King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

A pharmaceutical company captures King Kong and brings him to Japan, where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released Godzilla.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Shin'ichi Sekizawa, Paul Mason

Stars:

Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Yû Fujiki

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tadao Takashima	...	Osamu Sakurai
Kenji Sahara	...	Kazuo Fujita
Yû 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)
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Farou Island Chief
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Captain of Fujita's Ship - Japanese version only
Ikio Sawamura	...	Witch Doctor
Someshô Matsumoto	...	Dr. Onuki
Kô Mishima	...	Official
Sachio Sakai	...	Obayashi (Mr. Tako's assistant)

Storyline

Mr. Tako, the chairman of a pharmaceutical company, learns the roma tomato-sized berries that grow on Farou Island are a miracle cure, and that the natives worship a god called King Kong who has allegedly grown to giant size from eating the berries. What better way to promote the product, Tako figures, than to bring the creature back to Japan? He leads an expedition with Sakurai and Furue to get the berries and the monster. Meanwhile, some American pilots discover the chunk of the glacier Godzilla was sealed in back in 1955. Sakurai's sister's boyfriend Kazuo is busy trying to sell an invisible but super-strong wire, which of course no one wants until Kong escapes...

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla | giant ape | king kong | kaiju | monster versus monster | 

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Taglines:

The most colossal conflict the screen has ever known!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

26 June 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

King Kong vs. Godzilla

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,725,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, John Beck, RKO General Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 74 min (1970 Toho Champion Festival)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Japan theatrical release) Mono (Westrex Sound) (US version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The only Godzilla movie that was written as a lighthearted comedy. This was to ensure that whole families would attend, since Godzilla was becoming increasingly more popular with children at the time.

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Goofs

During the climactic battle the extensions are taken off the arms of the Kong costume, making them almost a third shorter than in the rest of the movie.

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Quotes

Osamu Sakurai: [King Kong is breaking free] There's no time to argue! Destroy him!
Mr.Tako: What? King Kong is my responsibility, and you have no right to destroy him!
Furue: You dumbbell!
Mr.Tako: Dumbbell?
Furue: King Kong could kill us all! You wouldn't care! Publicity's all you want! Publicity!

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Crazy Credits

In the credits for the U.S. version, actor Kenji Sahara is listed as "Keji Sahaka."

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Alternate Versions

In the original version, when Sakurai and Farue are in the jungle searching for Kong, Farue runs to Sakurai to tell him that the ship's captain gave him the news about Godzilla'a latest rampage. In the American version, there is no mention of Godzilla and it is re-dubbed to make it seem like Farue is afraid to hunt for Kong and to complain about his corns.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Alien Vs. Predator (2013)

User Reviews

Third Appearance For Both Kong & Godzilla

Sequel to "Godzilla Raids Again" has American pilots discovering a floating chunk of iceberg that sees Godzilla emerge from his imprisonment, and immediately attacks Japan again. Meanwhile, a giant ape named King Kong(not connected to the two famous films from 1933) is captured by a pharmaceutical company, with plans to broadcast on television, but that is thwarted when Kong escapes to Japan as well, and the two biggest monsters in the world will do battle. Enjoyable romp is great fun to watch, and colorfully presented, even if some of the dubbed dialogue is dreadful(the Japanese version is still unavailable in North America.) The new scenes in the English-language version are silly but amusing.