|
| “ | Gort! Klaatu barada nikto! | „ |
| ~ Helen Benson using Klaatu's command on Gort. |
Gort is an alien robot that appears as the secondary antagonist in the 1951 science-fiction thriller film The Day The Earth Stood Still and the main antagonist of its 2008 remake, where he remained unnamed and the original name was turned into the acronym G.O.R.T. (Genetically Organized Robotic Technology) by the United States' military and scientists.
Gort is a member of a "race of robots" invented by an interplanetary confederation to protect their citizens against all aggression. In the 1951 movie, Klaatu describes him as one of an interstellar police force, holding irrevocable powers to "preserve the peace" by destroying any aggressor.
He is based on the character Gnut from the 1940 science-fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by the late Harry Bates, the inspiration for both films.
In the 1951 movie, he was portrayed by the late Lock Martin, and by an uncredited person via motion-capture in the 2008 movie.
Appearance[]
Full appearance in the original film.
In the original film, Gort is eight feet (2.4384 meters) tall, with grey coloration as seen in colored images of the movie as well as the posters and movie cards. He has no facial features except for a visor representing his "eye", and other features include mitten-style hands, cuffs, a belt and boots.
In the remake, G.O.R.T. is much bigger, between three and four times taller than his original counterpart, at 28 feet tall, and has a much more simplistic design due to his nanobot-based nature, much more humanoid in design (such as actual fingers) and proportions with less robotic features. Instead of grey, his body is colored black.
Personality[]
In both films, due to a lack of facial features and voice, Gort is very emotionless, so he conveys his personality via his actions. Lacking the ability to talk does not make him mindless however, as he is able to understand non-verbal commands such as Klaatu using using reflected signals from a borrowed flashlight to communicate with him in the 1951 film and could act on his own.
In the original film, Gort only attempted to kill when he himself felt threatened. He did not kill the soldiers that shot Klaatu, merely reducing their weapons to dust, just to warn them, since he had the technology available to heal or revive Klaatu. He showed great restraint considering the power he held, enough to end humanity.
In the remake, G.O.R.T. is much more aggressive and prone to kill or seriously injure those around him, be it armed soldiers or civilians. He is still protective and silent, but his "eye" can move and is designed to look more like an angry glare, granting him slightly more expressions and emotion than his original counterpart. G.O.R.T. follows Klaatu's slightly updated message, to save Earth from humanity, and if the human race doesn't change its ecological destructiveness by a certain time, G.O.R.T. will destroy humanity to save the Earth's biosphere.
Biography[]
Original[]
Gort's debut.
Gort accompanied Klaatu on his mission to deliver an ultimatum to the people of Earth. As they arrive, Klaatu is first to walk out of their saucer, offering a device (later stated to be a gift for the President that would've enabled him to study life on the other planets) which is mistaken as a weapon by a soldier who hastily shoots Klaatu. As soldiers surround Klaatu, Gort appears, having emerged from the ship without anyone noticing. He begins destroying all of the military's artillery and is quickly stopped by a wounded Klaatu, who is brought to the hospital.
Throughout the movie, Gort motionlessly guards his and Klaatu's ship until Klaatu is shot dead near the end of the movie, after which he retrieves Klaatu and revives him with the ship's technology. He remains vigilant and by his side until the two leave the Earth, though not before Klaatu informs the people of Earth about the aforementioned ultimatum: The interplanetary confederation was not concerned with internal human politics; however, if humanity threatened to use atomic weapons against the other planets, the Earth would be destroyed to ensure the safety of the other planets.
| “ | Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. | „ |
| ~ Klaatu's last words before his departure with Gort. |
Remake[]
Similar to the original film, G.O.R.T. first appears when Klaatu is shot by a soldier, emerging from the sphere-like ship, though unlike the original, Gort is quick to make the humans suffer without warning, and just as quickly he is stopped by Klaatu's command.
While Klaatu recovers, G.O.R.T. defends the sphere in Central Park against drones, and the military decides to take a weapons-free approach, cautiously capturing G.O.R.T. and transporting him to an underground facility, where they start examining the robot. G.O.R.T. soon decides to free himself, consuming the entire facility with the nanobots that make up his body and going on a rampage, hell-bent on killing every human on Earth, but is eventually stopped by Klaatu.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us. | „ |
| ~ Klaatu on Gort's race. |
Gort destroying a tank.
According to Klaatu in the 1951 film, Gort holds irrevocable powers, and Gort demonstrates this when he first appears, reducing guns, turrets and even a tank to dust with a laserlike weapon that is projected from beneath a visor on his head, precise enough to destroy any object without harming anything around it. Is is stated that he had enough power to destroy the entire planet and is seemingly indestructible, and unstoppable against all of Earth's weapons, even atomic bombs. As the pilot and captain of Klaatu's ship, Gort can also operate highly complex machinery, just like the other members of his race which use similar ships to patrol planets. As his size would imply, Gort is also very strong physically, able to knock out men with a single blow.
In the remake, G.O.R.T. is still very powerful and showcased a greater array of abilities, such as a high-frequency sound to weaken nearby targets, an EMP able to shut down the lights for an entire city and, with the swarm of microscopic insect-like devices that make up his body, the ability to consume all matter and energy regardless of hardness of density, and through this method self-replicate more nanomachines and essentially never run out, giving him an incredible healing factor. As these nanobots can fly, that grants G.O.R.T. the ability of flight as well. Much like the original, he maintains his powerful laser weapon from his visor, now also capable of hacking unmanned drones and vehicles.
Reception[]
Gort on the cover of Ringo Starr's 1974 album Goodnight Vienna.
Just as the original The Day The Earth Stood Still film is praised as a sci-fi classic, Gort is often considered one of the most iconic sci-fi robots of all time, having made countless cameos throughout pop culture alongside other famous robots from TV and movies. A life-size replica of the 1951 Gort is on display at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, alongside the B9 robot from Lost in Space, the Death Star model from Star Wars, the T-800 Terminator and many others. Similarly, the phrase used to stop Gort, "Klaatu barada nikto", is cited as being "one of the most famous commands in science fiction" as well as "the most famous phrase ever spoken by an extraterrestrial", and has been used in several pieces of fiction.
Gort's name can be seen referenced alongside the phrase in the 1982 movie Tron, written on the wall of a cubicle: "Gort Klaatu barada nikto". Gort is also referenced in Season 7, episode 9 of Futurama- A Clockwork Origin. The Planet Express crew are tried for crimes against science on a planet inhabited by rapidly evolving robots, and are brought to the court building where the front reads "Superior Gort".
Trivia[]
- The original actor for Gort in the 1951 movie, Lock Martin, was seven feet, seven inches (231.14 cm) tall at the time. To maximize the height of the robot, the Gort suit was made with lifts in the boots.
- The thick foam-rubber suit was designed and built by Addison Hehr.
- Not used to being in such a confining, heat-inducing costume, actor Lock Martin worked carefully when wearing the two oversized, laced-up-the-front or -back, foamed neoprene suits needed for creating the illusion on screen of a seamless metallic Gort. Director Robert Wise decided that Martin’s on-screen shooting time would be limited to half hour intervals, so Martin, with his generally weak constitution, would face no more than minor discomfort. These segments, in turn, were then edited together into the film’s final print.
- G.O.R.T.'s threat to consume all life on the planet via his nanobots is similar to the hypothetical catastrophic scenario called "grey goo".
- The Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey served as inspiration for G.O.R.T.'s texture.
- The motion-capture actor for G.O.R.T. wore weights on his hands and feet, allowing the animators to bring a sense of weight and power.