Die Rückkehr des King Kong

Like Mothra, here also, Toho produces a movie that criticizes nuclear war and consumerism at the same time but on a whole another level. Bringing the most famous monsters together, one from Hollywood and one from Japan, it was really a huge event even back then. The first half of the story in the monster part is similar to both monsters' first outing but the human element is a pharmaceutical company using monsters for advertisement. Initially, I thought the humor element there was simply like a comic relief moment but the movie manages to be hilarious throughout. The King Kong suit design itself is very whacky. Then when the final battle ensues, it's just two people in rubber suits wrestling and throwing props at each other. The whole battle is just stupid and hilarious. The initial Island rituals and music were actually engrossing but with the cigarette gift to the blackface kids it is consistently funny. Even though there's so much stupidity in this movie, a lot of it is clearly intentional and they know what the audience wants. Even all the posters are hilarious. Still, better than the modern Hollywood version.

The original Japanese Toho cut of 'King Kong Vs Godzilla' has a much more developed sense of comedy imbued throughout its runtime: the entire film is satirical and scatty; it just isn't really any better than the heavily altered American/International cut that features truly dreadful added United Nations scenes alongside necessarily dubbed and re-edited scenes.

I find this version needs significant further attention from an editor to improve its pacing and the construction of action scenes: the American film does slightly improve in this area despite it causing terrible damage to the satirical comedy of the original.

In the comedic premise of the story 'King Kong Vs Godzilla' has its best strength. There is a great degree of poking fun at television and corporate cultures and some of this is well put across.

The action part of the film is less ably done and the narrative pace is off by a considerable degree.

The same failings of really poor and unconvincing monsters that afflict the American version are naturally in this film also.

They look, sound, and move badly, individually, and even moreso, in tandem together.

The film score is better in this version as is the overall sound design.

I rate a 5/10 for a version that has more brains but less pruning than the more often seen English language cut.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first, because this movie is not without weaknesses. One of those weaknesses, regrettably, is King Kong. It's not that the giant ape looks completely awful, but there are definitely some aspects of the design that are less than great: I understand the reason for having two different sets of arms for the suit, but the differences are glaringly apparent and look goofy; whenever we see close-ups of Kong's face, or the face requires some special movement or expression, it raises a skeptical eyebrow; the suit at large kind of looks patchy, as if the yak hair was applied and/or dyed unevenly. Some similar critiques apply to the Godzilla suit worn by Nakajima Haruo, but not to the same extent, and whenever Kong actor Hirose Shoichi is directed to run about waving his arms in the air, suffice to say that it doesn't come off well. Speaking of appearances, there is a lot of native exploitation going on with the indigenous people of Kong's home, Faro Island, and not of the sort that speaks to the major themes that informed 1933's 'King Kong,' nor the 1976 remake to come. There's also something extra icky about the brownface that the Japanese extras wear to portray said islanders. Of course that Pacific landmass is where we first meet Kong, and he's not alone; for all the inventiveness of the other megafauna, however, the fabricated practical effects that are employed to further represent it are bizarrely, gauchely subpar, and outdated by at least about ten years. And as one additional notable shortcoming, there are a few points where the writing very decidedly takes some shortcuts - declining sensible beats so that Movie Magic can move us toward the titular showdown. We know Toho's kaiju can do better, but here we are.

Yet while such matters come to our attention and absolutely merit discussion, none of them are so severe as to critically diminish the lasting value. Based on everything I had read of the film before watching I quite anticipated it to be a wholly preposterous romp, and at that probably a rather middling one; imagine my surprise when it turned out to be significantly better than I could have hoped! In fact, of any King Kong flicks that had been made from Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's essential progenitor, through to the tawdry 'King Kong lives' of 1986, this might be second only to the original; moreover, it surely is a surprisingly worthy entry in the enormous Godzilla franchise, too. There is some outright ridiculousness here, certainly, earning some laughs whether intentionally or not: the extra animated performance that Arishima Ichiro gives as Mr. Tako, the (literal) position Kong finds himself in before the climactic fight, some moments in the battles between the two colossi, and so on. There are also some creative choices made here and there which are just plain curious, provoking an unexpected reaction one way or another, and some less sure-footed contributions do occasionally rear their heads in most regards. Far more than not, however, 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' is astonishingly well made, and astonishingly earnest. This isn't merely some kooky, outlandish genre blast, but a carefully crafted kaiju picture that also happens to be marked with some imperfections. And I kind of love it.

