Gorath (1962) User Reviews

Don't let the Giant Walrus scare you away

[HEFILM · 7/10 · 9 August 2005]

Gorath is not the name of a giant Walrus in the Japanese version of this film. Though not badly done, as giant Walruses go, this is not a giant Walrus film. It's as you can see by other reviews a space/disaster film. The Walrus and one other scene of a group of men deciding to spontaneously sing a song while flying in a helicopter are really the only two bad moments in the film. I guess the Walrus is gone from the American print which might be just as well, though the widescreen FX and photography really need to be seen letter-boxed to be appreciated.

Overall this is a pretty large scale disaster film with many, and mostly good, miniatures, a number of them on a very large scale, fleets of ships, the Arctic, Tokyo being flooded etc. The whole film moves much better than the American film WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and is especially helped by a very good musical score that reminds me of those done by James Bernhard for Hammer horror films.

The killer "star" which gives the films is named Gorath and it is quite well done as are all the space effects. This film will disappoint giant monster fans since the giant monster is only in a couple of scenes, but those who like science fiction films will find a pretty serious and mostly credible film here, one that looks far newer than it's actual age. Recommended to fans of director Honda and certainly those of Japanese Science fiction, those who prefer films that actually work rather than those that are just silly and insane. I enjoy both types and found this film to be well worth checking out, letter-boxed and in Japanese at least. Oh as is typical, even in the Japanese language version, some characters do speak English occasionally

Spaceship Earth

[henri sauvage · 7/10 · 21 May 2011]

"Gorath" is the last, and by some standards the best, of Ishiro Honda's "space trilogy" of the late 50s/early 60s.

Once again, Honda explores the theme of humankind forced to work together against an extraterrestrial adversary. Only this time we're not facing aliens, but something far more deadly, and utterly implacable: a runaway stellar remnant which for some unexplained reason the authorities name "Gorath". Composed of collapsed matter -- which gives it a mass and gravitational pull far out of proportion to its relatively small size -- even a near-miss (in cosmic terms) would render the Earth uninhabitable.

It can't be blown up, and there's no way to change its orbit. Obviously, there's nothing left to do but build a bunch of enormous hydrogen fusion rocket engines at the South Pole and move our planet out of its way. (If there's one thing you could never fault Honda for, it's a lack of imagination, even if the physics of the thing are completely impossible.)

This is definitely a more somber and slower-paced outing than those two earlier films. Instead of the almost non-stop skirmishing between the Earth forces and dastardly aliens which typified the previous films in the trilogy, the drama lies in humanity's desperate race against time, to save itself with the biggest, most complex feat of engineering ever attempted. So, despite its typically energetic Akira Ifukube score, this one naturally lacks some of the naive charm and relentless drive which distinguished the colorfully juvenile "The Mysterians" and "Battle in Outer Space".

What makes this film a standout in its own right, though, is that it contains what might just be the Tsuburaya team's most impressive miniature work ever. You must see this in letterbox, in the original Japanese version, to fully appreciate its scope and grandeur, specially the extended montage depicting the rocket motors' construction at the South Pole. (I believe Honda must have been heavily influenced here by the "remaking of Everytown" sequence in 1937's "Things to Come", even down to the musical theme Ifukube composed for it.)

Plus there are nicely executed spaceship and space station models and effects, not to mention some fairly imaginative visuals as Gorath careens through the solar system. (The original version comes with a bonus: the totally unnecessary -- to the plot, anyway -- giant prehistoric walrus.) The earthquake and tsunami sequence which takes place as Gorath makes its closest approach to Earth is, in fact, rather eerie to watch in the light of recent events.

Unfortunately, though, the tsunami -- along with a few seconds of recycled footage of a landslide from "The Mysterians" -- are about the only glimpses we're ever given of Gorath's devastating effects. So even with what must have been a substantially bigger budget than either of the two preceding films in the trilogy, the ending feels rushed, and a bit of a letdown.

Regardless of my nit-picking, "Gorath" is still well worth watching, a truly unique movie both for this director, and in its own apocalyptic genre.

