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Gorath (1962 Japan / 1964 USA)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2015 8:27 pm    Post subject: Gorath (1962 Japan / 1964 USA) Reply with quote



Japan's answer to "When Worlds Collide" is a whale of a good science fiction yarn, despite some distracting narrative flaws and an over-abundance of special effects using the teeny-tiny miniatures which Japanese movie makers are so fond of.

However, some of the effects are remarkable, portraying events such as earthquakes, tidal waves, and the passage of a neutron star close to Earth. The film also sports some impressive sets.

The story concerns a neutron star (code-named Gorath) that wanders into the solar system on a collision course with Earth. The nations of the Earth unite to build a massive series of rocket engines at the South Pole so the Earth can be moved out of Gorath's path. The reason the rockets are located at the pole is to prevent the Earth's rotation from interfering with the direction of the rockets' thrust (a clever idea).

In one scene which was cut from the American-release version, the stress from the thrust opens up a huge fissure and releases a giant walrus creature.

Direct by Inoshiro Honda ("Rodan", "Godzilla", many others). The English dubbing is not well done, and the voice of Paul Frees is greatly over-used (he speaks for almost half the male secondary characters!).

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scotpens
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:38 am    Post subject: Re: Gorath (1963 Japan) Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
. . . In one scene which was cut from the American-release version, the stress from the thrust opens up a huge fissure and releases a giant walrus creature.

I love that silly-looking giant walrus. It has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. It's just there because, well, giant monsters are what the Japanese do best!
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 9:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Gorath (1963 Japan) Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
I love that silly-looking giant walrus. It has absolutely nothing to do with the plot. It's just there because, well, giant monsters are what the Japanese do best!

And just when you think your fool-proof plan to move the planet so a giant star doesn't smash it is working flawlessly, what happens? A giant frozen walrus breaks out of the Polar ice, naturally!

Ooow, I hate it when that happens!
Shocked
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^ They make tasty sushi and tempura, though.



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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 2:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe feed the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954) to distract it?
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud gave me a DVD-R of this movie and I like it. It is not as good as Battle in Outer Space or The Mysterians but it is fun to watch.

I have never seen the version with the walrus.
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Maurice
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's ye olde kaiju seiuchi (strange beast walrus) in video.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, that was interesting !
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Here's an unused piece of music from the film's soundtrack which I stumbled across. It certainly adds to the believably of a giant walrus frozen in the ice!


SOUNDTRACK MUSIC FOR THE DELETED WALRUS SCENE
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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 9:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Antarctic base:





Building the Antarctic base miniature:



Getting ready to film a space scene:



The Antarctic base miniature with attacking giant walrus man-in-suit:



The giant walrus being prepared for filming:



The main control center. (It looks like a Krell instrument of some sort or a version of the Tar-Ayim Krang!)



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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great post Butch!

So....THAT'S what a giant walrus looks like!

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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 4:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hope I got the picture sizes correct! Also see my additions to The Mysterians and Battle In Outer Space.
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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2018 11:37 am    Post subject: Re: Gorath (1962 Japan / 1964 USA) Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
[size=20The reason the rockets are located at the pole is to prevent the Earth's rotation from interfering with the direction of the rockets' thrust (a clever idea).[/size]

Otherwise you would get the "balloon rocket" effect. Rolling Eyes
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 5:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never saw this as a kid, but I did see it last year on Comet TV, and it had the Walrus scene. I did notice the Ultraman Science Patrol Rocket Plane was prominently used.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

The Youtube link below is a truly "Americanized" trailer for this movie, with a melodramatic narrator who pitches the movie with bold claims about how great it is! (I love it!)

You'll enjoy it, I promise! Very Happy

And while watching it I finally figured out why Japanese science fiction movies have never appealed to me the way American movies do!

Here's why.

Japanese sci-fi movies tell an imaginative tale about a big event that effects the entire nation, with a large number characters involved in the story. A few of the characters are somewhat more important than the rest, but none of them really qualify as the "central hero and heroine".

In other words, the stories are about monumental events which affect the Japanese nation, with a large cast who work as a team to deal with the crisis.

However, American science fictioni movies often tell their stories through the eyes of a few main characters.

War of the Worlds focuses most of the story on Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. This Island Earth spotlights Rex Reason and Faith Domergue. Earth vs the Flying Saucers puts Hugh Marlow and Joan Taylor at center stage.

I prefer that kind of "personal connection" to the Japanese approach, which depicts the conflict as something that threatens the entire country — rather than a few individuals which the movies makes us feel sympathetic towards.

Wow . . . I've never quite realized why I always felt so uninvolved when I watched Japanese sci-fi movies, even when they had good stories and great special effects! Shocked
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____________ Gorath (1962) - U.S Trailer (HD)


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