Customer Reviews

Gorgo [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like many of you, I first saw GORGO as a child at the neighborhood theater back in 1961. I was impressed by "this towering apparition from before the dawn of history". The years have not erased that impression. But various video releases have not been so kind. This VCI release is the best of them all! Having said that, I regret to add, it could have been better.

THE CASE admirably reproduces the US movie poster, although it looks a bit dark. Compare it to the halfsheet poster presented in the "photo gallery" section of the "special features". Why they didn't use the distinctive logotype on the spine instead of that blobby font is a mystery. The back could use some design makeover, but that's just me....

THE INSERT is a single fold affair with the front cover reproduced in case you missed it on the cover. Inside is the printed narration from the "behind-the-scene short" in case you want to read it. The back lists the chapter stops. Nice insert, though I wish there was a different graphic on its cover.

THE DISK itself reproduces, in dark green, a portion of the poster with the GORGO logotype. Well done.

THE MOVIE. VCI does present this film in its original theatrical aspect ratio -- stated on the back cover as 1.66:1, though it does look a bit wider. The color is good and the sound is clear. There are a few scratches but they don't distract. Grain is evident. Although it's not stated anywhere, VCI reportedly made their transfer from a pristine 35mm print. It may be the same transfer used for an earlier laserdisc release. I don't get the feeling it was made for the DVD. Unfortunately, the image is not as sharp as it could be. I would assume the pristine 35mm print was sharp -- the image on this DVD is not. Perhaps that's my only major complaint on this release. But, at least for me, it's a big one. GORGO is only 78 minutes in length. The bitrate rarely rises above 5Mbps -- there's LOTS of room on this disk for future anamorphic enhancement. Even with the extras.

MOTION MENUS. There is an animated menu screen that's vaguely reminiscent of the Emmerich GODZILLA animated menu screen insofar as it shakes a bit and an animated big Gorgo walks behind some traffic lights and skyscraper-type blocky office buildings with a roar you'd give good money to shut up every time you need to use the menu. Looks cheap and cutesy.

CHAPTER SEARCH. This is a series of three cutesy billboards. Navigation's a bit awkward but I've seen worse.

PHOTO GALLERY. About a dozen images including the aforementioned halfsheet repro and stills mounted on more cutesy billboards. I wished they'd skip the billboards and make the photos bigger!

BEHIND-THE-SCENE SHORT. Ten minutes of interesting, informative background information regarding the film's genesis. The text is reproduced in the liner notes.

ORIGINAL THEATRICAL TRAILER. In widescreen! Though the colors are faded it's great to see. Since the film was first released in Japan, it would have been interesting to see that one. Unfortunately, there are three -- totally non-related -- trailers that should not have been included on this disk.

NOTABLY ABSENT. No subtitles, in any language. No closed-captioning.

BOTTOM LINE. Right now, if you want the best-looking currently available GORGO, this is it. I only wish it were better. I hope MGM does an anamorphic release from the original elements with lots of extras. But I'm not holding my breath.

I first saw "Gorgo" as a kid, when it was released theatrically in 1961--in fact, I went to see it several times. To this day, it is one of my favourite "giant monster on the loose" films. I suppose the quickest way to describe "Gorgo"

is to say that this was Britain's answer to Godzilla, Japan's iconic creature of destruction. However, I still find "Gorgo" several cuts above most films of this type.

Two rather unscrupulous divers/salvagers (Bill Travers and William Sylvester) capture a huge, prehistoric beast (it looks like an over-sized, aquatic T-Rex) off the coast of Ireland. Ignoring pleas from the Irish government and scientists who want to study this amazing animal, our two "heroes" are more interested in someone who will "show me the money !" That "someone" is a circus-owner in London, where the creature is put on display for the ticket-buying public. However, when scientists do their homework, they conclude that this "huge" animal is really just a baby ! Could there be a parent somewhere ? You bet ! "Mom" appears--all 200 feet of her--mad as hell, and headed straight for London. Can the Royal Navy stop her ? Fuggedaboutit ! The Airforce ? Just like swatting flies ! The Army ? They might as well use pea-shooters ! "Mom" reaches London--trashes the Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus etc. before rescuing junior. Memo to Man--don't mess with Mother Nature !

