Gorath (1962): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1962, Gorath is an action, thriller and science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda, running about 88 minutes. “The crisis of the colliding mystery star is imminent! Can the Earth break free of its orbit?” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. In 1980, a giant planetoid named Gorath is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Even though it is smaller than Earth, its mass is huge enough to crush the Earth and destroy it. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after all the orbiting ships are drawn into the planetoid. A later mission is sent to observe and the crew barely leaves before suffering the same fate. However Astronaut Tatsuo Kanai is left in a catatonic state due to his near death experience. The Earth's scientists then come up with a desperate plan to build giant rockets at the South Pole to move Earth out of Gorath's path before it is too late.

Who’s in it. Gorath stars Ryō Ikebe as Dr. Tazawa, Yumi Shirakawa as Tomoko Sonoda, Akira Kubo as Tatsuma Kanai and Kumi Mizuno as Takiko Nomura, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.9/10, Gorath has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Gorath page.

If you liked it. Fans of Gorath tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.