Gog

This review is for Gog (3-D) (Blu-Ray) released by Kino Lorber in 2016. 'Gog" is the third and final movie by Director Ivan Tors, of his Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) trilogy. The other two were 'Riders to the Stars' and 'The Magnetic Monster.' The movie stars Richard Egan (David Sheppard), Constance Dowling (Joanna Merritt) and Herbert Marshall (Dr. Van Ness). BLU-RAY DVD: The quality of this DVD is excellent. The picture is clean and crisp and even the stock video shots look good. The 3-D is superb and I thoroughly enjoyed watching 'Gog' in 3-D. The color is excellent also... at least to my untrained eye. I'm no expert in picture quality and it's terminology. Let's just say it's nice to have such a nice print in color since there were so few color movies made in those days. 3-D: The 3-D is real nice and I have only one minor complaint. Whenever the direction calls for an object so be sent in the direction of the camera it gets real blurry. For example, when you see something that looks like it is exiting the television and coming into your room, the object loses it's clarity and becomes a blur. At least it does for me. I have no idea if different TV's and players handle this differently. We learn from the interviews in the extra's that Gog was not available in 3-D for almost 60 years. It was rarely shown in 3-D even when it was first released. The cost was high for 3-D in those days (perhaps it still is, I don't really know). The 3-D camera that was recently invented back in those days used two reels, one for each eye and the camera was very large and bulky. The overall cost for producing the prints and showing them was higher also. In addition to having to print two reels, the theatre owners had to use two camera's in order to show the movie. The color film stock also added quite a bit of expense. Soon after a successful opening in 3-D, it was decided to just show the movie in regular 2-D. Since you need two different reels in order to see 3-D, the result was that there were many more right reels made than left. Both the left and right have to be show frame for frame in perfect sequence. All of the left reels had disappeared into history until about 5 years ago when a left reel surfaced. Fortunately it was complete but some of the color was washed out. Once again, I'm no expert in film quality or restoration but according to the interviews they enhanced the color to bring it up to what we see today. EXTRA'S: There is an informative audio commentary by film historians Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek and David Shecter. There is an interesting interview with the director, Herbert L. Strock and another interview with one of the developers of the 3-D camera. The interview on the development of the 3-D camera is somewhat technical and a bit hard to follow but it is very informative. There is also a restoration demo and trailer gallery. PLOT: David Sheppard, an agent for OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation) is sent to a secret base in the New Mexico Desert to investigate some unusual activity including deaths. There, he meets up with another agent, Joanna Merritt, with whom he has been having a relationship with. Though this doesn't really factor into the movie. The base is located underground and has 4 levels. They are secretly constructing a space station there. Most of the functions of the base are controlled by a computer called NOVAC. While the two agents are there more deaths occur but Doctor Van Ness insists on keeping everything quiet as the project must continue despite the danger. There are supposedly 150 or so scientists at the base but you don't see more than a few throughout the movie. For the most part it looks mostly deserted but...hey...they only had a $250,000 budget...so let's not quibble. During the investigation we learn of two robots called GOG and MAGOG which are under the care of Dr. Zeitman but can be controlled by NOVAC. Early on we learn that NOVAC was built by a European company and it is also discovered that there are mysterious radio transmitters that are being found throughout the base. We also learn from security that there is a mysterious high altitude plane that keeps showing up overhead but it is not seen on radar. From the the poster of 'GOG' and the cover to this DVD we know that at least one of the robots is responsible somehow for the death's but how and why is the question. It's left up to our two agents to figure out exactly what is going on. I thought this movie was very good and better than it's reputation. I like movies that are intelligently made and are not all about the action. Even though the science isn't necessarily accurate, it isn't bad, especially for the times. This is still 15 years before mankind lands on the moon. The robots are of particular interest because they are from a functional standpoint very well designed. They don't look anything like the more human looking robots that would come into vogue shortly thereafter. The pace is even as the two agents step by step uncover the truth as to what is going on. The acting is above average with maybe just one or two performances a bit 'over the top.' Ultimately, it is another cold war paranoia film but i don't think that's a bad thing. It was the times. I have one minor complaint with regards to the special effects. While most of the effects were very good, the air battle was very poorly executed, looked completely phony and looked out of place with the rest of the movie. The fiberglass plane in particular looked terrible. Everything else looked very good. Each room in the complex was designed well and some of what we see is not fake at all, such as the helicopter that brings Sheppard to the base and the room where they are testing the gravitational forces on the human body. That room is an actual testing center. I have read and heard of complaints that the robots don't look at all dangerous nor threatening. I have no complaints about this. As I stated above, I think the robots were intelligently designed and this isn't a horror movie. We don't need a scary monster. 'Gog' is more of science fiction, detective hybrid that for me, works well. While not necessarily a great plot, it is still good. I am giving the movie 5 stars. 4 stars for the movie...ok more like 3 1/2...but it gets a star for the blu-ray quality and and star for the 3-D. So that comes out to 5 1/2 to 6 stars! As usual...thanks to Kino Lorber for giving us this 50's sci-fi movie in beautiful blu-ray color (along with the 3-D). Not all of these movies recently released on blu-ray are necessarily good values but this one definitely is. It is worth the $18 that it initially was priced at. Highly Recommended for all 50's sci-fi fans who want high quality prints for their collection and also 3-D fans in general.