Collision course

[unbrokenmetal · 5/10 · 25 September 2008]

Quite hilarious to watch. So many miniatures were used in the production that it feels a bit like revisiting the toy shop where you used to go as a child. "Yosei Gorasu" tells a variation of a familiar storyline "planet on collision course with Earth" insofar as its logical conclusion is not "blow up the invader" but "try and move the Earth out of the way", and for that purpose, an assembly of huge rocket engines is built in the Antarctic region which normally should take 20 years, but they manage the calculation, transport and construction work in a week or so. While any scientist will cringe, the producers openly admit the end of the world is not so serious after all by adding a giant walrus = a guy in a suit who appears without any reason and attacks a power station. The most impressive scenes are those of the flood sweeping Tokyo: a lot of miniatures again with attention to detail, the best you could do in 1962. Mixed bag, but it has memorable moments.

When Worlds Collide-Japanese Style

[Eric-62-2 · 3 October 2003]

This Japanese take on the kind of story first pioneered by "When Worlds Collide" and done less effectively in later years in "Meteor", "Armageddon" etc. has been called Toho's greatest sci-fi movie ever by some. It's certainly a fairly intelligent effort overall, done with top of the line (for its time) FX. I was glad to see it in its original Japanese format, widescreen with subtitles (and with the rather pointless scene involving giant walrus Magma) and found it quite entertaining overall, certainly the equal of "When Worlds Collide" and light years ahead of the American takes on the story that followed. My only quibble was why Gorath was referred to as a "star", when it is clearly too small to be so categorized, and should have been referred to as a runaway planet (was Toho afraid of getting sued for ripping off "When Worlds Collide" if they categorized it as a planet?).

Fans of the wonderful 1960 disaster movie "The Last Voyage" will recognize George Furness, who played Third Officer Osborne in that film, as the UN Secretary-General. Furness was a lawyer living in Japan who had enough acting talent to not only play westerners in Japanese movies, but to get good roles in American movies shot in Japan like "The Last Voyage" too.

If this story was real, we would have no moon.

[OllieSuave-007 · 6/10 · 21 December 2004]

An "End of Days" sort epic from Japan's Toho studios, bring together Godzilla's founding father-team of Tanaka, Honda, and Tsuburaya to work on this film, minus a musical score by Akira Ifukube. Another good story-line, where a meteor is on its course to Earth and is predicted to destroy the entire planet completely. Therefore, it's up to the Japanese eggheads to dodge the flying fireball. As always, Toho sci-fi films are very imaginative, but this one takes the cake: move the Earth with huge rockets to dodge the meteor, with the Moon being destroyed in the process. Very far-fetched, but yet, pure sci-fi action.

Veteran actresses Kumi Mizuno and Yumi Shirakawa shine. Akira Kubo, known for his type-casted hero portrayals, is very annoying in this film though. Aside from that, an average film that could have used more monster scenes and action, instead of the usual scientist concoctions to save the world. I have got to say that even though Takeshi Kimura, known for his more somber stories, wrote the screenplay, there are a few funny scenes, including the part where Shirakawa's character bangs the door on her brother's head after he was caught eavesdropping on a meeting with the lead scientist.

If you choose to watch this film, I recommend watching the original Japanese version, as the American version cuts out scenes that include Magma, the gigantic walrus.

Grade C+

Last Good Effort Of Their Golden Age...

[xerses13 · 6/10 · 27 January 2009]

GORATH/Yosei Gorasu (1962) is TOHOs' take on the 'end of the world' disaster film. That theme seems to be near and dear to every motion picture company in the world sometime or another. Whether a localized disaster or universal Armageddon there's boffo box-office in seeing masses of humanity and their works trashed.

The film is made too the level of the limited budget and technical skills of the Japanese film industry of the time. That did not make it a poor film though and the subject was treated with respect. Unlike TOHOs' next fantasy film KING KONG vs GODZILLA/Kingu Kongu tai Gojira (1962) where the slide to camp kiddie fare began.