One reason that "Gorgo" is superior to similar films is the cast. Travers and Sylvester are both good actors, although child-star, Vincent Winter, steals every scene he is in. Eagle-eyed film buffs will also spot Nigel Green for about five seconds. For 1961, I would rate the special effects as well above average. While both creatures are "men in suits", careful editing ensures that your sense of belief can still be suspended. The model work is particularly good--the scenes of destruction are very effective for a 45-year old film. The cinematography is top-notch, hardly surprising when you see that Freddie Young was responsible. Angelo Lavagnino's music score is also to be praised.

"Gorgo" was directed by Eugene Lourie, the third of his "giant lizard trilogy". In 1953, Mr. Lourie unleashed the first film in this genre, "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (with a lot of help from the king of stop-motion animation, Ray Harryhausen), and in 1958 he attacked us with "The Giant Behemoth". "Gorgo", however, was the only one in colour.

The quality of this DVD is excellent--widescreen, nice colour. For years I had to suffer with an awful VHS tape--even two different laserdiscs were not a major improvement. The DVD also includes an interesting behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the film, a photo gallery and several biographies. Kudos to VCI also for the cute menu--I will not spoil it for would-be purchasers--let's just say that the scene of London has been "updated" !

For reasons of personal nostalgia, I would give this DVD 4 1/2 stars. Younger viewers, used to CGI wizardry, may find the title monsters a bit quaint, but this is a handsome film, well acted and the finale is refreshingly different to many such movies. If you like "creature features", "Gorgo" belongs in your collection. Recommended.

I saw Gorgo when it was first released in the movies in 1960 and I'm probably the movie's biggest fan. This 'Destruction Edition' release by VCI is the first serious print of the movie to be sold. The bonfire scene on Nara Island where Gorgo makes his first appearance is restored to visual perfection. It looks like it was actually printed from the negative as do many other scenes in this release. It seems like all the criticism heaped on VCI for releasing the atrocious previous version with its near black scenes paid off. The fans of Gorgo , which are many, deserved and got this restoration. Unfortunately the glee I felt initially with seeing Gorgo finally restored was short lived when the most bizarre thing occurred.

I began to notice the soundtrack was cheaply tampered with in an attempt to guess 'enhance it'. Now mind you I have seen probably ten different video releases of Gorgo all of which had awful print quality but the movie's soundtrack was never ruined or doctored in any way. Now finally we have a decent restoration of the print and what happens some genius at VCI instead of just enhancing the volume of Gorgo which has one of the greatest soundtracks in monster movie history

, they decide instead to do the unthinkable and tamper with it by adding the tinny lifeless roar used in the DVD screensaver and drowning out the masterful original monster sounds in the movie. They also add echoes and assorted sirens and machine gun fire. So you hear machine guns in a scene where three guys are shooting with rifles. These baffling alterations undo much of the great visual restoration VCI made an admirable effort to attain and I have to say ruin the outcome making many key scenes seem to fall out of synch. It's an annoying distraction that sabotages the robust power and flow the movie's sound is known for. A classic is a a classic because of it's special unique qualities that the public loves about them, the best we can do is preserve them not change them. Not to mention the violations of artistic ethics and integrity. Imagine changing King Kong's roar or Fay Wray's scream.

Oh well,maybe this will set up the release of a VCI corrected version. We'll buy it.

