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Arbok »

Beef Bigshot wrote:I don't knowwhy but I really like maguma
I like his design, it's simply but the creepy all teal eyes really sell it. However, he does next to nothing in the film itself, besides be a little tragic.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Destroyer »

I really wish I could see Maguma's scene, I've only seen the US cut.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Beef Bigshot »

I kinda want to say that maguma is the most under appreciated kiaju IMO
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by Missingno. »

Finally found this thread instead of making a new one. Just saw the movie last night so...

This film falls into the disaster category better than anything else if you ask me. The first act is great, but the overall acting gets progressively worse as the film advances (though most of the cast would appear in 1963's Atragon). Maguma is underused if you ask me, and has much greater potential in another movie than this one, and it really is no wonder why he got cut, as I feel that he had more screen time in that canyon than he did damaging the base. It did have an interesting twist though, when at the beginning of the movie you hear it will hit Earth unless something is done, but it still affects the Earth numerous ways in spite of it being pushed out of the way. The SFX are great for its time, though in the "Space Opera Trilogy", it beats Battle in Outer Space with the acting and plot (though the SFX are pretty good in that one, I must admit), but it doesn't top The Mysterians. There is one shot where you can see Gorath being held by strings, otherwise everything else looks great for the year it was made
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by SoleMan »

More movies should have a giant walrus of death.
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Re: Talkback: Gorath (1962)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Well since this thread has been ressurected and since then I have seen Gorath. I liked it. Gorath, the planet itself, felt more like a monster than Maguma. There were a lot of scary and tense moments when rockets were pulled into it. The miniatures of the big orbit shifting thing was cool. Maguma was alright but felt forced.
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