King Kong Contra Godzilla

Director Ishiro Honda, who first brought The Big G to the screen in the brilliant 1954 film GOJIRA (re-edited in the US as Godzilla King of the Monsters) decided to scrap the heavy messages and themes of the original film when he made King Kong vs. Godzilla, however he does appeared to have had a great deal of fun making this goofy rubber monster classic. Godzilla breaks out of an iceberg he was imprisoned in and heads to knock down Tokyo. Meanwhile, a pharmaceutical company discovers King Kong on an island full of Japanese actors in blackface playing the natives (!) and the flamboyant CEO decides to bring Kong to Japan as a publicity stunt. The government decides to pit the two titans against each other on the top of Mount Fuji in the climatic scene of the movie. Much of this film is film is intentionally goofy, particularly the island scenes. The screenwriters decided that electricity makes King Kong stronger, but it weakens Godzilla (to make sure it would be a fair fight). Honda also put in several homages (parodies) to the original 1933 King Kong. The final battle on Mount Fuji is similar to watching WWF wrestling, except better, because they're wearing monster suits. If you want a film with epic romance and sweeping drama, you should watch Gone With the Wind, but if you're in the mood for campy monsteriffic fun like only the Japanese can do, watch this.

King Kong vs Godzilla is a product of it's time and really shows it's age, but it packs a lot of cheesy entertainment value that makes it worth your while.

Storyline:

The greedy owner of a pharmaceutical company sends a crew of bumbling fools to a mysterious island in search of the giant gorilla, King Kong. After fighting with a giant octopus and getting drunk on berry juice, Kong gets captured by the crew and taken to Japan to be used as a mascot for the company. Meanwhile, Godzilla has broken out of an iceberg and begun another rampage. Kong breaks loose and heads over to the mountains to square off with Godzilla. After getting hit by Godzilla's fire breath, Kong just walks away scratching his head. After realizing that Kong might be the only one who can defeat Godzilla, the military decides to give Kong an airlift using giant balloons tied to helicopters. The military drops Kong off at Godzilla's location on Mount Fuji, and the two duke it out in the most goofy and epic battle in cinematic history.

With a silly plot, unconvincing effects, and corny dialogue, it's no secret that this is an outdated film. However, it makes for a highly entertaining viewing experience and is guaranteed to curb your appetite for some goofy fun. Pitting two icons like Godzilla and King Kong against each other is a true work of genius, and Toho deserves a round of applause for making it happen so many years ago. Sure, you can say that this movie is obsolete since it's been remade, but if you ask me, all the big budget modern day CGI in the world can't top the appeal of a classic Japanese monster movie. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that this is one of the prime examples of the cheesy fun that can be found in a Japanese monster movie.

This film has a very fast pace, and you won't be left bored with the human storyline. The human characters are quite funny, and the dub has a bunch of corny dialogue that's bound to make you laugh due to the sheer amount of corniness. This movie also doesn't skimp on scenes featuring the two titular monsters. There's a bunch of stand out funny moments that make the film all the more memorable. Moments like Kong shoving a tree down Godzilla's throat, Godzilla clapping like a happy little kid after lighting Kong on fire, and Kong fighting an octopus that looks like it's covered in saran wrap all add to the entertainment value. On top of that, Godzilla has a really cool lizard-like design, and Kong has a memorably crappy design that looks like a part store gorilla costume that was run over by a car several times before filming. Oh, and there's also the fact that Kong gets superpowers from electricity due to this movie originally starting out as a Frankenstein movie (Feel free to look that up, it's an interesting read).

This is one of my guilty pleasures. It's full of mindless fun, and it's got a lot of rewatch value. It's a must watch for any movie buff just due to the sheer awesomeness of it's concept. I give it a 7/10, and that's probably more than what it truly deserves, but the amount of goofy entertainment packed into this gem of monster cinema makes it more than worth your time. I guarantee that it'll get a few laughs out of you, and who doesn't love a good laugh?