I have to hand it to composer Ifukube Akira: he didn't need to go as hard as he did; all he had to do was compose a suitable complementary score that incorporated recognizable phrases. Well beyond that minimum, the main theme that first greets us over the opening credits is immediately grabbing, and he had my full attention before the story even began. That story, with exceptions, is gratifyingly well-written, from the undercurrents of satirizing contemporary television and marketing, to the silent nod to a prior Godzilla installment; from small character traits that are later woven back into the narrative in meaningful ways, to the broad strokes of the titans' respective entries into the saga, and where humans fit into the proceedings. The scene writing, too, is marvelously strong, and filmmaker Honda Ishiro demonstrates perfectly solid direction. To much the same end, Tsuburaya Eiji's oversight of the effects produced terrific results, and for that matter the visuals at large are outstanding. Yes, the kaiju suits bear faults, but the sets and miniatures are a wonderful sight for sore eyes, and all the practical effects are a joy; at their best Godzilla and King Kong do look pretty swell, the fight sequences are excellent, and even the consideration for lighting is quite welcome. Editor Kaneko Reiko is to be commended for some extra shrewd work, and Koizumi Hajime's cinematography is smart and vivid even through the slight variations in image quality that come with the most commonly available copies of the Japanese version. The human cast don't necessarily stand out all that much (Arishima aside), but all involved give fine performances to help bring the feature to life.

It has some flaws, and it sounds outwardly silly. Real skill and intelligence went into this production, however, and the final product reflects the care and passion of all who participated. Just as some moments are more questionable, some tidbits of rather brilliant - and regardless of how much we might scrutinize the whole affair, I don't think there's much arguing that it's roundly engaging, entertaining, and satisfying. I sat to watch with expectations that were mixed to low, and I for one am very pleased with just how good 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' actually is. It might not be a title one needs to go out of their way to see, but whether you're an especial fan of either monster or just looking for something fun it's well worth checking out, and I'm happy to give this (Japanese version) my enthusiastic recommendation!

From the beginning scenes you can tell this is a little different. It's almost like a proto-Verhoeven film. It has a satirical edge to it that you dont see in other Godzilla movies. And just overall it's a little zanier and kind of wild compared to previous Godzilla films.

It's still Honda directing and still a TOHO film with the same technical crew as most other Kaiju. It was just this one script and a few actors that made this one a tad more enjoyable than many others.

I will be blunt though. It's not as amazing as a lot have made it seem. I guess if you saw this once when you were a kid then had to wrok to find it again in the pre-internet era of video rental stores. That would inflate the spectacle of the film a lot.

It is better than most Kaiju films. It does have some memorable characters and some moments of the Kaiju fights that are remarkable. But really it's only about 10% better than the average Kaiju film. There are others like Mothra that are much better in a number of ways.

It is kind of a turning point for the franchise in a few ways. This starting the change of Godzilla from an evil monster to a kind of antihero. Antimonster maybe?

The pitched up his roar a bit. Made the suit less scary looking and had him dance whenever he scores a good move against King Kong.

King Kong is a little weird. He looks nothing like the classic Kong. Very crude and rough. Not to my liking at all. But the suit actor did a great job of mimicing ape like movements.

The fight choreo is recognizably influenced by pro wrestling. I thought that was a great idea, but there are a couple spots I really didn't like how they went about it, but it worked.

Overall it's enjoyable not to be taken seriously fare.

