ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

[

Saboteurs are afoot at a top secret research lab in the not-too-distant future. They gain control of a computer that directs the movements of two non-humanoid, multi-armed robots (Gog and Magog).

Richard Egan stars in this potentially good but ultimately disappointing sci-fi entry. The robots are constructed poorly and manipulated clumsily.

Directed by Herbert L. Strock. Gog was based on a story written by its producer, Ivan Tors, the man responsible for Science Fiction Theater, a well-remembered television series that aired in the middle 1950s.

This was originally released in 3-D.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

Kino will be releasing Gog in 3D on Blu-ray late this year.

[alltare]

Just announced - GOG 3D BluRay will be released on March 1, 2016.

Restored in HD & 3D.
1080p
1.85:1
Special Features: Audio Commentary by Film Historians Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek and David Schecter.

$35 pre-order at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Gog-3-D-Blu-ray-Richard-Egan/dp/B019EC9QQI

And at Blu-ray.com
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gog-3D-Blu-ray/126368/

[Robert (Butch) Day]

[Brent Gair]

[Bud Brewster]

[SAM33]

Thanks to the kindness of friends I got to see GOG last night.

OK, my plan with this release was to watch all 3 OSI films, which I started last week with RIDERS TO THE STARS (not the first I know but my least favorite of the 3 and poorest copy as it's off of broadcast from Turner) and planned to do over the next 2 weekends.

I was not going to have time to watch the other 2 this weekend, but when I got this copy I of course couldn't wait to at least look at it. I've been waiting for almost a year for this, ever since it was first announced.
I had a social commitment and couldn't even start until late (for me), so I watched the relatively short MAGNETIC MONSTER (which I love) and then planned to put this on just to check out the 3D, then watch it all next weekend, but of course once I did I was HOOKED and had to see it all.

In short: AMAZING! EVERYTHING I was hoping for.

Now everyone here should know I'm one of the biggest resident 3D geeks around, a life-long collector of stereopticons, viewmasters, 3D comics, etc., so do understand where I am coming from.

But trust me when I say that this is technically probably THE BEST of ANY of the classic 3D releases we yet have, and I'm including the "major studio" releases of HOUSE OF WAX, DIAL M, CREATURE, etc.

Seriously, technically this disc is flawless and has as good 3D as any I've seen! You would NEVER know that the left eye was faded. No "ghosting" No scratches or debris. Sharp, steady, and just beautiful color, even if its origins were the cut-rate CCA rather than Technicolor.
The film doesn't have a lot of gimmick pop outs, but the depth is really great. I love the sets and the actual color 3D footage of period planes and choppers. There are a few flat stock shots, but not all are!

I know I don't have to tell any 3D fans this is a must have, but what if you don't have 3D or aren't that into it?

Well, IF you like the film and had the old MOD, you'll still have to have this as it totally blows that away. Proper aspect ratio for one thing. Per the above discussion, yes, it's 1:66. Better image for another, and of course blu ray resolution.

I know these "A-Men" films aren't for everyone, as has been discussed elsewhere here along with their cousin SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE.

But both this and MAGNETIC MONSTER I find to be entertaining solid stories, and all 3 with engaging casts of familiar faces. They really should appeal to any "hard" sci-fi fans who appreciate the history of the genre and that classic 50's feel.

I can't say enough about how much love and attention obviously went into this. It's worth pointing out again that if not for Bob and the 3D Archive, this would be lost to history in its original form. They really are saving important culture artifacts for us all.

We (too few) who love the vintage 50's 3D period have them almost solely to thank for having what we do out on Blu ray, and that is almost certainly true for whatever future releases we may get from this era.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...
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SAM33

[Bud Brewster]

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Holy cow, Sam, your post is exactly the kind of comment that grabbed my attention on the Classic Horror Film Board and inspired me to send you an invitation to join All Sci-Fi.

As for Gog, I'm more convinced than ever that it's time to upgrade my TV so I can enjoy movies like this one. Thanks for providing such a clear assessment of the Blu-ray's merits, not to mention your personal reasons for enjoying this film and all the others like it.

I know we can't hop into our DeLoreans and travel back to 1954 so we can see Gog at a humble little no-frills theater like this one —




— but having a big 3D television and a few friends over on a Saturday night would be almost as good.

And just because I hate to write a post which is longer than one paragraph without including at least two pictures (I'm just nutty for jpegs . . . ), here's one of Gog playing tennis.



OH, wait! My bad! That's Magog. You can tell because he's left handed. And center handed.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Good news! Netflix now has a GORGEOUS version of this movie which was obviously uploaded from the new 3D Blu-ray disc. Apparently it includes a 2D version as well, based on the title which the YouTube version has.

The bad news is that this version was uploaded to YouTube by a French member, because the video has French subtitles.

However, even though they're distracting, the download demonstrates the remarkable picture quality of the BD. Obviously, it's well worth the money.

I want the 2D version of his movie. Hopefully, Brent will give me some guidance on what I should buy.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

[Bud Brewster]

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Done!

And after watching the YouTube version last night, I discovered that my lack of enthusiasm for this movie has always been caused by the poor picture quality I've had to endure.

The sharp image, the vivid color, and the widescreen picture made a world of difference. I can't wait to enjoy the extras when my BD arrives tomorrow!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[alltare]

The 'poor picture quality phenomenon" has caused me to downgrade my opinions of many movies that I later found I liked much more. The picture quality influences my opinion of the story quality.

For example, I didn't think much of RIDERS TO THE STARS when it was only available as low res/low quality/dark/grainy gray market copy, sometimes so bad you couldn't even be sure of what you were looking at. Like many other British movies, X THE UNKNOWN added another negative dimension because much of it was night scenes. As a result, I thought it was an awful movie. I changed my mind on both of these when I saw their HD images.

This is why I try to buy commercially released DVDs or BluRays of movies whenever possible. If those "hard copies" aren't available, download sites like youtube or free-classic-tv-shows.com are OK as a last resort (resolution is usually no better than 480), but I try to get HD versions from sites like YIFY, Pirate Bay, etc, first.

I have become pretty spoiled in the last 6 or 7 years — I just don't like to watch low-res images if I don't have to. That's also why I dumped my Comcast subscription (HD quality costs over $150/month here) and went to over-the air free TV, where all of the major channels and many others are 1080p wide screen, and the rest are no worse than what my non-HD cable offered.

[Bud Brewster]

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Where can we find Riders to the Stars in HD?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[alltare]

I was wrong, Bud. My RIDERS DVD is NOT a commercial HD release. It's a copy that I bought on ebay.

The picture is so much better than what I previously had, however, that I mis-remembered it as being HD. My older copy was so bad that you couldn't tell what the captured meteor looked like at the end of the movie- it was just a blob that had some moving colors. In the newer copy, you can see the details and it's obvious that the changing colors are caused by a kind of color wheel rotating behind a partially transparent overlay of "crystalized pure carbon".

The 2 other Tors movies, MAGNETIC MONSTER and the subject of this thread, GOG, have been released on high-def discs, and they're even more impressively improved than RIDERS. I might as well mention the huge improvement of picture quality of SF THEATRE, too. The episodes are not HD, but it certainly is much more fun to watch them with their greater detail, and to me, a better image sometimes equates to a better story.

[Bud Brewster]