MOTW- KING KONG VS GODZILLA (1962)

[Xenorama ™]

Tadao Takashima ... Osamu Sakurai
Kenji Sahara ... Kazuo Fujita
Yu Fujiki ... Kinsaburo Furue
Ichirô Arishima ... Mr. Tako
Jun Tazaki ... General Masami Shinzo
Akihiko Hirata ... Dr. Shigezawa
Mie Hama ... Fumiko Sakurai
Akiko Wakabayashi ... Tamiye
Akemi Negishi ... Chikiro's Mother (Dancing Girl)
Senshô Matsumoto ... Prime Minister
Senkichi Omura ... TTV Translator Konno
Sachio Sakai ... Obayashi (Mr. Tako's assistant)
Haruya Kato ... Obayashi's assistant
Nadao Kirino ... General's Aide
Kenzo Tabu ... Dreary Newscaster
Shin Otomo ... Captain of Vessel
Yoshio Kosugi ... Farou Island Chief
Tatsuo Matsumura ... Dr. Makino
Ko Mishima ... Official
Yoshifumi Tajima ... Captain of Fujita's Ship -
Ikio Sawamura ... Witch Doctor
Ren Yamamoto ... Helicopter Pilot
Harold Conway ... Scientist in Sub
Osman Yusuf ... Submariner
Shoichi Hirose ... King Kong
Haruo Nakajima ... Gojira
Katsumi Tezuka ... Gojira
Michael Keith ... Eric Carter (U.S. version only)
James Yagi ... Yutaka Omura (U.S. version only)
Harry Holcombe ... Dr. Arnold Johnson (U.S. version only)
Byron Morrow ... TV Newscaster (U.S. version only)
Les Tremayne ... Narrator (U.S. version only) (voice)

my first ever Godzilla film, seen on the big screen numrerous times growing up- now that's spectacle! so while i'll admit the Japanese version is better, i still love the US one quite a bit. one of my favorite Godzilla designs as well.

[Gwangi]

A lot of fans sour on the American version. I finally saw the Japanese version just last year, and in truth, I found that both have certain advantages.

In the Japanese version, Godzilla really is much more threatening. The American version has the Godzilla scenes all at once (like when he attacks the submarine Seahawk). The Japanese one has these moments cutting back and forth, thus building much more tension.

The American version, however, plays out some scenarios much better. Kenji Sahara’s plane crashing in Hokkaido is an improvement (me thinks) than him getting lost at sea as in the original (which if I recall, doesn’t really explain why he was on a ship!). His wire, as strong as steel, is also better played out. As is Yu Fujiki’s corn problem. The Japanese version just had him as very tired!

You have Akira Ifkube’s music in the original, and that’s a no-brainer. However, all of those years watching the American version, there were scenes where I was use to hearing music, and surprisingly, found none in the Japanese version, and at times, the silence just didn’t do it for me.

I'm probably one of those few, who actually enjoys Harry Holcombe’s explanation of Godzilla, Kong, and everything else! “Godzilla has a brain about this size!”

[hastur]

An Awesome Godzilla movie for sure. And I agree, Both U.S. and Japanese versions have something special about them depending on what kind of mood your in. Yeah the Japanese version is more complete and has all that Rockin' Ifukube music going for it, but I must confess:

When I'm jonesing to watch this flick I reach for ..... The .... The ...
US VERSION! I admit it! A skeleton in my closet has been unearthed! Look, it's not my fault! I grew up with it and It's really what I'm used to. And now that the Universal dvd with the Widescreen print of this is out, I'm truly wondering if I'll ever watch that Japanese disc again. Well, whatever, great movie.

[Xenorama ™]

there are also some awesome shots in the movie- really well set up and photographed. Godzilla chasing the train and climbing out of the pit are so well done. ima do a screen grab of that one sometime, since the look coming out of the pit is great.

[Torgaman]

I've always felt the fans who didn't like the American version to have their underwear on too tight.If they hadn't americanized this film it might not have been the blockbuster it was and it probably would have meant the end of the Godzilla series right then and there.Instead the American version firmly established Godzilla as a name monster in the US giving Toho financial security to keep the series going.

[Shonokin]

I feel this is one of the best Kaiju fight movies ever. It's literally a colorful, wild romp. KK as all Toho/Tsuburaya simian creations, looks absolutely awful, but everything else makes up for that.

I've never seen the original Japanese version, but have watched the Western version endless times.

[Xenorama ™]

i'm so used to seeing this Kong (it was the first one i saw) that he is almost endearing, an ugly old friend who you'd want next to you in a bar brawl.

the emphasis on the size differential between Kong and Godzilla is nice as well, since Godzilla looks massive but can still move very well and Kong is a lot smaller. it's quite a good contrast. and Godzilla is at his most reptillian as well here.

