King Kong vs. Godzilla

You know, this was the first Godzilla and King Kong movie I'd ever seen. I don't think I've seen it in 30 years, though. It's been kind of fun rewatching it again.

At one point, Dr. Shigezawa is talking to some reporters about Godzilla's journey to Japan. He steps into a car and the interview continues. The door to the car is open as the reporter keeps asking the scientist questions. Then the camera angle changes and the door is suddenly closed.

Do the natives of Farou Island speak Japapnese or not? Osamu Sakurai and Kinsaburo Furue bring a translater with them. Yet, when they ask the young boy, Chikiro, to bring them some berry juice, they speak Japanese to him.

The fight against the giant octopus is hilarious. Parts of it was done projected on a screen the actors react to. You can see the shadow of the spears and torches against the screen in several of the shots.

Why would an octopus - giant or not - leave the ocean just to grab some of the berry juice ("soma")? Would it be able to breathe? Wouldn't the change in pressure (from water to air) cause it to collapse?
When Kong is throwing rocks at the octopus, you can see the shadow of one of them on the screen. It also looks like the rocks are bouncing off a screen, rather than bouncing off the octopus.

Godzilla is heading for the city of Hokkaido. Fujita's girlfriend, Fumiko is on a train heading into the city. Fujita drives after her. The train is stopped and evacuated because of Godzilla's presence. Several Army trucks are nearby to take the passengers away from Godzilla. Fumiko isn't able to get on one. Instead, she, along with about 15 others, are left to fend for themselves.

Fujita arrives at the evacuation scene. Rather than check to see if his girlfriend is on one of the trucks, he drives on towards the train and Godzilla. Why doesn't he check to be sure Fumiko isn't in one of the trucks? That would be my first impulse.

And why was the train going to Hokkaido in the first place? Earlier in the film we see a news report warning people not to go to Hakkaido because Godzilla was travelling there. There shouldn't have been a train going to Hokkaido at all.

As Kong awakens at sea, Tako, the owner of a corporation that wanted Kong captured for the publicity, argues with Sakurai and Furue about using dynamite to blow the giant ape up. At one point Furue holds Tako at bay with his rifle. Tako is clearly at the edge of the ship. However, in the next shot he is no where near the edge.

The plunger to the dynamite fails to ignite the explosives. So Sakurai and Furue start shooting at the dynamite with their rifles. However, none of the ships' crew help out. What? They don't have any guns? They look military to me.

Considering how powerful the explosion was, I'd've thought the ocean would have been choppier than it was. The ship should have been hit with tidal waves that would have almost rivaled the one that hit the S.S. Poseiden.

Why does the Japanese news keep asking for opinions from an American scientist? Don't the Japanese have their own experts?

When Kong and Godzilla first meet, a helicopter flies in front of Godzilla. (That pilot was very stupid.) There's a shot of Godzilla hitting it with his atomic breath. However, in the next shot, the 'copter flies into the breath.

Professor Anderson, the American scientist the Japanese news keeps consulting, states that electricity makes Kong stronger. Uh, this is based on what, now? I mean, almost half a world away, without ever having really studied Kong, I mean, before this, Kong was thought to be a myth, and yet this Prof. Anderson knows Kong gets stronger when electrocuted. Yeah, right.

I've gotta say, neither the American nor the Japanese news room look like news rooms. The American one looks like a conference room. And the Japanese looks like a business office.

A blockade of power lines is apparently set up to try to stop Godzilla. (Unlike Kong, Godzy gets weaker when exposed to electricity. Imagine that.) Just how quickly could power lines be set up to stop Godzilla? You would think that they would use an existing power grid, but that's not the impression I get from the dialogue.

Boy, the Japanese sure build those electrical towers tall, don't they? They're as tall as Kong and Godzilla.

The rockets containing the soma were apparently animated. When they "launch", you can see a black silhouette at the mouth of the rocket launchers, after they've supposedly been fired off.

The length of Kong's arms keeps changing during the final battle between the two giant monsters.

I've gotta say, the Kong costume is embarrassingly bad. It just looks ridiculous. I've seen better gorilla costumes on Gilligan's Island.

Contrary to popular belief, the Japanese version of this film does not end with Godzilla as the victor of the battle. Kong was always the winner. (But I'd still would love to see the original Japanese version of this flick.)

Incidentally, this film marks the first time Godzilla and King Kong were shown in color. Prior to this, they'd only appeared in black and white movies.

"King Kong can't make a monkey out of us."

You know, this was the first Godzilla and King Kong movie I'd ever seen.
You have my sympathy. ;-) Okay it wasn't bad, but I think the originals were better.

Why would an octopus - giant or not - leave the ocean just to grab some of the berry juice ("soma")? Would it be able to breathe? Wouldn't the change in pressure (from water to air) cause it to collapse?
#1. Don't know, but probably not.
#2 & 3. Been a few years since I read my Jacques Cousteau book on octopi, but I do remember references about released, or escaped, octopi crawling over land to get back to the sea.