I remember this film showing on TV in NY, well, it seemed like every Saturday when I was a kid. It came with one of the funniest typical TV Guide blurbs I remember from those days, something like: "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring that prehistoric monster back to London. Now its mother is coming looking for it." And that was it. And that IS it. That's the plot. Ambitious get-rich-quick guys find monster, bring it back to London over the objections of local boy who is wiser than all the adults in the picture, put it on display a la King Kong or Mighty Joe Young, and find something two or three times larger marching up the Thames Estuary soon after looking for its offspring. Plenty of mayhem ensues, of course. This is not quite up there with the classic Japanese monster films, but it will entertain you. The extras on the DVD are good too.

The first thing you should know about VCI's "Gorgo-Widescreen Destruction Edition" is that it is missing about 2 or 3 minutes of footage, confirmed by the fact that its running time has been reduced to 73 minutes, although the box lists the full 76 minute version. The first problem you will encounter when watching the films is during Angelo Lavagnino's excellent opening score when there seems to be an echo effect, as if the stereo tracks where out of sync with each other, resulting in the music becoming a garbled mess. Such audio problems occur throughout the feature. Strangely, there seems to have been some additional sound effects added over the original soundtrack. Except for the missing footage, the MGM Technicolor print used for the transfer is in excellent condidtion. As a bonus there is a "behnd the scenes" documentary that, although it runs only about 10 minutes, it is very authoritative and informative. The label on the container is an excellent reproduction of MGM's original poster art. This is one of the worst DVD releases I have yet encounted. It makes me wonder if anyone at VCI bothered to insure that a complete print was being used and that picture and sound are transfered properly. Someone at the company should have at least watched one of the discs before they started shipping them out. Save your money and wait for a better release.

It is unfortunate that this very well-crafted British sci-fi/monster film has had such a lackluster transfer to DVD. The film was originally shot in Technicolor, but you'd never know it from the poor quality print on display here. The colors are somewhat washed out, and the shadow detail is all but non-existent. There are many nightime scenes in the film where practically everything is just...black. Or nearly. This near-classic film (with its many nicely-realized slow-motion shots of the mother and baby creatures tromping through London at night) deserves better treatment.

The special effects are certainly several notches above the Japanese Godzilla films of the era, and hold up nicely even today, thanks to attention to detail in every category....monster design, cinematography, etc. And of course, the film is played dead-seriously, which adds to its appeal.

Too bad the print itself is not up to par.

Another of those "monster on the loose" movies that were popular back in the '50s and '60s. Two sea salvage guys discover a prehistoric creature, presumably resurrected by unusual volcanic activity, off the Irish coast. In typical Grade B movie fashion, they view the creature as a moneymaking opportunity, regardless of other considerations. After the beast is captured, and delivered to a London circus, it is dubbed "Gorgo" based on the Gorgon of Greek Mythology. While the creature languishes in captivity, British paleontologists discover the 65-foot tall animal is actually an "infant." They presume an infant implies a "parent." Things really go "crash, bang, boom!" when Gorgo's angry parent, three times the infant's size, comes calling on London town.

The color photography enhances the excitement as the gigantic creature demolishes familiar London landmarks. Although cliches dominate much of the script, the twist of making the captured creature only an infant sets up an exciting climax. The special effects lean more to the "actor in a rubber monster suit" variety than the excellent stop-motion work of Ray Harryhausen or Willis O'Brien. Some of the stock footage shows American Navy planes taking off from an aircraft carrier, but the planes and their markings turn British while in the air. Upon landing, the planes revert back to American Navy aircraft. The joys of editing, and the delights of unintended humor. Viewing this film is not an intellectual experience, obviously. The movie, however, is explosive Grade B fun for kids of all ages. Knock yourself out. ;-)

They absolutely butchered the audio on this release. The sound would echo from the front to the rear speakers which was very annoying. It was almost unwatchable. This DVD might wind up in the trash.

I bought this on dvd upon it's original release (which left much to be desired but was better than VHS), so I was thrilled to see that it was to be re-released toting that it was widescreen. I bought it hoping that it was anamorphic, but for some reason...it's not. In this day and age where many older and oscure titles now get the red carpet treatment I am sad that this film did not. This was always my favorite non-Godzilla kaiju film and I always hear positive things about it. I'm sure in a couple of years, we'll get the ultramilked, super duper version that will hopefully get better treatment than this release.

