Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

[LSD Jellyfish]

One thing that always really bothered me, in a film about giant apes, is how they constructed the raft for Kong and got him on it....

[Zarm]

They used the Carl Denham 'offscreen magic' method.

[Orichalcum]

They used the inventor's indestructible wire and pulled him onto the raft

[Terasawa]

So how many people are seeing the Japanese version for the first time with the Criterion set? Gotta admit, I was expecting and anticipating a lot of discussion about this movie after that set was released.

[daveblackeye15]

There are some cuts I kind of like with the U.S. version. I kind of like that we cut back to the military preparing for Godzilla approaching rather than just immediately he's by a base. I don't know why thinking of that made me think of a cut I love from Godzilla 1985 the 'Godzilla's alive he's chasing the Super X' *cue music and showing Steve Martin being sadly proven right.*

My copy isn't coming for a day or two but I have seen the Japanese cut years ago.

[LSD Jellyfish]

So how many people are seeing the Japanese version for the first time with the Criterion set? Gotta admit, I was expecting and anticipating a lot of discussion about this movie after that set was released.

The people who genuinely cared about Godzilla vs. Kong would have gone out of their way years ago to see the film's Japanese version...

Please prove me wrong!

I think KVG isn't one of the all time greats, but it's definitely one of my favorites and I think would be better appreciated if people saw the Japanese version. It's almost tonally a completely different film.

[Terasawa]

I think KVG isn't one of the all time greats

I think it is. It rocketed up from fringe top 10 Godzilla to third behind 54 and Mothra vs., after seeing the 4K version earlier this year (the first copy I’ve seen with a consistent and appealing visual/aural presentation of the movie). I think it’s excellent in the same way a classic MGM musical is: every aspect of the large and complicated production comes together in a very entertaining and satisfying way. There is no other Godzilla movie quite like it; among other Toho monster movies, I think only Mothra (1961) compares.

Sure the Kong costume is pitiful and some of the SFX work is below Tsuburaya’s usual standard, but I think the faults are eased a bit because the movie is so self-aware and funny. And while I certainly don’t mind humor in the monster content in these movies, I think it’s best implemented in this one. Obayashi jokes about how preposterous it is that Kong and Godzilla should fight as if in a wrestling match and that’s precisely what Tsuburaya gives us later in the movie.

[Shhh! The Octopus]

I finally got a copy of the Japanese version. I cant wait to see Godzilla emerge the winner at the end.

Watches movie.

What the?

Damn it. That's the last time I listen to Bob Costas.

[eabaker]

Obayashi jokes about how preposterous it is that Kong and Godzilla should fight as if in a wrestling match and that’s precisely what Tsuburaya gives us later in the movie.

I have long maintained that, among other things, this movie is a very conscious comment on the exploitive absurdity of its own concept.

[Zarm]

I think KVG isn't one of the all time greats

I think it is. It rocketed up from fringe top 10 Godzilla to third behind 54 and Mothra vs., after seeing the 4K version earlier this year (the first copy I’ve seen with a consistent and appealing visual/aural presentation of the movie). I think it’s excellent in the same way a classic MGM musical is: every aspect of the large and complicated production comes together in a very entertaining and satisfying way. There is no other Godzilla movie quite like it; among other Toho monster movies, I think only Mothra (1961) compares.

I agree. (Mostly; I'd still rank MvG and SoG on the same level). It's reached top 10, if not top 5, franchise-wide status for me.

[Shhh! The Octopus]

I always thought this picture was cool.