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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Gorgon, The (Blu-ray) (1964)

Gorgon, The (Blu-ray) (1964)

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Released 5-Oct-2016

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Horror None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1964
Running Time 83:24
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Terence Fisher
Studio
Distributor
ViaVision Starring Peter Cushing
Christopher Lee
Barbara Shelley
Richard Pasco
Michael Goodlife


Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI ? Music James Bernard


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 1.0 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

     In the small village of Vandorf six people have been murdered in 5 years by being turned to stone. When a seventh, a young woman, is turned to stone and her bohemian boyfriend hangs himself, the authorities are only too willing to find that the boyfriend is the killer. However his father Professor Jules Heitz (Michael Goodlife) is determined to prove his son’s innocence although he is attacked by the villagers and obstructed by the police and Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing), the director of the local insane asylum. Then, when Professor Heitz sees the hideous Gorgon, he survives long enough to write to his other son Paul (Richard Pasco), who works at Leipzig University with Professor Karl Meister (Christopher Lee). Paul comes to Vandorf seeking answers but the only person who seems willing to help is Namaroff’s pretty assistant Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley). When Paul also sees the Gorgon and becomes very ill but survives because he only saw her in a reflection, Professor Meister comes to Vandorf. Can they solve the mystery of the Gorgon before the new moon brings fresh victims?

     Made in 1964, The Gorgon involves some of the best of Hammer’s talent pool. It was directed by Terence Fisher, who helmed 29 Hammer films including kicking off most of Hammer’s successful horror franchises including Dracula (1958), The Mummy (1959) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and the score is by Hammer stalwart James Bernard.

     And yet The Gorgon doesn’t quite work. Terence Fisher directs with his usual style and some sequences, such as Professor Heitz’s stalking of a siren voice in the castle ruins, nicely build atmosphere and tension, but there is almost no mystery in the scripting; we see the monster fairly early and there is only one real candidate for the Gorgon. Peter Cushing, as ever, is excellent as the conflicted doctor who knows far more than he is letting on while Christopher Lee is also good, although he only arrives in the second half of the film. On the other hand, the two romantic leads Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley, who both went on to have lengthy careers mostly in TV, are unconvincing and have minimal chemistry together. Finally, the Gorgon’s snake entwined hair when fully revealed in the climax is about as effective and scary as a plate of soggy porridge.

     Although the Gorgon in the film is based on the Gorgons of Greek mythology (most people know them through the story of Perseus killing Medusa), The Gorgon plays very loose with the lore. The name of the Gorgon in the film, Megaera, in Greek mythology was really not a Gorgon but one of the Erinyes (Furies), while the attribute of a Siren like voice calling its victims to their doom or the fact that transformations and attacks only take place during a full moon are additions made by the screenwriters. But hey, it is only a film!

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The Gorgon is presented in the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     The film, now over 50 years old, looks good in HD. The colours are nice and natural showing off the usual high standard Hammer sets and costumes. Some scenes can look soft but generally close-ups are good, blacks solid, shadow detail acceptable, skin tones natural, grain nicely controlled, brightness and contrast consistent.

     There are some very small marks but otherwise the print was artefact free.

     There are no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio is an English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono at 448 Kbps. The film was shown theatrically with mono sound.

     Dialogue is easy to understand while the effects such as the thunder and rain did have some depth. The score by James Bernard is good, although slightly predictable. However, it is eerie when it needs to be and loud on occasion.

     There is obviously no surround or subwoofer use.

     I did not notice any hiss or distortion.

     Lip synchronisation looked fine.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     Zilch. The silent menu offered “Play” as the only option.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The US Region A Blu-ray has The Gorgon on the same disc as The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll. Otherwise, Amazon.com lists only our Australian release.

Summary

     The Gorgon is let down by some indifferent acting and unconvincing special effects despite the array of Hammer talent in front of and behind the camera. Nevertheless, director Terence Fisher has crafted some atmospheric and tense sequences and Peter Cushing is excellent, so fans of horror, Hammer, Cushing or Lee should enjoy the film.

     The film looks good on Blu-ray, the audio is the original mono. No extras, not even a trailer.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S580, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

Other Reviews NONE