[RedKing]

This is a very close second for my favorite Godzilla movie(GHIDRAH is first) and it is the first Godzilla movie I ever saw at the age of 4 and I still remember it. It was on TV one afternoon and I was hooked from then on. I vividly remember being frightened afterwards while i was supposed to be taking a nap that Godzilla or Kong were going to step on our house. This was on my local channels at least 2 or 3 times a year when i was a little kid, and later,in the early 80s,it was on as part of a Godzilla marathon on NY channel WWOR 9 the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't have cable, but we used to have Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt and uncle's house who did and I used to stay over for the weekend every year for like 3 years in a row to cathc the monster marathons-on Thanksgiving day they showed King Kong,Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young and the next day they showed King Kong vs Godzilla,Godzilla vs Megalon and Godzilla vs the Smog Monster. My uncle loved Japanese monster movies and always watched Smog Monster with me(that was the only one on after he got home from work). Unfortunately he died suddenly a few years later, and that same year ch9 changed the marathons. Anyways, i have so many happy memories attached to this movie.

I love both the US and Japanese versions as well-as Gwangi pointed out, some things work much better in the US version. That classic Creature From the Black Lagoon music fits the movie just fine as well, even though Ifukube's score is obviously the best fit for the action. I actually think Kong looks just fine here-the suit for King Kong Escapes I think is worse, at least the one for the water and climbing scenes! Kong has a ferocious looking face even if he has a build like a retired football player! As for Godzilla, this and the 1964 suit are my hands down favorite designs ever! There are so many excellently staged scenes as David said-the iceberg escape and attack on that army base(more on that in a sec), the climb out of the pit,Kong ramming the tree down Godzilla's throat-magnificent! As for the army base-exactly what country is that? The tanks are US made Shermans, but if you look closely they have the Soviet red star on them. My uncle is something of an expert on armor weapons and told me that after WW2 we had given the Soviets some Shermans, so this may be the answer-some old Soviet owned Shermans relegated to a North Siberian base. I don't know-I guess only Tsuburaya could have told us for sure.

[amphiboid]

It's funny.......the Kong really does look awful, but as soon as I see it, my brain goes back to being seven years old and I just don't care! Ha ha...I guess that is part of the appeal of these things for me. I remember that week in 1975 or thereabouts when the 3:30 movie had a whole week of these Toho films, and KKVG was one of them...a lot of kids at school were going home and watching that stuff, and there was nothing better.

[RoadWarriorYajuta]

I didn't see this movie until I was about 12 in 86. I had read about it in some books they did in the 80s about all the various movie monsters. Man those were great not only did they do Godzilla and King Kong but they did the classic Universal Monsters as well. The books were great and had some great Black and White Photos in them. The back covers were orange, if any of you know what books I am talking about let me know please.

Sorry, we lived in Germany when this came out on Video. All I remember is the box art was kind of trippy and had 60's style lettering on it. Seeing this after reading about it was great. This is one of those dream type scenarios we never thought we'd see. The two most prolific Giant Movie Monsters going toe to toe. I felt the movie lived up to the hype I had created for it in my own mind. When they released that new Kong movie they had also released this one, didn't have the money at the time but I will have to see if I can track it down.

[Torgaman]

Yeah I know the books you're talking about.They were written by Ian Thorne.I used to have the Godzilla one but I believed I sold it to either Mike Lawyer or Ronnie Burton.

[Xenorama ™]

i love stories like that- i should post my little Star Wars piece i wrote recently about seeing it for the first time. or maybe write one about this movie.

pondering!

[Gwangi]

It's ironic that the kaiju of the week is “KK vs. G” when at the same time, the man who edited the music in the American version, Pete Zinner passes away. In the obit, I didn’t hear them mention “KK vs. G” only some of his “lesser” known movies like “The Godfather” and “The Deer Hunter” ;D

[hman]

I've always enjoyed this film, although Kong's "victory" and rather contrived ability to use electricity to his advantage makes the last fight sort of infuriating. That said, the finale is 10 minutes of kaiju bliss.

[Xenorama ™]

they had to give Kong some way of beating Godzilla, since it was established he was the underdog. he couldn't just "hulk up" on his own. the lightning never bothered me at all, but then i was quite young and all superheroes could come back like that and defeat the villain.

[hman]

I think the stock music (Creature from the Black Lagoon, Monster that Challenged the World) fit the movie well. I actually don't have too much of a problem with stock music in kaiju-eiga.