Gorath (1962)

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Gorath
The Japanese poster for Gorath
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Jojiro Okami
Takeshi Kimura
Music by Kan Ishii
Distributor TohoJP
Brenco Pictures Corp.US
Rating Not Rated
Budget ¥126,000,000[1]
Running time 88 minutesJP
(1 hour, 28 minutes)
83 minutesUS; premiere
(1 hour, 23 minutes)
77 minutesUS; subsequent releases
(1 hour, 17 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1
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Gorath (妖星ゴラス,   Yosei Gorasu, lit. Calamity Star Gorath) is a 1962 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film produced by Toho. The story for Gorath was written by Jojiro Okami, a former Japanese Air Force pilot who also gave the original ideas to the films The Mysterians, Battle in Outer Space, and Dogora. It was released to Japanese theaters on March 21, 1962.

Plot

In the early 1980's, a rogue compact star called Gorath is on collision course with Earth. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after being drawn into the star by its gravitational force. A second mission barely escapes before suffering the same fate. Meanwhile, the world's governments debate over what to do to avert a cataclysmic disaster. Earth's scientists form a plan to move the planet out of Gorath's path using rocket thrusters installed at the South Pole.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

  • Ryô Ikebe   as   Dr. Tazawa - Astrophysicist
  • Yumi Shirakawa   as   Tomoko Sonoda
  • Akira Kubo   as   Tatsuma Kanai - Cadet Astronaut
  • Kumi Mizuno   as   Takiko Nomura
  • Hiroshi Tachikawa   as   Wakabayashi - Pilot of Ôtori
  • Akihiko Hirata   as   Endô - Captain of Ôtori
  • Kenji Sahara   as   Saiki - Vice Captain of Ôtori
  • Jun Tazaki   as   Raizô Sonoda - Tomoko's Father
  • Ken Uehara   as   Dr. Kôno - Astrophysicist
  • Takashi Shimura   as   Kensuke Sonoda - Paleontologist
  • Seizaburô Kawazu   as   Tada - Minister of Finance
  • Kô Mishima   as   Sanada - Engineer
  • Sachio Sakai   as   Physician
  • Takamaru Sasaki   as   Prime Minister Seki
  • Kô Nishimura   as   Murata - Secretary of Space
  • Eitarô Ozawa   as   Kinami - Minister of Justice
  • Masanari Nihei   as   Itô - Astronaut of Ôtori
  • Kôzô Nomura   as   Observer of Ôtori
  • Keiko Sata   as   Prime Minister's Secretary
  • Hideyo Amamoto   as   Man in bar
  • George Furness   as   Hooverman (as Jôji Fânesu)
  • Ross Benette   as   Gibson (as Rosu Benetto)
  • Jun'ichirô Mukai   as   Space Base Security Guard
  • Nadao Kirino   as   Manabe - Takiko's Lover
  • Fumio Sakashita   as   Hayao Sonoda - Tomoko's Brother
  • Ikio Sawamura   as   Taxi Driver
  • Toshihiko Furuta   as   Observer of Ôtori
  • Yoshiyuki Uemura   as   Mathematician of Ôtori
  • Rinsaku Ogata   as   Engineer of Ôtori
  • Masayoshi Kawabe   as   Observer of Ôtori
  • Yasushi Matsubara   as   Radio Operator of Ôtori
  • Tadashi Okabe   as   Mathematician of Ôtori
  • Kôji Uno   as   Reporter
  • Yukihiko Gondô   as   Pilot of Ôtori
  • Ken'ichirô Maruyama   as   Engineer of Ôtori (as Ken'ichiro Maruyama)
  • Yasuhiko Saijô   as   Radio Operator of Ôtori
  • Katsumi Tezuka   as   Maguma / Radio Operator of Ôtori
  • Akira Yamada   as   Engineer of Hayabusa
  • Hiroshi Takagi   as   Engineer of Hayabusa
  • Toshitsugu Suzuki   as   Pilot of Hayabusa (as Kôji Suzuki)
  • Wataru Ômae   as   Mathematician of Hayabusa
  • Ichirô Shôji   as   Observer of Hayabusa
  • Yasuo Araki   as   Observer of Hayabusa
  • Hideo Shibuya   as   Reporter (as Shinpei Mitsui)
  • Kazuo Imai   as   Radio Operator of Hayabusa
  • Takuya Yuki   as   Mathematician of Hayabusa
  • Koji Ishikawa   as   Pilot of Hayabusa (as Kôji Ishikawa)
  • Yûsuke Suzuki   as   Fuel Checkout of Hayabusa
  • Takuzô Kumagai   as   Government Personnel (as Jirô Kumagai)
  • Hiroshi Akitsu   as   Goverment Personnel / Man Pointing at Sky
  • Enver Altenbay   as   Member in the South Pole Base
  • Ryûtarô Amami   as   Goverment Personnel / Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Henrî Ban   as   Man in Convention Hall
  • Hank Brown   as   Member in the South Pole Base
  • Ichirô Chiba   as   Goverment Personnel
  • Kenzô Echigo   as   Astronaut of Ôtori / Observer of Space Station
  • Bin Furuya   as   Reporter
  • Ted Gunther   as   Member in the South Pole Base
  • Shinjirô Hirota   as   Goverment Personnel
  • Hans Horneff   as   Dr. König
  • Tsurue Ichimanji   as   Maid of Sonoda Family
  • Toku Ihara   as   Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Saburô Iketani   as   News Anchor
  • Minoru Itô   as   Astronaut of Ôtori
  • Ralph Jesser   as   Member in the South Pole Base
  • Saburô Kadowaki   as   Reporter
  • Kuniyoshi Kashima   as   Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Yoshio Katsube   as   Reporter / Observer of Space Station
  • Keiichirô Katsumoto   as   Goverment Personnel
  • Shigeo Katô   as   Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Ikuo Kawamura as Astronaut of Ôtori
  • Akira Kitchôji as Goverment Personnel
  • Akio Kusama as Goverment Personnel
  • Edo Kîn as Representative of U.S.S.O.
  • Senshô Matsumoto as Goverment Personnel
  • Masahide Matsushita as Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Jirô Mitsuaki as Goverment Personnel
  • Haruo Nakajima as Maguma
  • Takashi Narita as Goverment Personnel
  • Junpei Natsuki as Man at Funeral
  • Yutaka Oka as Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Keiji Sakakida as Goverment Personnel
  • Haruya Sakamoto as Reporter
  • Ryôji Shimizu as Base Designer
  • Junnosuke Suda as Government Personnel
  • Haruo Suzuki as Reporter
  • Kamayuki Tsubono as Government Personnel
  • Keisuke Yamada as Government Personnel
  • Shin Yoshida as Goverment Personnel / Doctor of Space Port
  • Osman Yusuf as Worker in the South Pole Base
  • Yasumasa Ônishi as Goverment Personnel
  • Hideo Ôtsuka as Reporter

