Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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daveblackeye15
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by daveblackeye15 »

I thought Toho made it official that they said King Kong won. It kind of makes sense if you look at the monster's popularity at the time. Godzilla...I can't say unpopular, probably pretty well in the public's mind I'd think. Still his last movie was almost ten years previous. Then again I think Raids Again made more money than the first film then King Kong vs. Godzilla did even more. But Kong...I'd say was the super star of the two and basically had a full generation or two of love behind him.

I guess I do wonder what Honda considered, I understand he didn't really want to do the humor in the movie.

I considered Kong, not good, but certainly the lesser evil of the two. He was certainly more confused and angry while Godzilla was a straight up dick.

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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Goji »

I’ve heard “Toho said he won” for longer than I can remember, but Toho isn’t a person, and nobody has ever been able to confirm such a thing with any kind of source.

I know there is an English pressbook (by Toho International, so it has nothing to do with the U.S. release by Universal). Not sure if it makes any mention of anybody winning or losing, but it’s certainly possible. I don’t have scans of it, but I know they’re out there.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by UltramanGoji »

I think the “Toho said so” ending comes from a book by Tomoyuki Tanaka instead of anything from the company, so make of it as you will.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Mr_Goji_and_Watch »

Toho's official summary on their site says Kong is "seemingly the victor."
http://www.toho.website/movies/3/index.html

Which would be the second time they said it as far as I know.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by GigaBowserG »

UltramanGoji wrote:I think the “Toho said so” ending comes from a book by Tomoyuki Tanaka instead of anything from the company, so make of it as you will.
Tanaka simply refers to it as "a draw" in his book.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Ivo-goji »

Some valid points were raised here:
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Keith Aiken from SciFi Japan puts it best when talking about the whole "KKvG ended in a draw" thing
...the facts are that KING KONG VS GODZILLA started as KING KONG VS FRANKENSTEIN, Toho knew they were signing on to do a King Kong movie, they knew Godzilla was a very late addition to the story, and they were thrilled to have their monster share the screen with the character who inspired it in the first place. The idea that they would have their guy beat Kong is extremely unlikely, and that is reflected in the movie... once the raft is dynamited, Kong heads to Japan rather than back home because he senses Godzilla; and once Godzilla is defeated Kong goes home. The Japanese version ends with the characters speculated that Kong killed Godzilla; an odd thing for the filmmakers to close with if they were pushing for a tie or a Godzilla victory.

The same crew reunited for MOTHRA VS GODZILLA, and in the initial story treatment it was Godzilla's unconscious body rather than Mothra's egg that washes ashore. The characters assume Godzilla is dead from the battle with Kong and are surprised when the monster wakes up and goes on a rampage. Obviously this was changed, but it is interesting that the filmmakers who made KKvsG were planning to start the next film with Godzilla still comatose more than a year after the Kong battle. Again, an odd creative choice if they'd had KKvsG end with a draw or a win for Godzilla.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Oh okay, guess maybe I took the 'Toho says so' thing to heart too quickly. That article is very interesting though. I did figure that if Kong won he simply knocked Godzilla out under the water. If they had gone with the original Mothra vs. Godzilla plan then that'd be a really early indication of Godzilla having regeneration powers since he's described as being straight up comatose.

Still I'd rather take Kong winning than another tie. Godzilla was a jerk in that movie. That's what I like about Mothra vs. Godzilla. He clearly beat the adult and then the larvae got the better of him with some tactics.

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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by KillCrites »

Rewatched this today for the first time with proper english subs. It's genuinely a fuckin masterpiece, I love it so much. Everything from the characters, the comedy, the acting, plot, pacing, music, special effects, it's all amazing. Definitely my favorite Godzilla movie of all time. Also the Kong suit is extremely charming don't @ me.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Wow, this film was really awesome, funny and stupid at the same time. I like this movie.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by SuperPawnageGigan »

I love this movie, I love the final battle, and I love The Clap Godzilla does. It's Amazing.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Godzilla Vinyl Mania »

Always the best Godzilla film in my book. It had it all imo. KK vs G 2020 has got its work cut out for it.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Grievous »

You know what's crazy?