Now, the monster mashups begin. Godzilla's first squaring off with another creature is the result of a script that originally pitted King Kong against Frankenstein's monster that Toho got their hands on and retooled for their marquee monster that they were discovering they could bring back repeatedly without turning off their Japanese and American audiences. They also brought back the original filmmaker behind Godzilla, Ishiro Honda, though without his original writing partner, choosing instead to use Shinichi Sekizawa, one of two writers who had become Honda's regular partner. The result is what one might expect from this period of Toho monster movies: thin, a bit (though not incredibly) silly, and with an effort to make another kind of movie in there somewhere.

The head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Tako (Ichiro Arishima), has decided that his media and advertising contract is not performing to standards, so he demands that the television studio create a sensation to up their ratings which should lead to more sales of the company's drugs. Here is the heart of the film, the satiric look at the Japanese television industry and its quest for ratings no matter what, and it's probably where the film works best. It's unfortunate that Sekizawa wasn't a good enough writer to bring it into the whole of the film, picking it up and dropping it from time to time as other types of film dominate for large sections of the film, but Mr. Tako doing everything he can to push the reporters into making things sensational across the action of the film provides some solid chuckles here and there.

Sakurai (Tadao Takashima) and Furue (Yu Fujiki) end up being sent to Faro Island (also the name of the place Ingmar Bergman called home for decades, but it has to just be a coincidence, right?) to investigate a mysterious spirit that the locals live in fear of. Yes, it's King Kong. They witness him battling a giant octopus and then getting so drunk that he falls asleep in a ceremony the locals provide him, giving them the perfect opportunity to get the Japanese boating crew to tie him up and lash him to a giant raft. Where the original King Kong outright ignored how to move a giant ape from one side of the world to the other, King Kong vs. Godzilla embraces it, and the sight is always inherently silly. Granted, the raft sight isn't hilarious (though the combination of man-in-suit and water just doesn't mesh all that well), there's a moment late where they transport him by giant balloon that is just...kind of hilarious.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Godzilla has decided to awaken for no reason at all, heating up the ice prison that he was trapped in at the end of Godzilla Raids Again, and he heads straight for Japan. This (so far) short series has developed a little tic of bringing back scientific characters from the previous entry to explain the science or behavior of Godzilla in the new one. Takashi Shimuri had a cameo in Godzilla Raids Again after his near-star role in Godzilla, and this time it's Dr. Shigezawa (Akihiko Hirata), who was also in Godzilla, to appear in a couple of scenes and explain Godzilla's behavior. I mean, for this weird little series in the 60s, the commitment canon is surprising.

Anyway, the two monsters have a fight, but King Kong is bested by Godzilla, leading to a retreat, some business with a girl being kidnapped by the giant ape, drugging it based on the stuff it got drunk off of on Faro Island, and then transporting him to face Godzilla again when the scientists decide that despite Kong losing his first battle maybe a day before, Kong is definitely strong enough now. It'll help if he gets miraculously struck by lightning to make him much more stronger at a down moment, too.

So, it's silly. There is some more character stuff around Sakurai's sister and Furue's fiancée (I might have mixed those up, but it just doesn't matter in the least), Fumiko (Mie Hama), but she's forgotten for long sections in favor of bits of satirical comedy around Mr. Tako and monster mash action. Focusing more purely on the satirical elements would have been a net-positive, I think.

Eiji Tsuburaya's special effects are, once again, the star of the show, but I have to say that he repeated the decision to play monster action quickly here like he did (supposedly accidentally) in Godzilla Raids Again. Moving these guys quickly makes them feel smaller, not bigger, and it makes the action itself inherently sillier. So, the suits are mostly pretty good (Godzilla is pretty good, Kong looks...not great, to be honest), and there's this wonderful continued embrace of miniature destruction. However, I just wish Tsuburaya had gone back to how to film kaiju from his first effort rather than his second.

So, it's fine. It's an excuse to pit Godzilla against another monster. The character stuff works slightly better this time than most because it has that satirical edge, even if it doesn't really go very far. So, it's decent, on the brighter side of this kind of film in this era. It entertains slightly. It's just, you know, not good.