Gorgo is a story much like "Godzilla", "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms", "The Behemoth" and "Reptilicus". The plot is very simple, but somewhat different from these other dino-creature features and goes something like this.

The film begins when underwater volcanic activity near Nara Island off the Irish coast somehow delivers a 65-foot Godzilla-like Dinosaur called Gorgo directly upon Nara Island and its people. Two salvage entrepreneurs with a fair-sized ship, played by Bill Travers as Joe and William Sylvester as Sam, have received storm damage from the resulting earthquake. As they arrive at Nara, they witness a lucrative gold salvage operation underway. With their appetites for gold of their own whetted, they propose a cut of the already-salvaged Nara Island treasure for themselves in exchange for "getting rid of the beast". When Dorkins Circus in London adds the allure of a percentage of the gross for taking Gorgo alive, our reluctant heros capture Gorgo and transport the now restrained red-eyed monster to London. They do a booming business after Gorgo is shown being transported to Dorkins Circus through downtown London while newsmen, television cameras and thousands of people watch in awe.

All seems well until Gorgo's enormous parent, definitely over 200 feet tall, follows a stream of water used to keep Gorgo from "drying out" arrives on the scene in search of what we now realize is just a "baby Gorgo". With England's combined armed forces pitted against this outraged parent, London is quite effortlessly trampled, flattened and totally trashed as this devoted parent seeks to rescue its baby that had obviously wandered errantly a little bit too far from its nursery.

Admittedly, this sounds like standard fare, but it is a superior film and does hold our interest. While it is true that the film lacks the Ray Harryhausen touch, it isn't "Reptilicus" either. Unlike "Reptilicus", the monsters are in many of the frames with their human opponents, making for beleivable action. Also, the protagonists are often directly involved face-to-face with the Gorgos, not just extras and bit players. The editing and pacing are crisp, much like "Godzilla - King of the Monsters", but with a style more like the "Behemoth" or "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" which Eugene Lourie also directed. It is also in color, unlike these earlier efforts, which makes everything seem more lifelike, including the undersea sequences and the Gorgos' deep red, glowing eyes. "Reptilicus", filmed a year later in 1962, was also in color but appeared fake in almost every way. Also, we got alot of time dealing with Gorgo and wasted no time on frivolity such as "Tivoli Nights" in "Reptilicus" or with trying to convince the authorities that there actually is a monster as in the other creature-features. The Special Effects for a modest budget film of 1961 were certainly more than adequate and the plot and characterizations were first-rate. Even the ending for this one is different. Without spoiling it, let's just say it is a satisfying one if you are routing for the dinosaurs (which I always am).

When evaluating this type of film we need to remember that this is a very limited genre in both timeframe and number of films. If you look at the films made between 1950-1962 you basically have about a dozen real feature films in this giant-dinosaur-runs-amok-and-is-more-than-humankind-can-handle genre. Keeping this in mind, "Gorgo" is a "MUST-SEE" for fans of this genre.

ABOUT THE VIDEO QUALITY: The transfer is good and in SP mode. The video quality is better than the audio, but this is a 44-year-old film.

In most televised versions of this film, many of the most exciting sequences are deleted due to time constraints. One that is in this video is a long but very useful scene where the Baby Gorgo is paraded through London and we see a very likelike [if that is possible] and lifesize Baby Gorgo restained and chained down on a huge flat-bed trailer going through Piccadilly Circus. Eventually the scene gets to Dorkins' Circus where a photographer takes a flash snapshot which awakens the baby and a man is killed in the fracas where we can see Gorgo at the correct scale fighting to free itself from its human captors. This is probably the most realistic scene in the movie and is usually edited out of the TV version. Go figure!

A DVD is slated to be offered in October 2005 and should be widely available for under $10.00. Count me in!