Professor Anderson, the American scientist the Japanese news keeps consulting, states that electricity makes Kong stronger. Uh, this is based on what, now?
I remember going, "What?!?!" when that line came up. Something invented just for this film.

Been years since I saw it, but where did this Kong come from? King Kong died at the end of his film (Of course, so did Godzilla.) And the son of Kong drowned when Skull Island sank. You'd thunk that would pretty much wipe out the family tree.

In this movie, Kong comes from Farou Island. In the next film, King Kong Escapes, he comes from Mondu Island. The costume still sucks in it. Just not as bad. Of course, one has to assume that the Kongs in the two Toho films aren't necessarily the same Kong who carried Fay Wray up for that superb view from the top of the Empire State Building.

You know, this was the first Godzilla and King Kong movie I'd ever seen. - me
You have my sympathy. ;-) Okay it wasn't bad, but I think the originals were better. - KAM

Yeah, but you've gotta remember, I was only something like 8 years old when I first saw this film. It was within the next year that I saw the original films for each monsters. Among other monster movies. I do plan to get the original King Kong on disc soon. And as for the original Godzilla... Well, I'd like to find the original "Gojira" version - the one without Perry Mason/Ironside in it. (But I will get the Americanized version just for the helluva it, too.)

"I like to watch." - Chance the Gardener

Didn't realize there was a second Toho Kong film.

Wasn't there some kind of lawsuit over using the King Kong name?

I've got the boxed set of King Kong/Son Of Kong/Mighty Joe Young... unfortunately I haven't had a chance to sit down & watch them yet. Not sure if I've ever seen Mighty Joe Young before.

King Kong Escapes wasn't really a sequel to King Kong vs. Godzilla, as the former doesn't in any way make a reference to the latter. Moreover, KKE is also a Rankin-Bass production, so it's sort of a pilot for the 1960s cartoon series.

In KKE, Kong fights a mechanical version of himself. (Years before Mecha-Godzilla became fashionable.) The robot Kong monkey suit looks better than the "real" Kong. KKE also has more "plot" to it and focuses too much on the humans. The fight between Kong and Mecha-Kong is actually pretty boring. It ends with the two Kongs fighting on a an Eiffel Tower-like structure (and me wondering how the tower could support their weight). It's not as fun as KKvG, silly as that one is. I will say the special effects in KKE are better than in KKvG. But that's not to say they're great.

Wasn't there some kind of lawsuit over using the King Kong name? - King KAM

IIRC, Toho did get permission from RKO Studios to use the name "King Kong".

"I like to watch." - Chauncy GardnerJ

You gotta love those TYCO buildings they use in those Godzilla movies.

IIRC, Toho did get permission from RKO Studios to use the name "King Kong".
Interesting. Thanks. Must have been thinking of something else then.

Went through my sci-fi encyclopedias & only one of them mentioned King Kong Escapes, but had nothing more on it.

Oddly enough The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction listed an Indian movie called Tarzan And King Kong (1965). 8-/
I wonder if it was a Bollywood musical?

Here's a page with some info on King Kong Escapes.

And another.

"I like to watch." - Chance the Gardener

Thanks.

Me - where did this Kong come from?
Having finally rewatched the original King Kong I noticed that while the captain of the ship didn't know of this island he had heard of Kong. Possibly this could be interpreted to indicate that other islands had a Kong. (Not the best argument, but possible.)

I have to admit that this is one of my guilty pleasures. Like Benn, it was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw, but I was about 11 or 12 when I saw it on tv. My mother even asked me after I saw it, "Does it even have a story?" I guess she thought it was just 90 minutes of two puppets fighting!

Having watched it today for the sixth? seventh? tenth? time, it struck me at how often Kong is asleep or unconscious in this movie! Twice he's knocked out using the soma berry juice, and twice he smashes his head and is knocked unconscious in his fight against Godzilla (although the first time might have been).

I also like this film because of the humor provided by Furue-- "My corns always hurt when they're near a monster!" , "He's in charge!", something that was missing in many Godzilla movies to follow.

The lead character, Sakurai, is voiced by an American actor that sure seems familiar but I can't place. I almost thought it was George Takei, but I doubt it's him (George did a voice-over in another Toho movie, 'Rodan').

The first encounter was disappointing, and not much of a fight-- I can imagine the theater-goers in 1963 feeling cheated until the Main Event.
I was actually able to see this in my teens at a Saturday matinee at a local theater. Cheers went up from the crowd when Kong arrives to stop the giant octopus, and when the big fight finally took place. I almost felt like I was in 1963, that afternoon.

The scientist tells the newscaster that Godzilla's brain is about the size of a walnut. I have to disagree, having watched the whole series. Not to mention, I don't think a creature like Godzilla could have evolved with a gigantic skull, but a teenty-tiny, itsy-bitsy brain. Such a miniscule brain compared to the rest of the monster's body would put a trenmendous strain on the brian's resources.

