In which a rather stoned-looking King Kong (put down the sleep inducing berries, man!!) gets to ride a bundle of hot air balloons across the sea and then summon a whole lot of lightning in order to kick Godzilla’s radioactive thunder thighs!
King Kong vs Godzilla is exactly what Toho needed after the lukewarm reception of the rushed follow-up to 1954’s Godzilla. It’s in color, has a lot of pyrotechnics, and features a whole lot of rock-throwing fights between two heavyweights of the silver screen as they go insane when confronted with each other. It is, in fact, a movie that only Merian C. Cooper and his lawyers could hate . . . but more on that later.
But, before we get to all that monster-thumping fun, there’s a bit of Kaiju history to wade through which would, ultimately, pave the way for this Universal and Toho co-production of some fast and furious fun!
After Toho released the lackluster Godzilla Raids Again, they decided - when it came to their budget - to branch out a bit and for the next several years other Kaiju monsters were actively produced and released to the public. This was done to build up their dwindling bank account and it worked. From Rodan and Mothra to The Mysterians (which included the robot Moguera, who would later be in the Godzilla series), and 1958’s Varan, it seemed director Ishiro Honda was busy with anything other than resurrecting the beastly beloved icon.
Yes, all things concerning Godzilla were put on hold.
And then stop-motion animator Willis O’Brien entered the picture. He was hitting up any film production company that would hear his pitch for a King Kong and Frankenstein meet up. I don’t even know how it would have worked (other than it would have had to have been a 50 foot Frankenstein monster) but O’Brien was shopping the idea around and found a purchase with producer John Beck.
And that’s how Toho got involved. Beck liked the idea and then, without O’Brien’s knowledge, took it to Toho for them to produce it. But Toho didn’t want stop-motion effects. They wanted men in suits. And they didn’t want Universal’s giant-sized Frankenstein monster either. They wanted King Kong to butt heads with their new and improved designs for Godzilla.
With those changes made, thanks to the behind-the-back dealings of Beck which left O’Brien without much of a legal footing to stand on (and, ultimately, resulting in his death as he was beyond furious with Beck and Toho), the script was re-written by Shinichi Sekizawa and, soon enough, director Ishirō Honda and special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya returned to make the third film in each of the monsters’ franchise a reality . . . except this time their films would be in widescreen and color!
And even Merian C. Cooper, the producer and Co-Director of the original King Kong, couldn’t legally stop the film from being released. Oh, he tried. Good thing he didn’t actually own all of King Kong, too!
King Kong vs Godzilla is a monolithic blast of kaiju fun which begins as the head of a pharmaceutical company, Mr. Tako (Ichirō Arishima), takes Japanese television to task for its lame entertainment and puts together a blundering research team - Osamu Sakurai (Tadao Takashima) and Kinsaburo Furue (Yū Fujiki) - to find him a real headlining monster on the small Fro Island to advertise his products with. Denham complex anyone?
All of this while Godzilla snoozes in the Arctic sea, still trapped in an iceberg. Well, not for long as a nuclear sub - commanded by a sweaty captain who is wearing Mickey Mouse gloves - awakens the trapped monster by getting stuck in the same iceberg. Idiot. Godzilla awakens by sucking up all of the trapped subs' nuclear energy and escapes, destroying the submarine in the process, and returns, like a child returning to its birthplace, returns to Tokyo to rage on the city once again.
You probably know where this is headed. It’s a meeting of the minds, if you will, as King Kong (with Shoichi Hirose in the suit) and Godzilla (a returning Haruo Nakajima) hurl rocks at each other, at times vollying them back and forth, and perform one comical wrestling move after another for the rest of the movie.
With fight scenes happening in the outskirts of Japan, Tokyo, and on an island - with much of the shoot done on the Japanese island of Izu Ōshima after Toho had to pay a ton of money to RKO for the Kong licensing, there’s not much room for the human characters. It’s no bother for us. We just want to see the ridiculousness of these monsters - which, as designed here, are more kid-friendly and goofy - as they fight on a Mount Fuji set.
Complete with meter-high miniatures of the monsters, puppets, and plenty of forced perspectives, the effects remain pretty cool. The new (and thicker) design for Godzilla looks ready to rumble against the brown-dyed yak hair costumed King Kong, which highlights a face mask created by sculptor Teizō Toshimitsu as RKO demanded the design had to look much different than the original. And when the two titans of terror go at it, there’s really no stopping them which is highlighted by a scene in which the angered Kong grabs Godzilla’s tail and starts swinging him around and around with it.
Even the end, as a topple into Sagami Bay leads to an underwater fight between the two, leaves no clear victors. We see Kong swim back to his island and it is theorized that Godzilla did the same, but the quick ending leaves audiences wanting more, which is what Toho wanted.
Ultimately, the win in this kaiju battle goes to Toho who, as the film turned in a monster-sized profit, were handed the path forward that they were looking for: more monster-sized team-ups and more tail-swinging kid-friendly action scenes!