Interesting, early take on the robot(s) on the rampage Sci-Fi sub-genre. Originally presented in 3D, at the height of that movie gimmick's popularity. Sadly, it's only in plain old 2D here. Who knows, maybe one day they'll release this in a Blu-ray version, set up for today's 3D televisions. The movie is okay but very talky, without much real action or conflict. It's actually more of a cold war spy drama, thinly veiled in sci-fi trappings. The plot concerns several mysterious deaths at a government think tank research complex situated in a remote desert location. The underground facility is dedicated to working out the complexities of deep space travel. Things there take an ugly turn when, unbeknownst to the humans working there, the mainframe supercomputer programmed to run the place (BAD idea!) experiences a glitch and suddenly starts killing off scientists and their test subjects. (The first murder is a cold-blooded one - literally!) WASPy hero guy is brought in to get to the bottom of the dastardly goings on. Two security/guardian robots, named GOG and MAGOG, are the mobile eyes, ears (and claws) of the main computer, NOVAC. These motorized, multi-armed, tank-like contraptions get title billing but are truly only a small part of the plot. Except for a brief demonstration sequence to familiarize Our Hero with the automatons, they don't get involved in the conflict until the film's climax. I won't spoil it for those of you who've never seen this film. The film's biggest stumbling block, IMHO, is the bland "hero" and his equally bland (re: ugly) girlfriend. What an unattractive pair these two make. Cardboard cut-outs pulled around on skateboards would have had more charm and better chemistry than these folks. Where are Mara Coraday & Richard Carlson (or better yet, John Agar!) when you need them??? Another problem with this film really isn't a problem IF you happen to love techno-babble, as our new kid on the block Hero is taken on a (seemingly endless) tour of the underground labs. You see, each laboratory hosts a different type of ongoing experiment directly related to solving the challenges of sending man deep into space - at least as they seemed to 50's-era sci-fi writers. (Some of the tests are rather silly, some are pretty cool.) Patient viewers might enjoy this film but those who require lots of snappy dialogue and/or lots of action will be bored to tears. Fast-moving this film ain't! I like and enjoy this movie purely for the sci-fi relic that it is. The DVD for GOG is one of those on-demand jobs, which means zero extras and no remastered video or sound. Even so, I must confess that the print is pretty terrific-looking and the sound is crisp & clean and the mix is even. The DVD box art stinks, but that's pretty common nowadays. Sad, since so many of these old sci-fi & monster films had really awesome theatrical posters & cool promotional artwork that would be easy to crop for DVD / Blu-ray box covers. Oh well... Look up some examples of GOG's artwork on the internet and create your own custom cover to replace MGM's lame red circuit board cover. 4 STARS for this OK but slow moving sci-fi spy drama.