English dub

  • Paul Frees
  • William Eidleson
  • Virginia Craig

Appearances

Weapons, vehicles, and races

  • JX-1 Hayabusa
  • SSS-1
  • Space Station Terra
  • Atomic Burrower
  • V-TOL
  • JX-2 Ootori
  • Capsule 1

Monsters

Gallery

Main article: Gorath (film)/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Gorath (Soundtrack).

Alternate titles

  • Calamity Star Gorath (Literal Japanese Title)
  • Gorath: Calamity Star (Alternate English Title)
  • UFOs Destroy the Earth (Ufos zerstören die Erde; Germany)
  • Clash of the Planets (Le choc des planètes; France)

Theatrical releases

  • Japan - March 21, 1962  [view poster]Japanese poster
  • United States - May 15, 1964  [view poster]American poster
  • Thailand - 1963
  • West Germany - July 10, 1975

U.S. release

American Gorath poster

Gorath was given a limited West Coast theatrical release in the United States by Brenco Pictures. The English-language version features extensive re-editing and shortening of many scenes. Among the greatest changes was the re-writing and editing of a six-minute sequence featuring the monster Maguma, of which most footage was deleted. Although Maguma's carcass remains visible in one shot, dialogue was re-written to avoid references to the creature and substituted with references to explosive or volcanic action. The distributors found the character's appearance comical, mockingly dubbing him "Wally the Walrus," a reference to the cartoon character Wally Walrus. Test audiences felt similarly, even with the monster given Rodan's fiercer roar and shrouded in optically printed fog.[2] The U.S. release originally opened with a seven minute prologue featuring an astronomical lecture, though this sequence appears to have been excised from the film soon after its preview screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California.[3]

The English dubbing was recorded by Ryder Sound Services, and scripted by Star Trek writer John Lucas. Only four voice actors were used to dub the film. Besides the voices, the audio track was tampered with, including adding a sound effect for Gorath which was not present in the original Japanese version.

Brenco Pictures re-released the film on a double-bill with The Human Vapor in 1968, but between the two releases never turned a profit on their investment in Gorath. The company closed in 1969 soon after the death of co-owner Edward L. Alperson on July 3 of that year. The film was purchased by Heritage Enterprises and aired on U.S. television. The further-edited television cut of Gorath was also the version of the film primarily used for VHS releases in the United States.

Gorath is currently unavailable on DVD or Blu-ray in the United States, though it occasionally airs on Comet TV.

Video releases

Toho DVD (2004)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: Japanese (1.0 and 4.0)
  • Special Features: Audio commentary by Koji Kajita, isolated score, Japanese theatrical trailer, international trailer, Gorath retrospective by Teruyoshi Nakano.
  • Notes: Re-released on November 8, 2013 in a limited edition and on July 15, 2015 as part of the Toho DVD Masterpiece Collection.

Though Gorath is not available on Blu-ray, an HD version can be rented or purchased on the Japanese version of iTunes.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese Gorath trailer
International Gorath trailer
American Gorath trailer
German Gorath trailer

Trivia

  • Gorath later appeared as a meteorite in Godzilla: Final Wars. According to the Xiliens, Gorath was on a collision course with Earth and would destroy the planet upon impact. In truth, this was a ruse to lead humanity to believe the Xiliens intended to save them from the collision, and the meteorite they showed the humans was merely a hologram. The real Gorath asteroid was later summoned by the Controller of Planet X as a vessel used to transport the Xiliens' most powerful weapon, Monster X, to Earth.
  • The United Nations VTOL prop from Gorath was later modified by Tsuburaya Productions to represent the SSSP's numerous Jet VTOLs in the company's popular television series Ultraman.
  • Supplementary materials for the film Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. reveal that the events of numerous Toho-produced science-fiction films from the Showa era, including Gorath, happened in the continuity of the films Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. However, these materials state that Maguma appeared in 1962, while Gorath is set in 1980, and make no mention of any events from the film aside from Maguma's appearance. In addition, while the moon is destroyed in Gorath, it is plainly visible in the sky during the two Kiryu Saga films, suggesting that the only part of Gorath that happened in the Kiryu Saga continuity is the appearance of Maguma.

External links

References

This is a list of references for Gorath (film). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzizewski (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film. Wesleyan University Press. p. 185. ISBN 9780819577412.
  2. The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal #15 - "Gorath Retrospective" by Hideyo Tsuburaya
  3. [1]

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