Any insults and accusations hurled against this beloved movie will fall on deaf ears with me. Admittedly, I am somewhat biased in favor of this entertaining monster romp because it was a regular television staple all during my childhood while I was growing up. It's one of the most enjoyable giant monster movies Toho Studios ever made, and it's certainly one of the best Godzilla films of all. It can be silly, it can be jokey, and it's also a hell of a lot of fun.

I have seen both the U.S. Version and the Japanese Version, and I'll have to confess that while this review will be based on the proper Asian edition, I also have a nostalgic fondness for the American Cut, which actually benefits from some added jokes ("When you and the monster meet, be sure to tell him all about your corn problems!") and the exciting Universal stock music which compliments much of the action.

Godzilla was still a bad guy at this point in time, and I'm among the group who considers his costume here my personal favorite (it was very much like the Aurora model kit, or maybe it was the other way around). It's not very original to bash the obvious awful King Kong suit, so I'll say that while it's definitely kind of ragged, I actually think it's appealing in its unusual weirdness. Kong is more or less painted as the heroic one of these two, and I have to tell you that I absolutely love that native song of worship which is chanted at him by the island dwellers who dance and pray on his home turf. I appreciate it even more when it's used as the title credits music in the Toho version.

The story is silly and simple, but it works. Godzilla is back in town after awakening from the iceberg he froze in at the conclusion of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, and so a frustrated pharmaceutical advertiser decides to send a couple of his zany cronies to King Kong's Island to capture and bring back his own monster to give Godzilla some competition. Humor is very well used here, and it works well alongside the usual rampages and city stompings.

The touted "battle of the giants" has been unfairly maligned as looking too much like a "wrestling match," but I don't see how else these creatures are supposed to tangle with one another unless they opted to stare each other down for ten minutes. Not much fun there, I'm afraid! Their climactic fight is well worth the wait and fulfills all expectations. *** out of ****

This movie is not the movie to see for an epic fight between the two legendary monsters. It's a movie to see for all the fans of badly executed special effects in the true spirit of 50's scifi b-movies. In that respect, it's a true classic. If you enjoyed the Beasty Boys' video for "Intergalactic Planetary", you'd love this movie as a Japanese feature length counterpart. They've got the same quality feel to them, and the same incredible special effects - and here, "incredible" is meant literally.

Some of the highlights of this movie for me: the toy plane a little boy sees hanging in a toystore and makes him stop because he badly wants it, is the same plane that flew in formation attacking Godzilla. And by that I don't mean the same type of plane, but it's the exact same plastic model! Also, true to the original story, King Kong comes from a tropical island. As we all know, the cliché has it such an island is inhabited by black people wearing banana-leaf skirts and toting spears. This being a Japanese production, the natives are played by Japanese, painted black and given curly wigs...

So if you enjoy laughing at the ridiculous details in movies, love to see fights between people wearing halloween suits trying to make it look like the real thing, with some mediocre fireworks in between, you have to see this movie. If you're looking for a credible classic, such as the original King Kong movie, or high-tech special effects and stunning visuals, this is not the one for you ;)

Godzilla escapes from an ice berg and King Kong is found on an island that has lots of kick ass berries on it which the natives grind into a juice for Kong to drink. After throwing boulders at a giant octopus and drinking the juice, Kong falls asleep and the local Japanese TV guys "ape nap" him and bring him back to Japan so their boss can exploit the big monkey for all he's worth. But en route, the Japanese government order the TV guys to send Kong back his home island because they've got enough problems with Godzilla as it is, they don't need a giant monkey on the rampage as well. Kong escapes and this leads to the inevitable clash of titans as Godzilla battles Kong for the right to demolish Tokyo.

The original Kong from the 1933 film was only 50 feet tall while Godzilla is 400 feet tall, so they had to make Kong a lot bigger for this film and in order to make the odds more even for him they endowed him with the ability to draw strength from lightning bolts. The King Kong suit is hopelessly phony to look at though.

The American version is a travesty that serves merely as filler until the big finale, with a reporter who really makes you long for Raymond Burr's reporter man Steve Martin. Whether or not the Japanese version ever becomes available in America remains to be seen, but hey, see whatever version you can get just to see Kong ram a ridiculously huge tree down Godzilla's throat!