This is a review of the upcoming KINO Blu ray of GOG. Not the inferior MGM made on demand release also being discussed here. It's base on a actual viewing to the Blu ray and contains no speculation as to what might be on it. I was at a private screening of this new GOG 3D Blu ray release this past Wednesday (Jan 26, 2016) and I can report that it was an impressive presentation. Getting to see this in 3D was a dream come true for me since it was the first film I remember seeing in a theater. I guess the first time I saw a color film now that I think about it. Since the 3D version of the film was only shown in a handful of theaters in Southern California in '54, it felt almost like a world premiere. A really special night. The 3D works a bit differently than things like THE BUBBLE as there are not too many in-your-face moments until the end where the flame throwers and Gog and Magog's arms are coming out to get you. You will not be disappointed in this one, though as it's the depth of what your are seeing that works so well. When Michael Fox is getting frozen solid behind the frosting window in the beginning, I can see 4 or 5 layers looking in from the front of the window going back to the wall behind Fox. Some of the deep corridor shots make the underground facility look positively immense. I am convinced that seeing this film in 3D is the only way to truly experience the filmmakers intent and this has been wonderfully created here. Since I am going to write about this release elsewhere, I was allowed to bring home a pre-release copy of GOG and give it a thorough going over. I compared it to the full frame MGM MOD release that I had and ...well there is no comparison. Even as a 2D film the upgrade is astounding. The color is rich and perfect for the film. If only we could have the SCIENCE FICTION THEATER episodes look like this I would be ecstatic. The interviews with the director and cinematographer shot in the early '00s are engaging and though a bit technical at times, they quite enjoyable. Strock especially has an animated talk and seems truly proud of this film. There is also a short about the discovery and restoration of the previously lost left side print and it features superstar film magicians Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz on screen discussing what a major undertaking it was to bring this film to us. Bob handles the job of talking head quite well I must say. Other than the 3D presentation of GOG however, my favorite feature on the Blu Ray is Tom's audio commentary with the help of Bob and David Scheter on air and a good bit Dr. Robert Kiss about the films release read by Tom. Everything I always wanted to know about The A Men (Atomic Men) and the OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation) and the trilogy of films comprising of THE MAGNETIC MONSTER, RIDERS TO THE STARS and GOG is brought out and lit up to perfection with the Weaver information spotlight. Tom's commentary is so informative and skillfully done that it ranks as one of his absolute best so far. He just seems to get better with each one. Bob Furmanek's section of the commentary is also delightful. That he and Greg were able to get the left side print to match the lush color of the right is, in a word, miraculous. This is state of the art restoration, folks! Explained on the commentary, the opening credits are and always were in 2D. One of those things that just delights me is that the credits contain a card not seen since the rare 3D showings of the film which gives the nod to the 3D artists who deserve ample kudos for the work put into this film. David Schecter's talk on the music of the film left me slightly less enthused as he seems to matter-of-factually belittle the picture here and there. He does know his stuff and I appreciated the info dug up on the composer and his work, but much of it was over my head. Music scholars, I am sure, will have a field day with it. There is so much information discussed here that the film runs out before Weaver had time to talk about and name the episodes of SCIENCE FICTION THEATER that had the OSI making appearances. I think they should have had the commentary go on for the left side print! Will 3D aficionados enjoy this Blu ray? Of course. However, fans of 50s sci fi with caveman styled 2D TVs will also be able to relish this release since it is so darn gorgeous. I want to thank Bob and all those at the 3D Archive for a great couple of days and for their untiring work to make this all come to pass for us. Now it's up to us to go out and support this. Even with this screener copy, I want to buy a real copy to get the packaging!

this was outstanding for it's day. In fact it was a good science based film in many ways. The effects were top notch for it's day and it was filmed in 3d. The 3d blu ray is outstanding. the restoration is even better than on 'inferno' the 1953 3d film. The 3d film archive also restored 'the mask' 3d from 1961 which I also have and it looks great but this one is LOOKS even better. It is one of the best 3d restorations of a older film in this format available. much like 'house of wax 3d'" or 'creature from the black lagoon' "man in the dark 3d' is also available and it's outstanding but this is in color and it's just wonderful. I would say 'kiss me kate' 3d is also this good and it should be bought. But grab this fun sci fi filck in which robots go on the rampage and you won't be unsatisfied.