This film is not available on DVD or Blu-Ray in Australia.

Madman Entertainment have the distribution rights to the entire Godzilla franchise
apart from Raids Again, King Kong vs, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, The
Return of Godzilla & Godzilla vs. Biollante.

I had to import American DVDs to add these films to my collection.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

So are some of the FX intentionally crappy to sell the comedic aspects of the film or are they just bad?
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:So are some of the FX intentionally crappy to sell the comedic aspects of the film or are they just bad?
Isn't that kind of a mute question about a film made in Japan in 1962?
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Goji wrote:The notion that because Godzilla, an amphibious creature (which I just mentioned) doesn't surface implies that he "lost", is purely speculative. Maybe that was the intent, maybe it wasn't. It's obvious that Kong was meant to be the underdog in this film, so if the way the ending plays out is being construed as him "winning" by some people, then I suppose that makes enough sense. I don't know what the intent of the filmmakers was, though.

At the end of the day though, it really obviously doesn't matter. This is one of the greats, either way.
Yeah but let's be real here if Godzilla wasn't knocked out then falling in the water wouldn't have stopped the fight, he would have either surfaced to continue or pulled King Kong under the water.

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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Mr_Goji_and_Watch »

Grievous wrote:Isn't that kind of a mute question about a film made in Japan in 1962?
Lots of Toho's films from this era had good effects for their time though.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Grievous »

Mr_Goji_and_Watch wrote:
Grievous wrote:Isn't that kind of a mute question about a film made in Japan in 1962?
Lots of Toho's films from this era had good effects for their time though.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:So are some of the FX intentionally crappy to sell the comedic aspects of the film or are they just bad?
Kong's design was intentionally goofy in order to make him less frightening to children/look friendlier. The design just didn't translate too well to suit form (Disproportionate arms, lack of face articulation, etc.), even if I do appreciate what they were going for. The only other effects I would consider "bad" are some of the more overt splicing/blue screen shots, but I HIGHLY doubt those were intentional. The rest of the film's effects are either on-par with Toho's other stuff or above-average.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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MaxRebo320 wrote:
Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:So are some of the FX intentionally crappy to sell the comedic aspects of the film or are they just bad?
Kong's design was intentionally goofy in order to make him less frightening to children/look friendlier. The design just didn't translate too well to suit form (Disproportionate arms, lack of face articulation, etc.), even if I do appreciate what they were going for. The only other effects I would consider "bad" are some of the more overt splicing/blue screen shots, but I HIGHLY doubt those were intentional. The rest of the film's effects are either on-par with Toho's other stuff or above-average.
Yeah, a lot of the stuff with the giant octopus was a bit rough (even then, that's mostly the lighting sloppiness of casting shadows on the bluescreen/rear-screen; everything else fits pretty well within the technological abilities of the time), but nothing else in the film at all looks bad to me, for the era.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Zarm wrote:
MaxRebo320 wrote:
Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:So are some of the FX intentionally crappy to sell the comedic aspects of the film or are they just bad?
Kong's design was intentionally goofy in order to make him less frightening to children/look friendlier. The design just didn't translate too well to suit form (Disproportionate arms, lack of face articulation, etc.), even if I do appreciate what they were going for. The only other effects I would consider "bad" are some of the more overt splicing/blue screen shots, but I HIGHLY doubt those were intentional. The rest of the film's effects are either on-par with Toho's other stuff or above-average.
Yeah, a lot of the stuff with the giant octopus was a bit rough (even then, that's mostly the lighting sloppiness of casting shadows on the bluescreen/rear-screen; everything else fits pretty well within the technological abilities of the time), but nothing else in the film at all looks bad to me, for the era.
And, really, between the octopus and Kong, they were going for a lot more direct human-to-monster contact than was normal for the series, which meant doing a lot more compositing work than they were accustomed to.
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