Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

Gort is a fictional humanoid robot that first appeared in the 1951 20th Century Fox American science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still and years later in its 2008 remake.

In the original science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master", on which the two films are based, the character is called Gnut.

1951 depiction

The eight-foot metal robot accompanies Klaatu, a visitor to Earth from an unnamed, distant planet, aboard a flying saucer. He does not speak, but uses a laserlike weapon projected from beneath a head visor to vaporize weapons and other physical obstacles. Klaatu describes "him" as one of an interstellar police force, holding irrevocable powers to "preserve the peace" by destroying any aggressor.^[1]

The character was loosely based on Gnut, in "Farewell to the Master", a 1940 Astounding Science Fiction short story written by Harry Bates, used as the basis for Edmund H. North's screenplay. In that story Gnut is a moving green statue apparently attendant upon Klaatu, but identified, in the terminus of the story, as the eponymous "master" over Klaatu.

On screen, Gort is a large, seamless robot apparently constructed from a single piece of "flexible metal". He was portrayed by seven-foot, seven-inch (231 cm)-tall actor Lock Martin wearing a thick foam-rubber suit designed and built by Addison Hehr. Two suits were created, fastened alternately from the front or back so that the robot would appear seamless from any angle in the completed scenes. A fiberglass statue of Gort was also used for the close-ups of the firing of his energy beam weapon or when a scene did not require that he move. To maximize the height of the robot, the Gort suit was made with lifts in the boots so that Martin could see forward through the suit's visor area during certain shots; air holes were provided under the robot's wide chin and jaw, and these can be seen in several close-ups of Gort's head.

During most of the film, Gort remains motionless in front of Klaatu's saucer, which rests on the National Mall in central Washington, D.C., while scientists and military researchers attempt to examine both the robot and the saucer. At one point, Klaatu communicates with him using reflected signals from a borrowed flashlight. Gort also responds to spoken commands, including the famous dialog line "Klaatu barada nikto", spoken by actor Patricia Neal's character toward the end of the film.

2008 depiction

Gort, as seen in the 2008 remake, and the biological spaceship.

Gort is an all-CGI effect in the remake. Like the earlier version, he does not speak and shoots deadly beams from his single eye. He is significantly taller in this version: about twenty-eight feet. The name is only used once, as the acronym G.O.R.T., which stands for "Genetically Organized Robotic Technology", assigned to the robot by the military and scientists.

G.O.R.T. is made up of a vast swarm of microscopic insect-like devices that self-replicate through the consumption of matter and energy, capable of disintegrating any substance they touch. In addition to this mode of attack, G.O.R.T. still possesses his trademark eye-beam to destroy obstacles, and can also manipulate attacking fighter drones by hacking into their electronic control systems. He is neutralized by Klaatu at the end of the film with a massive EMP that also shuts down all of humanity's electrical technology.

Unlike the 1951 version, this newer G.O.R.T. has 5 digits on each hand, instead of the mitten-style hands of the 1951 robot; his feet, however, have no digits. Features such as the cuffs, belt, visor, and boots of the first Gort are gone. The 2008 G.O.R.T has a more simplistic overall surface design that in close-up appears to "move" due to its nanorobotic composition.

Comparing 1951 and 2008 performances

Owen Gleiberman writes that "Gort isn't so lovey-dovey" in the remake; rather, "he's like a super-tall, obsidian Oscar statue wreaking havoc."^[2] At the insistence of Keanu Reeves, the phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" was included in the remake (Keanu says the words when Gort reacts to his shooting, although the words are very distorted).^[3]

Cultural references

A life-size replica of the 1951 Gort is on display at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. Collectors can also own a screen-accurate Gort by visiting The Robot Man website, a company offering many different feature film and television prop robot replicas.^[4]

A photo of Gort, with Ringo Starr (as Klaatu), appears on the cover of Starr's 1974 Goodnight Vienna album.

Experimental pop artist Eric Millikin created a large mosaic portrait of Gort out of Halloween candy as part of his "Totally Sweet" series in 2013.^[5][6]

At 26 minutes and 15 seconds into the science fiction film Tron (1982), there is a reference to The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) written on the wall of a cubicle: "Gort Klaatu barada nikto".

Gort appears in the FBI lineup in "The Springfield Files", an episode of The Simpsons. With him are other TV aliens, such as Gordon Shumway aka Alf, Chewbacca, Marvin the Martian, and one of the Kang and Kodos team.

See also

• List of fictional robots and androids
• Gort, a town in Ireland.

References

Notes

Bibliography