Yes, it’s true. The Kaiju world would forever be changed by the tree choking antics of King Kong vs Godzilla, which is now included in the Criterion Collection’s collection of Godzilla films, The Showa-Era Films 1954-1975.
Time to go ape for the film which changed Godzilla forever.
Home Video Distributor: Criterion
Available on Blu-ray - October 29, 2019
Screen Formats: 1.37:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Audio: Japanese: LPCM Mono; English: LPCM Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; 8-disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
After his first two cinematic rampages, Godzilla was revived as an adversary for the Hollywood import King Kong. When Kong is discovered on a remote island by a publicity-hungry pharmaceutical company, the giant ape is set on a collision course with Godzilla, and Japan braces for a double dose of devastation. Both the Japanese-release version and the U.S.-release cut were rousing hits, cementing Godzilla’s status as a series-worthy star.
Video
Criterion’s frame-by-frame digital restoration is presented in glorious color, while some of the budgetary restraints are noticeable here, the film has been painstakingly remastered for the best HD quality possible from the source material. Hajime Koizumi’s cinematography is brilliantly realized with great attention to the glory of Tokyo’s continued destruction and the crackling textures of cityscape to seascape. Obviously, most of the destruction occurs with cheap miniatures and the wires on the planes and the toy monster are, at times, more than visible. Detail is consistently impressive and the clarity of the picture is superior to the previous releases. The source print is also nicer; being bold and dark in tones and spot-on in texture. There also appears to be less damage to the print which always makes for a better experience when watching. In fact, I noticed no scratches, hisses, or pops on the negative while watching.
Audio
A lone English LPCM 1.0 is included since this was a co-production.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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See Special Features.
Special Features:
There are EIGHT blu-ray discs, all considered special edition collector’s sets, included here. Criterion Collection gives us 15 films PLUS a lavishly illustrated deluxe hardcover book featuring an essay by cinema historian Steve Ryfle, notes on the films by cinema historian Ed Godziszewski, and new illustrations by Arthur Adams, Sophie Campbell, Becky Cloonan, Jorge Coelho, Geof Darrow, Simon Gane, Robert Goodin, Benjamin Marra, Monarobot, Takashi Okazaki, Angela Rizza, Yuko Shimizu, Bill Sienkiewicz, Katsuya Terada, Ronald Wimberly, and Chris Wisnia. Along with the upgraded picture thanks to these transfers, this set is a MUST-OWN.
On top of the lavishly designed book, there are interviews with crew members, an interview with Alex Cox about his love for the series, interviews with the original composer, and lots of looks at unused Toho special effects. Overall, a great haul for this magnificent creature.
- Honda and Banno
- Handcrafted Artistry
- Launching Jet Jaguar
- Man of Many Faces
- Music is Always Simple
- Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection
- Trailers
The box set includes:
- High-definition digital transfer of Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956), the U.S.-release version of Godzilla Japanese-release version of King Kong vs. Godzilla from 1962.
- Audio commentaries from 2011 on Godzilla and Godzilla, King of the Monsters featuring film historian David Kalat
- International English-language dub tracks for Invasion of Astro-Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, and Terror of Mechagodzilla
- Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Ishiro Honda, conducted by director Yoshimitsu Banno in 1990
- Programs detailing the creation of Godzilla’s special effects and unused effects sequences from Toho releases including Destroy All Monsters
- New interview with filmmaker Alex Cox about his admiration for the Showa-era Godzilla films
- New and archival interviews with cast and crew members, including actors Bin Furuya, Tsugutoshi Komada, Haruo Nakajima, and Akira Takarada; composer Akira Ifukube; and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
- Interview with critic Tadao Sato from 2011
- Illustrated audio essay from 2011 about the real-life tragedy that inspired Godzilla
- New English subtitle translations
- Trailers
- A lavishly illustrated deluxe hardcover book featuring an essay by cinema historian Steve Ryfle, notes on the films by cinema historian Ed Godziszewski, and new illustrations by Arthur Adams, Sophie Campbell, Becky Cloonan, Jorge Coelho, Geof Darrow, Simon Gane, Robert Goodin, Benjamin Marra, Monarobot, Takashi Okazaki, Angela Rizza, Yuko Shimizu, Bill Sienkiewicz, Katsuya Terada, Ronald Wimberly, and Chris Wisnia
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MPAA Rating:
Runtime: 97 mins
Director: Ishirô Honda
Writer: Willis H. O'Brien; Shin'ichi Sekizawa
Cast: Tadao Takashima; Yû Fujiki; Kenji Sahara
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "Look! Who cares about Godzilla now? It's King Kong, King Kong, King Kong!"
Distributor: Criterion
Official Site: https://www.criterion.com/films/30209-king-kong-vs-godzilla
Release Date: August 11, 1962
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 29, 2019
Synopsis: The advertising director of a pharmaceutical company seeks to boost the ratings of their sponsored TV program by capturing King Kong, who breaks loose and battles a re-emerged Godzilla.