THE NUTS; GORATH which can be best described as a Red Dwarf Star is on a collision course with the Earth. The solution, move the Earths orbit North by 400,000 Kilometers (est.280,000 Miles) which would tilt the orbital plane allowing GORATH to pass. How to do it, lots of Fusion Rockets at the South Pole. The main focus of the movie is the building of the Rockets and scenes of major destruction with GORATHs' passing. In addition there is a bonus Monster/Kaiju of a Giant Walrus that looks like stuffed foam rubber and which was eliminated from U.S.A. release.

Though not up to THE MYSTERIANS/Chikyu Boeigun (1957) it's as good as BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE/Uchu daisenso (1959). It is the last of the 'Space Operas' from 'The Golden Age' of the Japanese fantasy film. Films that we find more enjoyable then those made in the Eastern Block countries and laterally Italy. It is best to get the original Japanese release versions of these films. They are more coherent in their original edit and dubbing translation.

Yôsei Gorasu: Unforgivably dull

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 14 December 2018]

Despite what you'd think being a Toho movie, Gorath isn't a giant beastie in fact dependent on which version you watch there may not be a beastie at all.

Gorath tells the standard story of a meteor heading towards Earth that will destroy the planet and the efforts of its people to prevent catastrophe. The aforementioned beastie only exists in the original Japanese version and was entirely edited out the American version for some reason. Probably best as it brought nothing to the movie and the giant seal monster did look a tad goofy.

The core theme of the movie is a world united, a message that we need more than ever at time of writing.

It follows a very commonly used plot and doesn't bring anything new to the table at all. With all the usual 60's sci-fi tropes it's well below par for a Toho film.

The Good:

That Toho charm

The Bad:

Doesn't look that great even for its time

Really quite boring stuff

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

It was global law that all sci-fi movies needed to have that same sound effect, you know the one!

I understand that Toho had a small talent pool and hired the same people, but why are the most talented ones usually the smaller roles?

Did Anybody Realize The Friggin' Moon Was Destroyed?!

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 17 December 2020]

Akin to the mythological planet Nibiru, a rogue star called Gorath is hurtling through space, on a collision course with Earth.

Thus, Japan sends a spacecraft called the JX-1 to investigate, but it isn't able to escape Gorath's gravitational pull, and ends up crashing into it...on Christmas day, no less.

Though, not before it's able to send data back to Earth.

Turns out, it is 6000 times the mass of Earth, but only 1/3 it's size.

To address the issue, an emergency meeting is held at the UN.

They decide to install thrusters at the South Pole, and use nuclear fuel to blast the jets, in order to move the Earth out of the path of this deadly star.

A second mission is, thus, sent into space to monitor the situation.

And they discover that this rogue body has actually grown to 6200 times the mass of Earth.

Therefore, if they don't recalculate the numbers, they might not be providing enough thrust to move the planet out of the way.

And to make matters worse, they have melted the southern ice cap, and released a kaiju walrus, which attacks one of their stations.

Leaving them with the decision of whether to kill this unknown specimen, or risk the destruction of the entire Earth.

On top of this, Gorath takes out the moon as it approaches, and has caused one of the space pilots to experience amnesia (or perhaps, possessed him in some sort of way).

Now, only divine intervention can save the human race from extinction.

Earthquakes, avalanches, and tidal waves wreak havoc on the face of the planet, as Gorath gets closer and closer.

Like a bad dream, the Newtonian apocalypse has become a reality...only, 98 years too early...

If the Earth is to survive this too close for comfort call...it will be due to science, luck...or perhaps a powerful telurgist.

The real heroes always go unsung...

But their problems aren't over yet...as they still need to put the Earth back into it's proper orbit...and seem to have forgotten that the moon was destroyed in the process.

That doesn't stop them from concluding with a moral message that all obstacles can be overcome if only we are able to work together as one race...the human race.

Call it a Christmas miracle.

6.5 out of 10.

I'm convinced the special effects are done with 'Hot Wheels' cars

[s272112 · 3/10 · 26 January 2008]

Yosei Gorasu, also known as "Gorath" in the United States is a movie about a giant asteroid (Gorath) heading for Earth, dooming our planet to destruction. How will we survive this doomsday device, you ask? Have no fear, the Japanese are here! Using ultra high-tech gear, the Japanese build rocket boosters on the South Pole to push Earth out of Gorath's path, and saving us from certain doom. Hooray!

