O verall: If the original Japanese subbed version is not an option then this is the version to go with. The human story is very disjointed because of the American reshoots but it's an interesting side plot. The fights are epic and hilariously awful and unconvincing, still awesome though. It's boring most of the time but whenever i see IT's ridiculous grin I can't help but smile. The film was released to Japanese theaters on August 11, 1962, and to American theaters on June 26th, 1963.
This is perfect for a few guys to get together, have a couple of beers and laugh til you cry! This movie is bad (this version). Godzilla ( Kingu Kongu tai Gojira) is a 1962 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the third installment in the Godzilla series as well as the Showa series. I've seen worse but it is the original American port.Īnyway, the version we have is still good for what it is. You really only get half of the original cut with the rest being American actors explaining to the audience what is going on, it's boring and bad. Godzilla: What were you expecting?īuyer beware: this is the "American" version only of KKVG which is the inferior version of the film.
When I say the movie is ultimately forgettable, it's because the other 80 minutes are just that. With that mindset, the movie becomes supremely disappointing since they don't even actually meet until nearly an hour in, and the actual fight occurs in the last 10 minutes of the movie. The idea is, let's get these two together and have at it. All pretense of Godzilla being a menace to Tokyo and a harbinger of the atomic age is nowhere to be found. From the title to every event in the movie, the whole idea is to show these two monsters tussle to see who would win. trend that would basically define Godzilla for nearly every movie from this point on. This movie is also the very obvious beginning of the Vs. Considering the previous Kong movies were done with stop motion, it's somewhat understandable, but still. The Kong suit, however, is another world of terrible. I'm not sure just yet, but it may be one of the better suits of the Showa era of Godzilla. It's easily the best suit yet and bests even suits from later films in the series. One quick note is the actual look of Godzilla.
It's not impossible to believe that both of these monsters exist in the same place so the meeting of the two works well enough, considering what it is. The mixing of franchises is a little odd, but ultimately works due to each monster's original stories taking place in distinct locations, Godzilla in Japan and King Kong in New York. For the most part it actually works, but it would still be great to see the original edit. His role is to smooth out the odd transitions that occur due to the heavy edits. The American edit is very obvious, with basically a narrator in a planning room taking us from place to place. Since the only version available on DVD in Region 1 is that American cut, I make due with what I have. One thing to note of my impressions is that I watched the American edited version, which is substantially different than the original Japanese cut. A seven year break between films ends with this essentially forgettable movie, but the beginning of an era.