With Godzilla and Kong preparing for a titan-sized team-up in this weekend’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, now seems like as good a time as any to revisit the first time these larger than life monsters crossed paths: 1962’s King Kong vs Godzilla. The third film in both franchises and the first in both franchises to be presented in widescreen and color, this entry was a major turning point for the Godzilla seres in particular and is often credited with keeping the series alive after the disappointing Godzilla Raids Again.
Yet despite its massive influence, the film is also strangely difficult to come by in the West. Universal released a bare-bones Blu-ray of the English dub in 2014 and the Japanese version is included in The Criterion Collection’s “Godzilla: The Showa Era” box set; but both versions are strangely absent from that set’s digital release; on top of also being missing from streaming and digital platforms overall. And so much of the film’s legacy here has more to do with the idea of it and an infamous alternate ending rumor than it does with the film itself.
So what is the film itself like? Does the first ever meeting of the most iconic American and Japanese movie monsters live up to the hype? Or did we need to wait until Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021 for a truly worthy match-up? Well, let’s dive in and find out.
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King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) Plot
Determined to increase ratings for his sponsored TV programs, the CEO of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Tako, orders two of his men to bring back a supposed monster from the nearby Faro Island. And after being attacked by a giant octopus, they discover that the Faro Island monster is none other than King Kong himself; who is then transported to Japan via raft.
Meanwhile, Godzilla has already returned to his literal stomping grounds after being freed from the iceberg he’s been stuck in since Godzilla Raids Again (Which may or may not be what Godzilla napping in the ice in the Godzilla x Kong trailer is referencing?) by a passing submarine. Kong and Godzilla quickly come to the mutual agreement that there’s only room in Tokyo for one giant monster and the two begin to go at it.
First, Kong throws a bunch of rocks at him, only for Godzilla to throw down the atomic breath trump card and force Kong to retreat. Then, after some solo rampaging for both and Kong gaining a power boost from absorbing electricity (Which is a thing he can do apparently), the two titans reconvene for a final battle on Mt. Fuji that ultimately ends with the two throwing each other into the water and only Kong resurfacing; though Godzilla obviously survived offscreen so he could be in the many, many sequels.
Is King Kong vs Godzilla Any Good?
I’ll be honest, as a huge Godzilla fan and a lover of the delightfully wacky Showa era in particular, King Kong vs Godzilla has never been one of my favorite entries in the series. This was before Ishiro Honda and his team at Toho had really figured out how to properly balance the monster action with the human storylines; so much of the pacing feels off. This is particularly true in the American dub that adds several superfluous scenes to make the events of the film seem like a news broadcast; though there’s thankfully no Raymond Burr this time.
And the film’s depictions of Faro Island’s indigenous tribes are, in a word, uncomfortable. Granted, it was the early 1960s, but it’s without a doubt one of the most poorly aged things in the entire franchise. However, that doesn’t make King Kong vs Godzilla a bad movie, not by any stretch of the imagination.
Like the best of the Showa era, the suits and “suit-mation” effects during the action scenes are top-notch, especially when combined with the stop-motion techniques King Kong made famous during his original outing. The final fight in particular is one of the best of that era and arguably the entire franchise. Plus, the shear bizarre nature of a King Kong and Godzilla showdown, the first one in fact, happening because a pharmaceutical company wanted to boost TV ratings is a fairly amusing novelty if nothing else.
What’s This About An Alternate Ending?
The legacy of King Kong vs. Godzilla here in the West is largely defined by two things. One, the crossover and “monster vs. monster” approach would shape the overall direction of the Godzilla franchise going forward and aid its popularity both here and back in Japan. The second thing is one of the most infamous fake movie rumors of all time.
The myth started in Issue 7 of the film magazine “Spaceman,” which in November 1963, incorrectly stated that Godzilla wins the final fight in the Japanese version of King Kong vs Godzilla, unlike the American version where Kong wins. However, due to a lack of access to uncut Japanese films stateside at the time and the infamously poor preservation of the original King Kong vs Godzilla in particular prior to the Criterion rerelease; it was frequently stated as fact by many credible sources such as the Los Angeles Times and even appeared as an answer in Trivial Pursuit.
Though the American and Japanese versions do differ in the aforementioned newscast scenes and the fact that only Kong’s roar is heard at the end of the American version, whereas both monsters’ roars can be heard in the Japanese release, the ending remains the same across both. Though, it is possible this fake alternate ending helped convince the MonsterVerse team to actually have Godzilla win in Godzilla vs. Kong before the two team up to take down Mechagodzilla.
In Conclusion
King Kong vs Godzilla may not be the best entry in either franchise and in terms of a proper showdown, Godzilla vs. Kong arguably ended up doing it better; but its influence on the Godzilla series and its fascinating place in monster movie history certainly make it an interesting oddity. And its uniquely bizarre human plot and excellent action scenes help keep it fairly compelling as a film in and of itself.
So before you head out to the theater this weekend to chomp your teeth into the latest MonsterVerse mega brawl, consider taking a look back at the first time everyone’s favorite oversized gorilla and nuclear-powered lizard shared the silver screen; if only to appreciate just how far these two iconic creatures have come.
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