Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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

Post by Lain Of The Wired »

Finished the JP vers.
I liked the Akira score, but a few certain scenes seemed really bland with its music, like the octopus battle and when Kong explodes out of the water. The US's stock score is far superior in those scenes for the American cut.
There's also a couple seconds of extra Kong which was pretty cool, liked that, even though they're not anything major, just a extra shot of Kong running through the city, and Kong eating the high tension wires
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by The Octopus »

^ One scene I loved (which was snipped from the American cut for some reason) is that when Kong destroys the mountaintop after the PP guys kill the lizard, you see his shoulder behind the mountain. It shows you that there is something big behind the mountain. In the US version the mountain suddenly explodes for no reason and then you hear Kong's roar.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by BlueGojira »

Does anybody else think the Kong suit looked really bad? I love this movie and I just rewatched it two weeks ago, but that Showa Kong suit always bothered me for some reason.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Lain Of The Wired »

@Shhhhhh, oh wow, I missed that!

Are there any other JP cuts that have extra monster shots?
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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BlueGojira wrote:Does anybody else think the Kong suit looked really bad? I love this movie and I just rewatched it two weeks ago, but that Showa Kong suit always bothered me for some reason.
I hate the prop's face, looks so derpy.
But I really like the suit, it's the first Kong who doesn't looks like a primate, but like a real monster, a god.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Mr_Goji_and_Watch »

BlueGojira wrote:Does anybody else think the Kong suit looked really bad? I love this movie and I just rewatched it two weeks ago, but that Showa Kong suit always bothered me for some reason.
Nah, it's horrible. The "zipper line" doesn't really help it either. Not sure how the hell Toho let them go with it.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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I don't mind the Kong suit in this movie, it has a lot of personality.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Mr_Goji_and_Watch wrote:
BlueGojira wrote:Does anybody else think the Kong suit looked really bad? I love this movie and I just rewatched it two weeks ago, but that Showa Kong suit always bothered me for some reason.
Nah, it's horrible. The "zipper line" doesn't really help it either. Not sure how the hell Toho let them go with it.
I also didn't like the fact that he was a reddish brown color.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Godzilla Mothra »

ZinK wrote:I don't mind the Kong suit in this movie, it has a lot of personality.
I agree, it's different and has a Bigfoot/Sasquatch look to it.

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

Post by UltimateDitto »

My older sister sent this movie to me on Blu-ray over the weekend but I'm going to watch it on Friday, I'll give my proper thoughts soon.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Chrispy_G »

I must say....this one truly is a classic in a lot of huge ways.

Think about the fact that this is STILL the #1 Godzilla film in Japan in terms of ticket sales. Utterly insane.

And...think about essentially EVERY Godzilla film after, the entire concept of building a franchise around "Godzilla vs another monster"....it was all built on the back of this film.

Yes, Raids Again had Godzilla battle another monster...but in terms of making it the linchpin, defining aspect of the franchise.....that all comes back to King Kong vs Godzilla, the legacy falls to this film. The Godzilla franchise was never the same after this film, hell, before this film, there was NO franchise, just a classic and a quick cash-in sequel.

I REALLY hope that the upcoming remake inspires Toho/Universal to do something special with this film in North America. The original Japanese cut has an apparently brilliant new 4K restoration, and has never been released officially in North America.

I'd love to see Universal give the US version a similar restoration and work out whatever deal necessary to release an edition that has both versions, and appropriate special features. Heck, I'd love to see them give it the kind of respect Criterion gave the original film, but I know that's unlikely.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Is the Japanese version of this film available at all in the US, or do I have to watch it online?
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Dr. Professor wrote:Is the Japanese version of this film available at all in the US, or do I have to watch it online?
Definitely not available in the states. Unless you wind up with some lousy boot.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Dr. Professor »

Stevo_1985 wrote:
Dr. Professor wrote:Is the Japanese version of this film available at all in the US, or do I have to watch it online?
Definitely not available in the states. Unless you wind up with some lousy boot.
Ah, alright. Thanks.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Lain Of The Wired »

Chrispy_G wrote:
Think about the fact that this is STILL the #1 Godzilla film in Japan in terms of ticket sales. Utterly insane.
Hmm, thought Shin beat it...
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Post by Spuro »

Lain Of The Wired wrote:@Shhhhhh, oh wow, I missed that!

Are there any other JP cuts that have extra monster shots?
Return of Godzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, and Mothra vs Godzilla come to mind.

Probably Raids Again too, but I have never bothered to watch the American version. :lol:
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Lain Of The Wired wrote:
Chrispy_G wrote:
Think about the fact that this is STILL the #1 Godzilla film in Japan in terms of ticket sales. Utterly insane.
Hmm, thought Shin beat it...
To my understanding, in terms of Japanese ticket sales, the Godzilla films break down something like this.


1. 12.55M – Godzilla vs King Kong – 1962
2. 9.60M – Godzilla – 1954
3. 8.34M – Godzilla Raids Again – 1955
4. 7.20M – Mothra vs Godzilla – 1964
5. 5.69M – Shin Godzilla – 2016
6. 5.41M – Ghidorah – 1964
7. 5.13M – Invasion of Astro Monster – 1965
8. 4.21M – Godzilla vs The Sea Monster – 1966
9. 4.20M – Godzilla vs Mothra – 1992
10. 4.00M – Godzilla vs Destoroyah – 1995
11. 3.90M – Godzilla – 1998
12. 3.80M – Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II – 1993
13. 3.40M – Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla – 1994
14. 3.20M – The Return of Godzilla – 1984
15. 2.70M – Godzilla vs King Ghidorah – 1991
16. 2.50M – Destroy All Monsters – 1968
17. 2.48M – Son of Godzilla – 1967
18. 2.40M – Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah – 2001
19. 2.23M – Godzilla – 2014
20. 2.00M – Godzilla vs Biollante – 1989
21. 2.00M – Godzilla 2000 – 1999
22. 1.78M – Godzilla vs Gigan – 1972
23. 1.74M – Godzilla vs Hedorah – 1971
24. 1.70M – Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla – 2002
25. 1.48M – All Monsters Attack – 1969
26. 1.35M – Godzilla vs Megaguirus – 2000
27. 1.33M – Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla – 1974
28. 1.20M – Godzilla: Tokyo SOS – 2003
29. 1.00M – Godzilla: Final Wars – 2004
30. 0.98M – Godzilla vs Megalon – 1973
31. 0.97M – Terror of MechaGodzilla – 1975

Many articles celebrated that Shin Godzilla is the best ticket seller since the 60s, which is accurate. It IS the most attended since Godzilla vs Mothra in 1964.

Now, I believe there might be some caveats to this list...as I THINK that all of the films above Shin Godzilla on the list have the benefits of having theatrical re-releases which of course boosted their ticket sales....and since this is before the days of home video....a theatrical re-release was a much bigger and more vital piece of a film's total revenue. Nowadays the money that might be spent buying tickets for repeat viewings in theaters instead goes to purchasing DVDs/BDs/Digital Downloads.
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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What's "Godzilla vs. King Kong"?
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Goji wrote:What's "Godzilla vs. King Kong"?
The alternate version of King Kong vs. Godzilla, where Godzilla wins at the end, of course :P
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Re: Talkback: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

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Goji wrote:What's "Godzilla vs. King Kong"?
Ehh, it's forgivable. I actually find the mads referring to GVM as Megalon vs Godzilla more irritating.
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