Electricity hurts Godzilla? Hm. Not several movies later (I believe versus MechaGodzilla), where it revives him. Ghidrah's electrical blasts would continue the plotline, though, that electricty hurts the Big G.

I also like this movie because it's the last time we see Godzilla fight a worthy adversary, that's roughly his size, one on one, until 'Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster'.
Next he'd fight Mothra and her two offspring, then he'd team up with Rodan and Mothra against Ghidrah, then team up again with Rodan to fight Ghidrah a second time, then he'd fight a sea monster, then his 'son' would be born and he'd fight some giant preying mantis' and the giant spider, Spiga, then 'Godzilla's Revenge' would come out, but it was really an imaginary story thought up by a kid. Too bad after the Smog Monster, Godzilla's back to tag-team fighting.

I have a cd of Godzilla themes, and strangely enough the creators went with the native chant song for this movie, instead of the actual opening credits.

Godzilla was revived by lightning in that movie so maybe there was a difference, trust me the Japaneese version (the one without the reporter but still dubbed or subbed) is far better, there is more character development and it ties into the rest of the Godzilla series better.

By this point there had been 5 or 6 films but the American reporter gives the impression Godzilla has never been seen before which jars as characters call him Godzilla the second he appears and one government minster mentioned knowing he was coming. This makes sense in the Japanese one but not the American one.

Also Godzilla has been shown to be pretty intelligent throughout the series not having a brain the size of a walnut.

I think an octopus that big would collapse under its own weight but maybe it was mutated like Godzilla.

"By this point there had been 5 or 6 films..."

Nope. This was number 3. And the second film renamed the monster 'Gigantis'.

"Godzilla has been shown to be pretty intelligent throughout the series not having a brain the size of a walnut."

Yea, and just when did the scientist have time to get Godzilla to sit down for an x-ray??? Crazy scientists/script writers!

"I think an octopus that big would collapse under its own weight..."

True, but that goes for Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, and every other monster out there.

The size of the monsters, is for me, a "gimme". That is, I'll give the films creators a pass on the fact that the creatures are just way too big to exist, if they keep everything else reasonable. Which they don't. But that's what keeps us nitpickers going.

I didn't realize that we could see the entire Japanese version of this movie on youtube, but here it is, complete with English subtitles;

https://youtu.be/3THYr7SjaZ4

I would say that it's about 75% what we've seen, which is understandable, since it was padded with lots of American footage of people pointing at maps and sitting down on fake TV shows.
Some things I noticed;
- The characters actually say 'd*mn' alot. Probably about a dozen times!
- Godzilla is referred to as 'it' instead of 'he'.
- The American version kinda has better music, and in places where there wasn't any. However, the traditional Godzilla theme is heard in this version in most scenes when he, uh, IT, appears.
- The American version overdubbed the submarine scenes featuring Amercian actors with OTHER Anerican actors! They didn't use their real voices! In the Japanese version there are Japanese sub-titles as the actors speak English.
- The opening scene of the Earth and voice-over quoting Shakespeare ("There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.") is actually a segment from a really bad science show that Tako, as head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is sponsering, and he really hates it.
- It's just as funny as the American version, especially with Mr. Tako (yes, that's his character's real name), who's obsessed with getting Kong back to Japan. And when the Japanese navy intercepts his ship towing Kong to Japan on a raft, he passes out because he's told that as the one responsible for Kong, any damages the monster causes will have to be paid by Tako, personally.
- All of the native island scenes are the actual dialogue from the Japanese version, and not dubbed from American actors. That's why the skinny Japanese guide speaks to the native chief in a wimpy, high-pitched voice, but has a nasally English voice in the American version.
- There are several scenes of the main characters or even random people in the scene, betting on who would win in a fight between King Kong and Godzilla. I guess the producers wanted to hype up the excitement of the encounter and get the audience to really wonder who was going to win.
- Sometimes the Japanese didn't add appropriate sound effects to scenes involving the monsters, whereas in the American version they did. Kong collapsing from the berry gas outside the building in Tokyo has a couple muffled, soft thumps, instead of a loud 'Boom!' from something as big as him hitting the ground. And the boulder toss during the main fight doesn't convey the gigantic size of the rocks or impacts they should be making. Not enough "BOOM!"s in the Japanese version!
- And the winner in the Japanese version...
SPOILER ALERT!
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King Kong!
We see him, the characters note that he's come to the surface and swimming back to his island, while there is no sign of Godzilla. The rumor that in the Japanese version Godzilla wins was just a lie, and it makes sense. After all, Godzilla was still a 'heel', and Kong the 'babyface', and in the previous two movie Godzilla lost (killed in the first, encased in ice in the second), and like any monster movie, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. the bad guy usually lost back then.
All in all, an interesting viewing and worth it, if only to see the human characters fleshed out a little more, and more humor, instead of boring Americans sitting around talking about what we just saw.