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Released by: VCI
Released on: November 9, 2005.
Director: Eugene Lourie
Cast: Bill Travers, William Sylvester, Vincent Winter, Christopher Rhodes, Joseph O'Conor, Bruce Seton, Martin Benson
Year: 1961
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The Movie:
Kind of a British hybrid consisting of elements from the original Godzilla (or, if you will, Gojira) with a little bit of King Kong thrown into the mix for good measure, 1961's Gorgo was directed by Eugene Lourie who had previously helmed The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms in 1953 and The Giant Behemoth in 1959.
An undersea explosion off the coast of Ireland finds two fisherman, Joe Ryan (William Travers) and Sam Slade (William Sylvester) stranded in a small village on the coast. While the locals aren't too excited about their arrival, they soon find that they need their help when a prehistoric monster stomps his way out of the ocean and across their town. The two fisherman are able to use nets to capture the great beast and it is then sold off to a circus run by a wealthy businessman who has the creature shipped off to London where it will be put on display.
What the crew doesn't bargain for is that the monster they have captured is actually a baby version of the mother monster which is over two hundred feet tall and more than a little pissed off that it's having to come to London to get its baby back. And what does a giant monster do when it finds itself wandering around a major metropolitan city? Why go on a spree of massive destruction stomping and smashing anything that gets in its way, that's what, which is exactly what happens for the last twenty five minutes or so of this fun, old fashioned, monster romp.
While the performances are nothing to really write home about, the effects work and the miniature work in Gorgo are actually really good for their time. The 'guy in a rubber suit' monster looks as cool as can be with some fierce glowing red eyes and massive looking claws to give him plenty of smashing power to use on all manner of British landmarks from the London Bridge to the finale in Picadilly Circus. That being said, getting to this point is a bit of a chore. The opening scene is strong enough but it gets a little slow for a while after that as Joe and Sam try to figure out what's up in the town. There are also some really obvious blue screen effects that, althrough they are not with out their old school charm, suck you out of the moment a little bit much like the stock footage inserts used in the movie do.
Even with those flaws, however, Gorgo is fun. Turn off your brain and sit back with a bowl of popcorn and a lemonade and enjoy the nostalgia factor and the epic destruction that only a giant monster movie can deliver and have a good time with it. There isn't much of a social message or a deeper meaning to any of it, it's simply a really entertaining movie and on that level it works quite well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
This new transfer is a little odd. While the image is definitely cleaner and more colorful than the last VCI DVD release of the film, the picture is over matted at 1.85.1 which you'll notice in the opening boat scene where most of the sailors are missing the tops of their heads. If you can get past that, the image isn't half bad. There's still some moderate to heavy grain and some mild print damage in spots but the movie is perfectly watchable. Even with the improved color on this release, however, the movie still doesn't look as robust as it should but regardless, this is a better looking release than its predecessor.
A new English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is supplied that uses the rear channels well during the action and mayhem scenes but is wise enough to leave them aloen during the quieter moments of the movie. Dialogue is fairly clean though there is some hiss in a couple of spots and the music and effects don't have as much punch as one might expect. That being said, the mix is quite serviceable and of average quality for a movie of this age. An alternate French Dolby Digital Mono dub is also included.
The main extra feature is a ten minute documentary that explores the origins of Gorgo and details the men responsible for bringing it to the big screen. The liner notes that Tom Weaver supplied for the first VCI release of the film are now used as the narration for this documentary that is made up of film clips, still photographs, and promotional materials. It gives us a nice overview of what went in to making the movie and how it all come together.
Aside from that, we get a trailer for Gorgo, trailers for a few other VCI releases like Blood And Black Lace, Ruby, Horrors Of The Black Musem, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, and City Of The Dead, and text biographies for Lourie, Sylvester and Travers.
The Final Word:
A fun giant monster romp that takes a while to get going but ultimately delivers the destruction we all crave from the genre gets a decent face lift from VCI. Gorgo is a fun movie and it's available at a really reasonably price making this one worth a look for fans of guys in rubber suits stomping on miniatures.