Monster Discussion #12: King Kong

[GodzillaDude]

Honestly he's my favorite version of Kong, and the first one I ever saw.

Same with me. I had heard of who Kong was the first time I seen KKvG so he was the first version I saw as well. KKvG Kong is my favorite version of him even now.

[ebirahsmeg1]

I'm one of the biggest fans of the showa era you can find, and the Kong suit in this film is...well...it's an embarassment. Really nothing good to say about it at all. If not for the cool, unique G suit, this film would have been hard for me to sit through (and I like this movie too...well, the Japanese version at least). As a kid and just getting into Godzilla, I was big dinosaur nut and loved the original King Kong, and when I found this on VHS and begged my parents to get it for me, I was thinking "Holy shit, Godzilla vs King Kong, it cannot get any better than this!", and then when I first saw Kong appear on screen....CRUSHED...haven't been the same since.

Of course, I have softened on my hatred of this suit over time and have just come to accept it (and one of my favorite non-G showa films is KKE, and its suit wasn't all that great either), but it's one of the few kaiju I do not own in figure form (nor really have plans to...but you never know, depends what mood I'm in if I come across a Bandai Kong...the times I have seen it, I didn't give it a second glance).

[James23873]

Any one else think he looked more like an orangutan than a gorilla? His fur seemed to have a reddish orange tint to it.

[Zentenk]

I agree, he did not look like a Gorilla at all, KINO looks more like a yeti/sasquatch.

I was truly dissapointed when I first saw it, the cover of the video had the real King Kong on it for crying out loud (American VHS)!

[miguelnuva]

My ideal version of Kong would be the peter Jackson Kong colored like the Toho Kong, with the Toho Roar and powers and the ability to stand upright when he needs to.

As far as the Toho Kong suit while he's not my favorite looking King Kong the look gets the job done and I wouldn't mind seeing this version of Kong appear in more Godzilla media in the future.

[wrongnote85]

my favorite thing about the 62 kong was his ability to lengthen and shorten his arms at will, although we never did get to see this superpower happen on screne, just between shots.

That must be where the Indian guy from Master of the Flying Guillotine learned it...

freddy kruger

[Goji]

I was truly dissapointed when I first saw it, the cover of the video had the real King Kong on it for crying out loud (American VHS)!

You got played, son.

It also features the Megaro-Goji (on the front), and the '84 incarnation on the back. Neither of the suits featured in the actual movie are on the packaging.

[Godz]

I also have to say that this was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw, so I love it. I think it, and Kong in this film, are overly criticized these days...its just a fun movie. I do remember this Kong was one of the only kaiju that scared me....I used to have nightmares about the scene where he runs through some buildings, trampling them, waving his arms overhead.....that was scary to me compared to most other lumbering kaiju that you could MAYBE run away from....

[MekaGojira3k]

I think I like the KKvsG version of Kong fairly well. The suit is better than the KKE one, and overall I have more fun watching Kong in this film than I do in the 70s film and King Kong Lives.

[TokyoVigilante]

I enjoy the ogre-ish quality to this Kong quite a bit and his electricity powers work surprisingly well. I'd love to see a legitimate fan redesign that emphasis's the mythical ogre/yeti look about him over making him more of a gorilla.

But yeah, big fan of Toho Kong.

[Jomei]

I used to be one of those who hated the Kong suit, and I think I would have been sorely disappointed when the film came out if I were a big King Kong fan. However, over time the Toho Kong has grown on me immensely, and I agree with TokyoVigilante now.

[Rockzilla]

I don't have any beef with that Kong Suit. I kind of like it actually. I think it has been said before, but he looks a bit like Jack Nicholson.

[Megalon-5]

I like Toho's Kong. I've always been a big Kong fan and my favorite incarnations are this one and the original. He looks a bit silly, but that adds to his charm. He looks more like an ogre/orangutan/yeti than a proper gorilla. I remember back in elementary school I was obsessed with finding King Kong vs. Godzilla and it took me years before I could find it. So when I finally saw it, it was a great experience and I've loved the film and the monster suits ever since. The electricity power was really weird, but it was nice Toho gave him an edge over Godzilla. I wish Toho definitively owned their version of Kong so they could use him whenever and not be bogged down by the insane prices they'd have to pay to use him normally.

[wrongnote85]

I think I like the KKvsG version of Kong fairly well. The suit is better than the KKE one, and overall I have more fun watching Kong in this film than I do in the 70s film and King Kong Lives.

i don't see how anybody could have fun trying to watch king kong lives.

[Goji]

KING KONG LIVES is pretty monotonous. I got it as a gift for my 5th birthday back when it was a new release, and yet I don't have much of a nostalgic attachment to it, despite the fact that I watched it fairly often. It's too long, and the pacing is pretty awful, IIRC.

[wrongnote85]

not to mention that every one of the actors have that 'im going through the motions for this' thing going on.

[space godzilla]

Some people I know think he looks like Bigfoot.

[JAGzilla]

^ Well, he admittedly does. He looks a lot more like Bigfoot than a normal gorilla. Which isn't a problem, IMO. A 150-foot realistic gorilla would probably look kind of strange, and would've been hard to pull off with a suit. What Toho did with him works better than that would.

[Giga Kaiju]

He looks bad but he is portrayed good. A Fighting creature that doesnt back down. (Excluding the first encounter
with Godzilla)

[James23873]

^ The first encounter seemed like a strategic withdrawl. He realized he was at a distinct disadvantage as long as Godzilla was on the cliff raining atomic fire down on him.