gojirakun 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.

JLRVancouver '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.

s272112 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.)

loufalce 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 formagain. 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!