Good movie if you like very old SF from the 50's.

It's a classic. But a disappointing one at that. By today's standards, it seems cheesy, dated and very basic. Not a great sci-fi film. Actually, not a great film. At all. The 3D effects are OK; they tried to make thiings come at you, similar to "House Of Wax," but most of the dimensional stuff is out of focus. Not a fault of the restoration but rather the way it was filmed originally. All that said, the most interesting part of this DVD is the bonus feature on the restoration process. It must have been a difficult and arduous process and the final result is commendable; the restoration is flawless. They did a great job on that. Just wish the movie itself lived up to its reputation.

For many years, Ivan Tors' "Gog" topped my list of "movies I want to buy on DVD." One of my oldest childhood memories is seeing it with my parents at a drive-in theatre in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I don't know if we saw its initial release in 1953 (I would have been REALLY young!), or maybe a second-run screening, but I vividly remembered scenes from it, even though that was the first and only time I ever saw it. I'm very pleased to now own this little-known sci-fi film on DVD (even though I have some qualms about the disk being "made-to-order"). By the way, if you wonder, as I did, why Amazon didn't post an image of the DVD cover, I have the answer. The cover features what looks like a red printed-circuit board layout on a stark black background. It's possibly the lamest, least relevant, most unattractive (not to mention cheapest) artwork I've ever seen on a DVD. It has absolutely nothing to do with the movie. I'm tempted to grab a couple of screencaps and make my own replacement cover. I posted a couple of Customer Images just in case Amazon never gets around to it. But I digress. What about the movie itself? Well, I found it...interesting. Here's the good news. The video transfer is superb. The full-frame picture has excellent sharpness and contrast, vivid and accurate color and very good production values throughout. I noted just one place where the colors faded for a few seconds. The sound is very good, with crisp and understandable dialogue (except for a few short spots) that's never overwhelmed by exceptionally loud music as is so often the case in today's movies. The acting is on a par with other movies of similar vintage. The special effects range from laughable to excellent, but mostly are pretty good. The two non-humanoid robots, Gog and Magog, are very well-done (notwithstanding the goofy way they flail their arms around while moving), and the laboratory equipment, much of it supplied by the Bendix Corporation, has an aura of authenticity to it. Aviation buffs will enjoy excellent stock shots of North American F-86 "Sabres" and Lockheed F-94 "Starfires," and science geeks will be impressed by how accurately "Gog" presents certain technical concepts. And therein lies the bad news. As you watch it, you must constantly remind yourself that "Gog" is a 60-year-old movie that deals with "far-out" ideas--science fiction at the time--such as electronic computers, remote-controlled robots, atomic power, solar mirrors, spaceflight, cryogenics and other technologies that we take for granted today. Movie-going audiences in 1953 knew nothing about these things, so much of the dialogue in "Gog" explains them--in detail, often in stilted language and sometimes at seemingly interminable length. In short, this is a very "talky" movie. The long stretches of time with scientists explaining their experiments to each other are punctuated by all-too-brief bursts of activity that actually progress the plot. You would never call "Gog" an "action movie." Yet, in the end, I found it very satisfying. The story is quite good, with a distinct beginning, middle and end, and finishes up as a tidy package with all plot points nicely resolved. "Gog" is a pleasant way to spend 83 minutes while you consider the incredible advances science has made in the six decades since its release. Viewed as a historical snapshot of the state of technology at the time, "Gog" is an interesting, enjoyable, thought-provoking, utterly inoffensive excursion into a world before many (if not most) of us were born. As such, it deserves mention along with better-known sci-fi films of the era. If you're unfamiliar with it, give it a try. It's not the best film of the period, but it's very good for what it is.

