Gor (film)


Gor is a 1987 science fiction and fantasy film based loosely on the 1966 novel Tarnsman of Gor, written by philosophy professor and author John Frederick Lange Jr. under his pen name John Norman. There was a sequel, Outlaw of Gor.

Plot

After being snubbed before a weekend-getaway by his teaching assistant, socially awkward professor of physics Tarl Cabot accidentally unlocks the magical properties of a ring which transports him to the planet Gor. After his arrival, Cabot encounters a village being attacked by the army of the tyrannical priest-king Sarm. Sarm's forces are invading neighboring settlements in an effort to retrieve the Home Stone, a mystical object that creates pathways between Gor and distant Earth. Cabot too is abruptly attacked by Sarm's warriors. After inadvertently killing Sarm's own son during the encounter, he is left for dead in the desert. He awakens to find himself being nursed back to health by Talena, a scantily clad barbarian princess of the Kingdom of Ko-ro-ba. Cabot learns that Talena's father, the King, has been captured by Sarm, along with the Home Stone. Cabot travels with Talena on a rescue mission to Sarm's lands, where they are captured. Cabot leads a group of rebels in an escape effort, whereupon Cabot is able to kill Sarm, rescue Talena and her father, and reacquire the Home Stone. Tarl et al. return to Ko-ro-ba, where, after Cabot and Talena admit their love for one another, Cabot accidentally activates the Home Stone, and is returned to Earth.

Cast

Gor was widely panned upon its release for its poor production value and camp. The film has been the target of criticism for its overt sexual themes, and its portrayal of women characters as being slaves to men.
In a 2002 interview with online fan-zine, The Gorean Voice, John Norman recalled that the rights-holders to his novels, Ballantine Books, balked at the idea of a movie tie-in with the novels, saying that the publisher had to be circumvented in order to make the movie:
Ballantine Books refused to do movie tie-ins to either film; they failed even to answer my letters. My attorney finessed his way around Ballantine's rights department and contacted the legal department at Random House. The movies were made by going over the heads of the censors.