King Kong Contra Godzilla

Most of us saw the English language version of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, which discarded alot of fun bits found only in the original Japanese language version of this near classic. In it's original Japanese, this is a fun movie about these rather boob-ish guys who work for a Tokyo advertising firm going to a desolate island. They encounter music loving natives who worship none other than King Kong. At the same time, Godzilla re-appears on the scene, threatening to destroy Tokyo. The film is made with wild energy, and goes with wild logic (how can you not love the scene where King Kong is knocked out with bongo music?!) Proof that director Inoshira Honda loved his audience and wanted to make them happy.

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!

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 ;)

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 ****

Obviously, KING KONG VS. GODZILLA is all about getting these two big lugs together for a showdown. The Americanized version has a lot of extra chatter, adding very little substance to the movie.

The setup is perfectly absurd, having something to do with giant berries, an island, and a mysterious, giant creature (Kong). An idealized United Nations dispatches a team to the island, while their gameshow host-like spokesman narrates the proceedings.

Godzilla is the bad guy on a rampage. Kong is mankind's only hope. In other words, it's time for the battle of the titans.

Despite the fact that in their original films both King Kong and Godzilla were exterminated, they're very much alive here. For his part, Kong is also much taller, as his first incarnation would have been easy pickings for the lumbering lizard.

Any fan of giant rubber monster movies will cheer aloud as these two legends face off...