You may not realize it, but King Kong vs. Godzilla is an important film. A landmark film. One that could even be considered as changing the course of cinematic history. And I say this all without a hint of irony.
Godzilla first came out in 1954 and did moderately well enough to warrant a sequel, Godzilla Raids Again the following year. It didn’t meet with the same frenzy the first film did and the North American distribution was so poorly handled (it was billed as Gigantis The Fire Monster and dubbed and edited in a way that made it a “new” monster) Toho decided to move in a different direction and went with Rodan in 1956.
After a few other films set in the same universe as Rodan and Godzila, Toho decided to try their hand one more time at the big lizard type monster. This time they licensed Universal’s iconic King Kong and placed him in the ring. Godzilla returned after a 7 year absence and the result was so well received a full-fledged franchise was born.
It takes 15 minutes before Godzilla destroys her first tank. At 55 minutes the two icons meet. King Kong vs. Godzilla is a pretty decently paced story that really does a decent job of showcasing both monsters. Heck, it was good enough that Godzilla would find a home in a number of films, some better than others.
One of the things I liked about King Kong vs. Godzilla was how it tied back to both The Mysterians and Godzilla Raids Again, showcasing how this was a series of films set in a sort of alternate near future.
Alright, so in King Kong vs. Godzilla there’s a line about how the two are natural enemies and as such will instinctively seek each other out. One sort of has to wonder just how dumb the filmmakers thought the audience would be. It’s all in fun, really, but even the better of these two films has moments that will leave you scratching your head.
In King Kong Escapes from 1967 we have veered into the more silly aspects of this Kaiju series, and that’s fine. This was a sequel that may or may not actually feature the same monster as in the previous film. Continuity mattered, sure, but serving the story was paramount, and that’s on full display in King Kong Escapes. The size of the monster has changed as has its home island.
Then there’s the whole plot involving Doctor Hu and his mecha-Kong attempting to mine a substance that exists only in the Arctic. The United Nations is this overarching semi-militaristic research agency that spans the globe and apparently has battled Doctor Hu before.
Universal, which owns the King Kong character and licensed it to Toho for these films, has released these two films on Blu-ray and this is welcome news. They are, however, not quite the definitive versions fans have hoped for. First the films are released on separate Blu-rays, both bare bones offerings. Both films would have easily fit on one Blu-ray disc in this bare bones manner. And these are both the American cuts of the films, meaning the original Japanese versions are not here. It’s not a huge loss, since the changes made were not nearly as egregious as what was done to Godzilla Raids Again, but it is disappointing to longtime kaiju fans. And with no special features there’s a lot of history about these two characters that is being missed for new viewers. I know of a number of people that would have loved to have turned in an audio commentary for no money, myself included.
If you’re a fan of kaiju you owe it to yourself to at the very least pick up King Kong vs. Godzilla. King Kong Escapes is definitely the lesser offering, but still fun for fans. These are both welcome additions to my collection.