What the movie doesn't address, however, is the fact that if Earth were pushed out of it's orbit, we would all die anyway because of our delicate climate which hinges on our distance from the Sun. Disrupt that, and Earth is going down in flames, Gorath or not. I'm not sure if this is meant to be funny or serious, but with a budget probably bordering on somewhere near $150, I have to tell myself it sucked this bad on purpose. If that's not the case, then I give the makers of Gorath an E for effort, but the movie itself I have to give an F for failure. (3/10 instead of 1/10 entirely because there are times it is so horrible it is funny.)

This is a fairly slow science fiction picture with some great scenes sprinkled in here and there

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 28 January 2022]

Gorath (1962) is a Toho classic that I recently found on a random streaming service. The storyline follows a giant rock on its way to collide with Earth destroying mankind. A group of scientists set out for the South Pole to build a missile site in hopes of destroying the rock before it collides with us. They'll have time against them as well as other issues in the South Pole as they try to save the planet.

This movie is directed by Ishirô Honda (Godzilla, 1954) and stars Ryô Ikebe (Pale Flowers), Akira Kubo (Sanjuro), Kumi Mizuno (Ebirah), Akihiko Hirata (Godzilla, 1954), Kenji Sahara (Godzilla, 1954) and Takashi Shimura (Ikiru).

The storyline is fairly slow and focuses on the science of the circumstances. The models and "toys" created to create the South Pole and outer space scenes were excellent and very well done. The walrus in this is legendary. The acting and dialogue in this is pretty solid for a science fiction picture. They did do a good job of creating drama heading into the final conclusion.

Overall this is a fairly slow science fiction picture with some great scenes sprinkled in here and there. I would score this a 5.5/10 and only recommend it to diehard science fiction genre fans.

More Japanese Fantasy Garbage.

[Zorin-2 · 1/10 · 28 April 1999]

Even though from the director of the original "Godzilla, King of the Monsters", "Gorath" still stinks. I bought this for $.49 from a video store, and it wasn't even worth that. When I bought it, I expected it to be a low budget 60's American made film. Boy was I wrong. It's a Japanese cheapy with very bad dubbing and my video version doesn't even have any cast credited. What does that tell you? The premesis is about an out-of-control planet heading for Earth, and the the people have to push the Earth out of orbit with rockets, which is very far fetched. Doesn't even compare to the modern "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact". 1 out of 10.

Japan's TOHO Studio follows George Pal's lead in WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, just as they followed his WAR OF THE WORLDS with THE MYSTERIANS.

[hideyotsuburaya · 9/10 · 1 March 2007]

U.S. version GORATH editor @Brenco Pictures was none other than KENNETH WANNBERG in his 'salad days', who's of course gone onto be John Williams right-hand man as music editor on STAR WARS, et. al. (an interesting thematic link). I once asked him about it and he said way back then he carried around a print of GORATH in his car trunk as part of his resume.

Certain U.S. release advertising states "in stereophonic sound", which I can assure you is domestic wishful thinking (the same applies to Brenco Pictures distributed THE HUMAN VAPOR). Not so the original Japanese release, which can boast (authentic) stereo track.

Frederick S. Clarke, late CINEFANTASTIQUE mag. editor/publisher, said he thought GORATH contained the best Toho Co. special-effects work of all their outer-space films. I agree.

Stan Timmons (BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA in print) remarked he thought the dubbed-voices in the English GORATH version sound all like old Rocky & Bulwinkle cartoons. Well yes, they do.

And GORATH actor George Farness, mentioned in another viewer comment, not only has a major role in THE LAST VOYAGE, but also narrates that film.

Director Ishiro Honda did GORATH immediately before KING KONG VS. GODZILLA in 1962. Yes this truly was the golden age of TOHO. But from what I've heard in the past this film's not highly regarded by fans in his home country.

