Gorath is a Japanese film released in 1962 by Toho Pictures and directed by the great Ishiro Honda. It is epic in pretty much every way and when it was released was the most expensive Japanese movie ever made. Interestingly, Honda did other movies aside from Godzilla for Toho (The Mysterians, Atragon) and the non-Godzilla ones tended towards space films.
Simply put, Gorath takes us into the future (as usual) and posits a planetoid which is so dense that it has immense gravitational pull heading for Earth. The movie involves the discovery of Gorath, the attempts to deflect it and finally - wait for it - MOVING THE EARTH to avoid the collision.
So is it good? Sure thing!
Pacing is excellent as is typical of Honda. Acting is good with several Honda regulars (watch Destroy all Monsters then watch Gorath and you'll see the crossover). And the tone is properly set and maintained. It is a sort of foreboding but purposeful tone. Duty is a prominent theme in the film. And the model work is both ambitious and effective.
Does it have negatives? Not really. That said, you do have to put on your "suspension of disbelief" hat pretty firmly and not ask questions like:
a) Where are they getting enough rocket fuel for all those motors in Antarctica moving the Earth?
b) Why don't the motors rapidly consume all the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere?
But really it doesn't matter. It's a lot like Atragon (reviewed in another Gatefans post) where you enjoy what's happening and don't overthink how it happens.
Sadly it is hard to get a copy of this. But if you can it is worth it!
Simply put, Gorath takes us into the future (as usual) and posits a planetoid which is so dense that it has immense gravitational pull heading for Earth. The movie involves the discovery of Gorath, the attempts to deflect it and finally - wait for it - MOVING THE EARTH to avoid the collision.
So is it good? Sure thing!
Pacing is excellent as is typical of Honda. Acting is good with several Honda regulars (watch Destroy all Monsters then watch Gorath and you'll see the crossover). And the tone is properly set and maintained. It is a sort of foreboding but purposeful tone. Duty is a prominent theme in the film. And the model work is both ambitious and effective.
Does it have negatives? Not really. That said, you do have to put on your "suspension of disbelief" hat pretty firmly and not ask questions like:
a) Where are they getting enough rocket fuel for all those motors in Antarctica moving the Earth?
b) Why don't the motors rapidly consume all the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere?
But really it doesn't matter. It's a lot like Atragon (reviewed in another Gatefans post) where you enjoy what's happening and don't overthink how it happens.
Sadly it is hard to get a copy of this. But if you can it is worth it!
