It didn’t stomp Tokyo,
but watch out London … here comes Gorgo!
VCI Entertainment has a
new hi-def transfer and a complete restoration of this 1961 giant monster
classic ready as an “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” for both Blu-ray and DVD on
Mar. 19.
The cycle began in 1953
with The
Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Giant
ants (Them), spiders (Tarantula) and more quickly
followed. The “giant monster” genre got
some more wind at its back when Godzilla: King of the Monsters
arrived in domestic waters in 1956 (released in Japan two years earlier), recut
and complete with an American star (Raymond Burr).
Of course you could
always go back to King Kong and the like, but we are talking about post-war
monsters, usually spawned by radiation — the nuclear age. We were treated to giant crabs (Attack
of the Crab Monsters), scorpions (The Black Scorpion), a preying
mantis (The Deadly Mantis) and even giant men and women (The
Amazing Colossal Man; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) during
the heyday of the cycle.
It was the nuclear
age. It was the baby boom. It was era of the giant beasts! The cycle continued well into the 60s and
sort of petered out (and mocked) when Marv Newland’s 1969 brilliant bit of
animation surfaced and put both an exclamation point on and a period to the
cycle … Bambi Meets Godzilla said enough; enough already!
But it was in 1961 that
filmmaker Eugène Lourié, the same director that launched the cycle with The
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms in 1953 (and followed with The
Giant Behemoth in 1959), who first signaled that the end was coming with
one last “big splash,” Gorgo.
And if you’ll recall
(fondly), Gorgo the giant monster captured early on off of the coast of Ireland
is just a little guy. Sure, he’s plenty
big all right, but it’s his mother, Ogra, who comes to his rescue and destroys
all of London in the process!
As to bonus nuggets
included on the DVD and Blu-ray SKUs from VCI Entertainment, be prepared to
enjoy Daniel Griffith’s new documentary, “Ninth Wonder of the World: The Making
of Gorgo,” plus a photo gallery, a pressbook gallery, an extensive collection
of theatrical posters and lobby cards, plus the Gorgo video comic book
... and more!
Not done yet. VCI Entertainment also has a pair of DVD
double features planned for release on Mar. 19 under the “Creepy Creature
Double Feature” promotional banner.
The first double bill is Monster
From the Ocean Floor (1954, with Stuart Wade and Anne Kimbell) and Serpent
Island (1954, Sonny Tufts), while the other double feature presentation
includes The Crawling Hand (1963) and The Slime People (also
1963, with Robert Hutton and Les Tremayne).
Both SKUs are priced at just $14.98 each and include bonus treats.
To download this week's complete edition of the DVD and
Blu-ray Release Report: DVD & Blu-ray Release Report
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