Ponderous disaster story

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 30 November 2021]

Taking a break from his giant monster movies, Ishiro Honda here offers us an end-of-the-world outer space tale in which Earth is menaced by a giant planet seemingly on a collision course with our own. It's a slow moving and rather ponderous tale which feels like a precursor to ARMAGEDDON at times. Takashi Shimura is a welcome presence in support, but the whole thing is so talky that it takes a very long time to get anywhere, and only the extended climax - involving the usual destruction and giant monster mayhem - livens things up to a degree.

A Classic From The Golden Age of Toho

[PetPost · 1 August 1999]

This film is one of my favorites from Toho's "Golden Age" and one of the three "space operas" directed by Ishiro Honda. A giant asteroid with a huge magnetic field is growing by absorbing everything in its path...a path which puts it on a course to Earth. How will man survive? Easy---through the conviction and determination of Japanese will-power and ingenuity, the Earth is pushed out of orbit after giant engines are built at the South Pole. But is it enough to get the Earth out of the path of Gorath?

One scene that most Americans have never seen is the appearance of MAGMA, a giant prehistoric walrus which was awakened by the heat generated at the South Pole by the massive engines. After some initial destruction, the monster is killed by beams fired from a VTOL vehicle (which would see a new life in the TV series, "Ultraman" as the "Jet Beetle.")

Kumi Mizuno shines as one of the female leads with a great bathtub scene when Akira Kubo comes knocking on her door.

Japan's answer to When World's Collide

[Vigilante-407 · 8/10 · 23 January 1999]

This movie just proves that the main theme of Science Fiction movies in 1997 is not a new thing. The idea of large planetary bodies crashing into Earth has been a sci-fi movie idea since the time of When World's Collide.

Gorath is a planet (which looks like a small star) that is on a collision course with the Earth. Mankind unites to come up with a rather unique way to avert total destruction. It's not Armageddon or Deep Impact...but if often seems better acted than either of those huge-budgeted B-movies.

One of the better Japanese sci-fi films.

[boris-26 · 3 March 2001]

GORATH (1962) begins with a Japanese Space Exploration ship fatally encountering a run-away planet smaller than Earth, but much greater in mass. It is now up to Earth scientists to build rocket boosters at the South Pole in order to move the Earth out of it's orbit. For logic, GORATH is a scientific mess (One scientist watches Gorath suck up the moon "The moon's gone. But it gives us the boost we need!") Huh? However, GORATH is a charming sci-fi film. Akira Kubo (A Japanese actor who resembles Speed Racer) is the astronaut who takes on a suicidal space mission to observe Gorath when his relationship with a young woman is at it's lowest ebb. His return to Earth, as a shell-shocked wreck is quite touching. Tsuburaya's minatures are also at a low here. The space scenes a re quite beautiful and haunting despite that. Basically, GORATH, for all it's screenwriting and cinematograhic faults, has an entertaining charm.

Good Toho Sci-Fi

[loufalce · 8/10 · 28 March 2007]

Another gem from Toho. This time a giant meteor called Gorath is on a collision course with Earth. After being discovered by the Japanese space team, scientists here on Earth try to figure out how to stop it . Putting aside their differences for a while, we come up with a plan to literally move Earth itself!Even though I have never seen the original Japanese version- which supposedly includes a giant walrus, there is enough going on that this would not matter. There are sequences set in space that feature a spacewalk that happened in real life a few years after this film was shot. There is a fantastic sequence involving the construction project at the South Pole that features some first rate model animation with all those great Aurora choppers and Revell ship models we all built as kids.Honda and Tsubaraya are in top form

again. This one deserves to be better known. Call it a Kaiju film without a monster, it still is great entertainment and is far more entertaining than the much later "Armageddon" and "Deep Impact" Check it out!

