Gorath

Early in 1979, the Interstellar Exploration Agency launches Japanese rocket ship, the JX-1 Hayabusa, into space on a nine month journey to investigate Saturn. At its conclusion however, the crew is given a new mission after scientists discover a runaway "planet", which the International Astronomical Union nicknamed "Gorath", is somehow running amok. Upon encountering and while investigating Gorath's rapid movement through the Solar System, the JX-1 Hayabusa crew discover it is smaller than Earth, yet has 6,000 times its gravity. They manage to transmit their data back to Earth before an enormous gravity well destroys the ship, killing the crew.

A month later in 1980, astronomers and astrophysicists throughout the international community announce that Gorath will collide with the Earth in two years time. At the United Nations, a gathering of Earth's top scientists attempt to resolve the situation by pooling together large amounts of technical advancements they made in the past two decades. After a debriefing, the scientific community reveals the South Pole Operation, which involves a base in Antarctica designed to house a large international team of engineers and scientists and the construction of huge "mega-thrusters" which will propel the Earth out of Gorath's path within 100 days and move Earth back once the danger has passed. The U.N. approves and sends the prototype sub-light spacecraft JX-2 Otori into space to obtain further data on Gorath.

Construction on the South Pole Operation base goes underway as ships and helicopters from several nations bring in building material and powerful, mobile heat-generating devices known as atomic burrowers are quickly cobbled together to assist in creating the caverns required to house the mega-thrusters. Meanwhile, the JX-2 Otori crew succeeds in its mission, learning that Gorath is absorbing space debris within its gravity well to continuously add to its mass, and transmit the data to U.N. space stations. On Earth, the mega-thrusters are activated for a test run while citizens from around the world watch on a live broadcast. As the Earth gently moves, the South Pole Operation is hailed as a success. The JX-2 Otori and space stations learn of this development and are ordered to return to deny Gorath more mass.

However, the heat generated by the mega-thrusters causes a giant, walrus-like monster later dubbed "Maguma" to emerge from the tundra and attack the South Pole Operation base in response to their intrusion. In response, a small VTOL aircraft is equipped with a powerful laser to stop Maguma. Determined to do so without killing the monster, the pilot uses the laser to create an avalanche and bury it. However, Maguma easily escapes and resumes its attack, leaving the crew with little choice but to kill it. As Gorath absorbs Saturn's rings, the JX-2 Eagle crew successfully return to Earth.

As the enormous celestial body becomes visible to the naked eye, Earth's tides begin to rise and a state of emergency is declared. Gorath absorbs and obliterates the Moon. It also floods Tokyo and the mega-thrusters and causes an earthquake that destroys the JX-2 Otori and the Interstellar Exploration Agency's Mount Fuji facility. Even in spite of these disasters, Earth is successfully moved out of Gorath's path before returning to its original orbit.

• Ryō Ikebe as Dr. Tazawa, Astrophysicist[1]
• Yumi Shirakawa as Tomoko Sonoda
• Akira Kubo as Tatsuo Kanai, Cadet Astronaut
• Takashi Shimura - Kesuke Sonoda
• Kumi Mizuno as Takiko Nomura
• Ken Uehara as Dr. Konno
• Fumio Sakamoto as Sumio Sonoda
• Ko Nishimura as Murata, Secretary of the Space Agency
• Akihiko Hirata as Endo, JX-2 Hawk Captain
• Jun Tazaki as Raizo Sonoda, JX-1 Eagle Captain
• Nadao Kirino as Dr. Manabe
• Kenji Sahara as Saiki, First Officer 
• Masanari Nihei as Ito, Astronaut 
• Hiroshi Tachikawa as Wakabayashi, Astronaut 
• Takamaru Sasaki as Seki, Prime Minister
• Eitaro Ozawa as Kinami, Minister of Justice
• Akira Yamada as Chief Engineer 
• Ikio Sawamura as Taxi Driver
• Hideyo Amamoto as Drunk at Farewell Party 
• Koji Uno as Reporter 
• Ko Mishima as Sinda, Engineer 
• Seizaburo Kawazu as Tada, Minister of Commerce 
• Toshihiko Furuta, Masayoshi Kawabe as JX-2 Otori observers
• Koji Kamimura, Tadashi Okabe as JX-2 Otori calculators
• Rinsaku Ogata, Kenichiro Maruyama asJX-2 Otori engineers
• Koichi Sato, Yukihiko Gondo as JX-2 Otori pilots
• Yasushi Matsubara, Yasuhiko Saijo as JX-2 Otori communications officers
• Koji Uno, Shinpei Mitsui as Newspaper reporters
• Akira Yamada, Hiroshi Takagi as JX-1 Hayabusa engineers
• Koji Suzuki, Koji Ishikawa as JX-1 Hayabusa pilots
• Wataru Omae, Takuya Yuki as JX-1 Hayabusa calculators
• Jiichiro Sho, Yasuo Araki as JX-1 Hayabusa observers
• Kazuo Imai as JX-1 Hayabusa communications officer
• Yusuke Suzuki as JX-1 Hayabusa fueling technician
• Osman Yusuf as Arctic base technician (uncredited)
• Haruo Nakajima, Katsumi Tezuka as Maguma

Gorath was given a limited West Coast theatrical release in the United States by Brenco Pictures. The English-language version features extensive re-editing and shortening of many scenes. Among the greatest changes was the re-writing and editing of a six-minute sequence featuring the monster Maguma, of which most footage was deleted. Although Maguma's carcass remains visible in one shot, dialogue was re-written to avoid references to the creature and substituted with references to explosive or volcanic action. The distributors found the character's appearance comical, mockingly dubbing him "Wally the Walrus," a reference to the cartoon character Wally Walrus. Test audiences felt similarly, even with the monster given Rodan's fiercer roar and shrouded in optically printed fog. The U.S. release originally opened with a seven-minute prologue featuring an astronomical lecture, though this sequence appears to have been excised from the film soon after its preview screening at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California. The English dubbing was recorded by Ryder Sound Services, and scripted by Star Trek writer John Lucas. Only four voice actors were used to dub the film. Besides the voices, the audio soundtrack was tampered with, including adding a sound effect for Gorath which was not present in the original Japanese version, and the use of Ikuma Dan's score for The Last War (another Toho film held by Brenco) as additional music. Brenco Pictures re-released the film on a double feature with The Human Vapor in 1968, but between the two releases never turned a profit on their investment in Gorath. The company closed in 1969 soon after the death of co-owner Edward L. Alperson on July 3 of that year. The film was purchased by Heritage Enterprises and aired on U.S. television. The further-edited television cut of Gorath was also the version of the film primarily used for VHS releases in the United States. [1] It was released in the United States as Gorath by Brenco Pictures through Allied Artists Pictures with an English-language dub on 15 May 1964.[1] The film was double-billed in the United States with The Human Vapor.[1]

In a contemporary review, ""Whit." of Variety declared it as "generally a first-class endeavour" noting that "particular credit goes to Eiji Tsuburaya for his special effects" and the acting by Ryō Ikebe was a highlight of the cast.[4] Another review from "Whit." from the same issue of Variety found its double feature The Human Vapor the more interesting film plotwise.[4]

• Passage to Pluto, a 1973 novel by Hugh Walters which also involves an ultra-dense wandering planet
• Melancholia (2011 film)
• The Wandering Earth, a 2019 film which also involves a man-made change of Earth's course.
• Nibiru cataclysm

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Gorath

• Gorath at IMDb
• Gorath at the TCM Movie Database
• Gorath at Toho Kingdom
• "妖星ゴラス (Yosei Gorasu)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-07-16.