Gorath (film): Difference between revisions
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*[[Japan]] - March 21, 1962{{Popup-poster|file=Gorath - Movie Poster.png|caption=Japanese poster}} | *[[Japan]] - March 21, 1962{{Popup-poster|file=Gorath - Movie Poster.png|caption=Japanese poster}} | ||
*[[United States]] - May 15, 1964{{Popup-poster|file=affiche2.jpg|caption=American poster}} | *[[United States]] - May 15, 1964{{Popup-poster|file=affiche2.jpg|caption=American poster}} | ||
*Thailand - 1963 | |||
*West Germany - July 10, 1975 | *West Germany - July 10, 1975 | ||
==[[United States|U.S.]] release== | ==[[United States|U.S.]] release== | ||
[[File:Affiche2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|American ''Gorath'' poster]] | [[File:Affiche2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|American ''Gorath'' poster]] |
Revision as of 13:53, 7 April 2020
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Gorath (妖星ゴラス is a Yosei Gorasu, lit. Calamity Star Gorath)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.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Jojiro Okami and Takeshi Kimura
- Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music by Kan Ishii
- Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi
- Edited by Reiko Kaneko
- Assistant directing by Katsumune Ishida, Koji Kajita, Shoji Kuroda, and Masashi Matsumuto
- Special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano, Kan Narita, Sokei Tomioka, Eiji Tsuburaya, Akira Watanabe, and Koichi Kawakita
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]
- United States - May 15, 1964 [view poster]
- Thailand - 1963
- West Germany - July 10, 1975
U.S. release
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
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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]
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