King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

King Kong vs. Godzilla is without a doubt the most entertaining and commercially successful (adjusted for inflation) of all the Godzilla films. What Sci-Fi plot could be better than pitting Godzilla against Willis O’Brien’s creation? It’s a great monster movie that really hit the money-making accelerator in the Toho franchise and propelled Godzilla into stardom. The film also presents audiences the both monsters in color for the first time.Following this movie, sequel after sequel would be made each year as a result.

     Godzilla was last seen buried on an island covered in ice. At some point between films, a chunk of glacier drifts out to see. As the film begins, Godzilla breaks free after a submarine crashes into the iceberg. Shortly after, the angry dinosaur destroys the sub and levels a military base. The suit design is once again revamped: the three sets of fins are replaced with one row, the torso is much bulkier, and the head is much narrower, giving him an alligator look. Overall, Godzilla looks more reptile-like than previously. Because the film’s mood is lighter than before, his roar is given the more familiar high-pitch, and the fangs are removed. He’s more “kid-friendly” in that sense, even though the monster is still villainous. Kong, on the other hand, is nothing similar to the 1933 version, which is in stop-motion. Here, he is a guy in a clumsy and very fake looking rubber suit, with a mouth that does not move when he roars.

     There’s a scene where Kong battles a giant octopus, which in fact is a real specimen Toho used for production. It’s not a spectacular scene, especially when Kong throws the rocks at it. You can tell the forced perspective animal is nowhere near the rocks as they are seemingly thrown across it, rather than actually making contact.

     But for the most part, the monster scenes are entertaining. Following his raid on the military base, Godzilla falls into a massive hole filled with dynamite by the Japanese army. For a B-Movie, the scene is done well, and adds to the aura of Godzilla’s invincibility. Continuity is erratic though, considering Godzilla is depicted as fearing electricity. In the original film, he rips through the electrical defenses in Tokyo without a problem. Although one should remember these are two different monsters; the original died in 1954.

     While the movie is in no way true to the 1933 film, it does uphold Kong’s interest in women, as he carries around a woman across Tokyo. Kong is also increased in size, from about 30 feet tall to Godzilla’s size. And for some reason he absorbs electricity, in contrast to Godzilla. This is never explained or elaborated. That detail is completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the plot, and makes no sense in any way.

     The final monster battle is amazing, and is certainly the highlight of the film. And because the film is more comical than the previous, it contains quite a bit of humor. Kong throws a rock at Godzilla, which he bats with his tail back at Kong. Godzilla claps his hands together tauntingly in the fight, something he never did before or after the movie. And Kong’s arm length changes constantly from long to short, depending on the scene. Both monsters land hard blows on one another, and the fights carries them into the ocean, from which only Kong resurfaces. A rumor persisted that in the Japanese version it was Godzilla, but it was false. The only difference is that instead of just hearing Kong’s roar in the credits, you hear both monsters roar.

     While this movie is great in the way of monster battles and city-crushing, the human aspect is horrible. Either each of the actors overacts or under acts in all the scenes. The drug company CEO, despite being the film’s chief antagonist, is a silly and obnoxious character. In one particular scene he’s wearing a safari outfit, although he was never in the jungle and is on a ship in the middle of the ocean. There’s also a subplot about a woman searching for her fiancé and getting pinned down in Godzilla’s attack on the train. The whole scene fails to move the plot anywhere. It doesn’t get Godzilla and Kong any closer to confronting each other, nor does it present the military with any solution to stopping the beasts. The scene appears to have been just “thrown” in there.

Allow me to lay out my personal bias towards this movie. It was the first Godzilla movie I’d ever seen, and the first one I owned on VHS. Here’s the cover.

I can’t explain how excited I was to find this movie. It was really glorifying for a seven year old boy. Despite the sometimes horrific acting and cheap special effects, King Kong vs. Godzilla is a fantastically thrilling film. There’s no sadness or real drama in the way of war or politics. If you’re looking for pure escapism for an hour and a half, this is the movie for you!  Four out of four.
~Seth

DIDJA KNOW?

• This film marks the first time either Godzilla or King Kong were filmed in color or widescreen
• Ishiro Honda considered going with stop-motion monsters, a la Willis O'Brien's Kong, but due to budget concerns the idea was scrapped in favor of the standard guys-in-suits
• This film also features the Davy Crockett, a portable nuclear missile launcher built by the United States, which was supposed to be Top Secret. No word if Snowden was around at that time...

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Following the success of Godzilla, Toho set out to build on its success with a sequel: Godzilla Raids Again. On its own, this film is fun and entertaining, but it lacks the top quality of the original masterpiece. While Godzilla’s image of an atomic threat is still present in this film, the gravely feel of a post-world war climate is gone. Also, half of the camera shots of Godzilla in the film look like cheap hand puppets. And the puppet doesn't look anything like the face on the monster suit! And the face of the suit has a slight grin, giving the monster a less threatening appearance. The deep roar is kept from the original film, as is the overall suit impression.

     What makes this film so unique is that it is the first to feature a one on one monster battle, thus laying the groundwork for the rest of the series. Godzilla’s nemesis is called Anguirus, a mutated Ankylosaurus that too was awoke from nuclear testing. As a result, they fight first on an island, then carry it to Osaka. Again, half of the close-ups of the fight are two hand puppets grappling with each other, so it can be disappointing for some fans looking for a great battle. But it’s still entertaining, and the fight’s conclusion boosts Godzilla’s image as a powerful threat.

     The golden moment of the film is the military’s unique attack on Godzilla, as its jets fire missiles at an icy mountain wall, causing avalanches to bury him. What’s amazing is that the military actually prevails, and the beast is buried. This conclusion also provides viewers with continuity, for this is precisely where they find Godzilla in the next film. But we will get to that in the next review.

Overall, Godzilla Raids Again is a transitional film. It carries the serious gravity of the original Godzilla, but also gives audiences a first glimpse of the cheap monster fights and model sets that the series is so renowned for. With that said, it doesn't deserve the negativity it gets from critics. It’s an old fashioned 50’s monster movie. It’s not supposed to be overly serious or saddening. The film is just good Saturday night fun. I give it 3 out of 4 stars! 

~Seth

Didja Know?

• This is George Takei (of Star Trek fame)'s first film project. 
• Although special effects director Eiji Tsuburya wanted the fights filmed in slow motion, the camera crank operator misunderstood and under-cranked instead of over-cranking. The resulting faster fight scenes won Tsuburya over, and they kept it in the final version.
• Unaware of Godzilla's impending runaway popularity, American producer Paul Schreibman inexplicably changed Godzilla's name to "Gigantis" for the American print!