Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Gog 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 29, 2016

1954’s “Gog” happily plays into the era’s interest in monsters and mayhem, only here the force of evil is a man-made machine, while science is given more of a priority than the average production allows. Directed by Herbert L. Strock, “Gog” is a thriller that doesn’t exactly thrill, but it’s an entertaining collection of exposition and robot rampage, delivered in your face with a 3-D presentation.

It’s not that “Gog” represents reality, but the production doesn’t execute the premise melodramatically, preferring to treat experimentation and the potential for space exploration with a degree of dignity. Performances are focused on sharing information and securing escalation, providing a human element to what eventually becomes a robot-gone-wild endeavor, paying off debate and romantic interests with flame-thrower battles and panicked discoveries. While Strock could’ve increased the effort’s suspense with more incident, what’s here manages to satisfy, with the climax an engaging blend of heroics and atypical threat.

Gog 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Bringing "Gog" back to viewers with a restored 3-D (and 2-D) viewing event, the AVC encoded image (1.66:1 aspect ratio) presentation boasts rich colors, with revived hues making a serious impression throughout. Costuming and set design achievements look alive, while skintones carry precise period emphasis. Detail is exciting, bringing out decoration and scientific particulars, while the actors are surveyed in full, providing a clear appreciation for fabrics and make-up. The robot stars are also open for inspection. Delineation is never problematic, and grain is filmic. Source encounters a few rough patches, including hash reel changes, and speckling is common.

Gog 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix arrives with a decent amount of heft, focusing primarily on dialogue exchanges, which sound healthy and true, delivered with a degree of depth. Scoring is more erratic, finding period limitations lacking true instrumentation, but cues are easily identified and supportive. Sound effects are satisfactory, delivering all the robot and science lab details the production provides.

Gog 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features film historians Tom Weaver, Bob Furmanek, and David Schecter.

• Restoration Demo (6:49, HD) discusses the Herculean task of bringing "Gog" back from the dead, with members from the 3-D Film Archive walking viewers through the process of securing source materials and clean-up to create a rare 3-D vision of the chiller.

• Interview (8:26, SD) with "Gog" director Herbert L. Strock (recorded in 2003) discusses his approach to production challenges, including his own limitations with monocular vision. Animal lovers might find this chat a tad unsettling, with Strock sharing exactly how they made a Rhesus monkey "sleep" during the opening scene. Yikes.

• Interview (19:02, SD) with 3-D guru Lothorp Worth is more of a career overview than a specific dissection of "Gog," with the tech wizard sharing production anecdotes about certain professional efforts.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:51, SD) is included.

Gog 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While "Gog" fails to drive home its vision of horror, the picture is charming reminder of period filmmaking interests, and its attempt at verisimilitude is endearing, working to cook up a machine-based nightmare with a healthy appreciation of possibility, even when it indulges in pure fantasy.