GORGO
(1961)Director: Eugene Lourié
VCI
GORGO
(1961)Director Eugene Lourié was no stranger to the dynamic world of giant monsters, having done THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953) and THE GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959). In the early 60s, he went to England to direct his first color film of the sort, this time with actors in suits (alá Godzilla) playing the mammoth creatures, rather than employing stop motion animation.
Two fisherman (Bill Travers and William Sylvester) capture a prehistoric monster and haul it to England to display in a rich businessman's circus. What they don't realize is that the creature's mother is ten times bigger and comes looking for its child. The angry mother ends up destroying London, piece by piece, before peacefully leaving for the shore with its baby.
GORGO is a classic 75-minute giant monster flick with a huge following due to its 1961 MGM theatrical release amid thrill-seeking baby boomers, followed by decades of late night TV airings. The rubber-suited monsters look like a cross between a Tyrannosaurus and a dragon, and since the director was proficient in miniature special effects, the destruction of London is impressive if you consider when the film was made.
VCI gets an A for effort, but the quality is disappointing because of the film elements at hand. Over the years, GORGO fell into the public domain and became victim to a number of dark, murky, colorless VHS editions. This newer print airs on American Movie Classics from time to time, and was released on laserdisc by The Roan Group several years ago. Finally on DVD, it fairs only slightly better than the PD video versions and 16mm TV prints of years ago.
Since the original negative was not utilized for the transfer, the quality looks too dark and faded for its own good. The colors always appear incorrect, and the fleshtones lean towards the pink side. Darker scenes (such as the nighttime attacks on London) drown out much background detail, creating an overall murkiness. Not the beautiful Technicolor images that some may have caught in its initial release, the widescreen DVD release looks OK at best.
VCI's menus are getting better all the time. This menu shows a newly created image of Gorgo embarking upon some giant skyscrapers that display the different options. When you press a selection, his mouth devours the screen in an uproarious growl.
Extras include a very pink theatrical trailer, a brief photo/poster gallery, and a specially produced, short documentary on the making of the film. The narration (written by noted film historian Tom Weaver) also serves as the liner notes for the accompanying booklet. (George R. Reis)