When Worlds Collide, Japanese Style

[Sargebri · 23 July 2003]

This was the first Japanese film that I saw that didn't rely on a giant monster to make it an interesting story (there is a giant monster, but it is mainly used as filler). Essentially, the message of this film is about how the people of Earth should learn to cooperate, especially when faced with extinction. We do not need an extreme threat like an onrushing planetoid to learn to cooperate due to the fact that we have such threats as global warming, pollution, crime and hunger that are already eating away at us. Also, I hope one day that an uncut version of this film is released in this country. The message of this film has all but been hacked to pieces by the American distributors of this classic piece of Japanese science fiction.

classy 1962 movie

[r-c-s · 8/10 · 29 March 2007]

This movie presents some shortcoming typical of TOHO/low budget Japanese productions, EG some miniatures look like garage sale toys and some SFX are poor, yet i found it extremely enjoyable. Remember it was 1962, much before big budgeted Hollywood movies. The movie is easily watchable (got a letter-boxed edition), images are very clear, SFX very good period-wise. The plot (albeit very simple) unfolds nicely. There are many far fetched assumptions and scientific nonsense, EG the moon gets destroyed, earth is moved 400.000 km, YET nothing major happens as Gorath drifts away in the deep space. The space mission obsession continues. In 1982 (that's when Gorath was supposed to collide with earth ) they portray dozens of space stations, and tremendous ease to travel upto Saturn, Jupiter etc. We're 25 years past 1982 and not the tiniest fraction of such advancements has been made. There are a few subplots, which do not get in the way. Character development is extremely limited, if any. All in all an enjoyable movie worth watching twice. I saw the giant walrus, too. I suppose it was a diversion to improve the rhythm, which was running in circles around the Pole operation. A giant planet, whose extension is barely 3/4 earth's but whose mass is 6000+ times, is on collision course with earth. A first space mission perishes while trying to investigate the matter. Yet UN scientists have been alerted and plan to install reactors to the pole to propel earth 400.000 away, to avoid Gorath's devastating gravity. Pretty much all there.

The scientific rationale behind stars of incredible density/gravity was popular back then and stemmed from (incorrect) assumptions about the origins of gamma ray bursts first uncovered by US spy satellites looking for Soviet nuclear tests. Gamma ray bursts (according to a theory popular back then) originated from Gorasu kind of stars.

Well done 'hard' science fiction film from Toho

[jamesrupert2014 · 8/10 · 20 February 2018]

'Gorath' is a super-massive stellar core careening through the solar system on a collision course with Earth and our only hope is to push our planet out of the way. While not really a scientifically sound premise or production, Gorath is much 'harder' science fiction than Toho's monster films, with characters discussing issues such as gravity, orbits, thrust requirements for moving the Earth etc., as they count down to what may be Doomsday. As 1960's tokusatsu go, the movie has great design and production values, especially the miniature sets, the vehicles (the VTOL planes are quite clever), the 'disaster scenes', and the 'outer space' segments. There are some pacing problems (we are treated to a helicopter tour of Japan while a bunch of astronauts sing), an unnecessary side plot involving an astronaut with amnesia, and, most egregiously, a gratuitous kaiju in the form of an immense walrus* (allegedly inserted against director Ishiro Honda's wishes). The walrus, "Maguma", is a one-timer in Toho's kaiju zoo, not evening earning a cameo in the multi-monster epics "Destroy All Monsters" (1968) and "Final Wars" (2004), which is just as well as the suit is not very convincing and looks jarringly out of place compared to the meticulously detailed models of "Operation South Pole", Earth's final hope. While the special effects in science fiction films of this vintage cannot compare with modern CGI (1969's "2001, A Space Odyssey" being an exception), Gorath is a fun, creative and imaginative film that showcases the talent of the Toho's production team in the 1960's and is well worth watching. *The walrus scenes are cut from the dubbed American release of the film, my comments pertain to an English-subtitled Japanese version, which is worth finding if you want to view the entire film.

Japan's wacky idea to make Earth a spaceship

[gojirakun · 9/10 · 13 July 2018]

Gosh darn it, I thought this was better than Gojira (1954) and Rodan (1956). The plot is extremely unique, interesting, and realistic. The mechanics in this movie was pretty kickass and cool. JX-2, Capsule No.1, UN VTOL... It's just great. I thought Magma (the kaiju in this movie) was pretty cool. That walrus looking face was quite charming, but it's a bummer that he didn't get that much screen time. Now let's talk about Gorath. The prop's base was made by an acrylic ball. It's texture made it look like a dangerous star. Any I'll give this movie a 9/10, you should probably watch it, it's pretty good. Here's Leonyan signing off.