If “Gog” were a cat, you’d surely think it had used up eight of its lives, and had come perilously close to losing the ninth. It’s a science fiction film of the 1950s, uncommon in that it strives to be not a fantastic yarn, but a mystery-adventure grounded in the hard science of its day. It’s really a kind of tightly contained odyssey, as we follow its hero on a journey into a remarkable underground research facility, tasked with launching a working space station and beset by unexplained acts of sabotage and coldblooded murder. With its man-of-action hero, its modest coterie of lovely starlets in supporting roles, its gadgets and gizmos, and its atmosphere of Cold War suspicion, “Gog” qualifies as an Ur-Bond film, anticipating some of the Sean Connery vehicles 15 years down the road. But what truly sets “Gog” apart is its exemplary use of 3-D. Filmed in Natural Vision by Lothrop Worth, one of the key artists in the field of stereo cinema, “Gog” strikes a solid balance, offering the occasional off-the-screen effects while at all times presenting comfortable, rounded, carefully composed and dimensional moving tableaux to entice one’s gaze. And this is where we come to explain the cat analogy. “Gog,” like other 3-D films of the 1950s, was filmed using two-strip 3-D technology. Separate cameras and separate strands of film, one for the left eye, the other for the right, were employed to create the stereoscopic 3-D effect. Over the years, some reasonably decent elements for the right eye were preserved. But one (and only one!) left-eye print survives, badly faded but otherwise nearly pristine. Bob Furmanek and Greg Kintz of the 3-D Film Archive have worked miracles restoring “Gog” to its original color, sharpness and luster. Watching this Blu-Ray disc, you may find it compares very favorably to “House of Wax,” “Kiss Me Kate,” and other well-regarded 3-D films of its era. In my view, it blows recent, timid 3-D cinematography out of the sky. The story will not be to every taste. It is a 60-year-old film that could not possibly predict everything humanity would learn in the intervening decades. But the plot, unfolding as a mystery, does sustain interest, and the cast is credible and interesting and entertaining to watch. The gorgeous 3-D visuals wrap it all up with a bow. If you are a dyed-in-the-wool 3-D fan, or even if you are a casual 3-D enthusiast, you will not be disappointed by the stereo visuals, rescued for us to savor by Messrs. Furmanek and Kintz. I urge you to give “Gog” a spin. I think you’ll not be disappointed.

È uno dei circa 60 film girati in 3D negli anni 50. Lo avevo visto in versione normale col titolo italiano "Attacco alla base spaziale US" e non era niente di notevole. Rivisto adesso in 3D lo trovo interessante perché pur girato totalmente in interni ha un effetto 3D molto forte ed è molto bello vedere la finta tecnologia di quegli anni. Gli attori sono sconosciuti a parte Richard Egan (Scandalo al sole) e Herbert Marshall (Il filo del rasoio).

good film, pretty old but still worth a look. One I remember as an x film when I first saw it having been sneaked into the cinema by my mother, who swore blind I was over 16, and did the same for many more so called "horror films" of the time.

Great example of classic 3d. I hope they release more 3d Sci-fi titles from the 50's like IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE or REVENGE OF THE CREATURE.

Gog is a lot of fun, and miraculous as far as budget restorations go. As shown in the special features, MGM (current rights holder) only had the right eye of the 3D elements and licenced the title to KinoLorber for release on Blu-ray. KinoLorber got in contact with the 3-D Film Archive, which was in possession of a faded left eye print, which it had used to run a 3-D at the first 3-D Film Expo. Of course, by the time KL had contacted the Archive, the left eye was nearly completely pink, but through the wonders of digital technology, the Archive was able to restore the lost colour to the left eye for digital presentation and it looks fantastic. As for the movie itself, it's great 50s sci-fi. It's nowhere near as hammy as some of the other films of this era, but it's not Method acting either. The effects are solid for the time, and the plot is compelling. Highly recommended.

Great old Sci-Fi movie from the end of the first 3d Cycle. This is a smart, well thought out and fun movie. The special effects are quite good considering the tiny budget, the 3d is very good, great depth and lots of gimmicky things come right out of the screen at you! Highly recommended to sci-fi fans, a real hidden gem.