Customer Reviews

King Kong Vs Godzilla/King Kong Escapes

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

2004-2005 will go down as a banner era for American fans of Kaiju Eiga. Not only has it seen Sony's superb releases of most of the Showa-era Godzilla films, but Media Blasters' equally-excellent DVDs of other Toho monster classics such as Dogora, Varan the Unbelievable, Atragon and others.

To this noble roster now add Universal's release of King Kong Vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes, in anamorphic widescreen. KK Vs. G is an enjoyable romp, beloved among G-fans for: 1) The fight between the two monsters at the Diet Building in Tokyo; 2) the incredible scene where Kong swings Godzilla around by his tail; and 3) being the first Godzilla film in color. Yes, the Kong suit is truly goofy, yet both it and the actor inside display loads of personality. And the film boasts a fine Akira Ifukube score.

But for my money the true gem here is King Kong Escapes. What makes this film so special can be summed up in one word: Mechani-Kong. This giant robotic version of the Eighth Wonder is as cool as the shaggy gorilla-suited Kong is goofy, and he certainly ranks as one of the greatest monsters in the Toho pantheon. If you're a fan of Mechagodzilla (and who isn't?), you owe it to yourself to see his precursor in his only film appearance. (Icing on the cake: the first appearance of Gorosaurus, Maestro Ifukube's wonderful score, and a deliciously over-the-top performance by Eisei Amamoto as "Dr. Who" -- no relation to the famous Timelord!)

It's still hard for me to believe that these two wonderful films are getting a quality DVD release.

I won't get into the technical side of this review because, A) I'm not a technically-oriented person, and B) I'm simply amazed I even have a DVD player at all. Pretty much EVERY DVD I've ever watched has better sound and picture quality than any single VHS tape I've seen. That having been said, it's time for me to expound on what I have found to be one of the most intriguing reinventions of the Eighth Wonder of the World ever committed to celluloid, if not necessarily grandiose.

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA

The third Godzilla film - and the first one in color - picks up some time after the little-seen "Godzilla Raids Again": our favorite fire-breathing reptilian bursts out of his Arctic entombment thanks to a clumsy submarine crew and heads back for Tokyo to do some exercises just as (surprise, surprise) King Kong surfaces on Faro Island and, through the means of a typically-greedy businessman, ends up making a beeline straight for the Big G.
Now you don't go into a movie like this, let alone any "Versus" movie, expecting gut-wrenching physical drama on the order of ABC's Wide World of Sports; what you should expect is pure and total fanboy's-dream absurdity of premise and relentlessly-high camp in execution (see "Freddy vs. Jason"). Never mind how Kong came back to life after plummeting to his death, or how he ended up on a Japanese island or even how he grew an extra 350 feet in the interim - if you're one of those people whose brain will be racked trying to figure those things out, this is NOT the movie for you. Admittedly, the film looks its age, but then most of the best of these movies are visibly dated anyway. And to be honest, there's a fair bit of satire in KKvG that holds up within the campy context of the film: Big Business looking for the next ad sensation, advocacy for smoking and drinking and loud pop music, the sly underpinnings of Kong and Godzilla chasing the same young woman, military intelligence suggesting that a big hole full of dynamite can stop a living four-hundred-foot-tall nuclear bomb. No kid is going to care about this stuff, but that's O.K.; the monster sequences are some of the most technically ornate in the series' early history.
Having said all of this, the film does have two significant weaknesses, which are the same in pretty much every Godzilla movie but here are more heavily accentuated: A) the emphasis on the human drama rather than the slugfest, and B) an "over-Americanization" of the film. I'll get to the latter in a moment, but first, the human angle doesn't suit the picture as well as it should. There's some attempt at soap opera drama involving a brother and sister living in Tokyo and her boyfriend, but it never really goes any further than the setup. Which in this case is a shame, since as gleefully cheesy as the movie is already, this could have made it a real riot. The more detrimental problem with this film is the aforementioned "over-Americanization" of the film, which in this case involves both erratic dubbing AND inserting U.S.-filmed footage, a la Raymond Burr in the original "Godzilla". However, it doesn't work here. Firstly, because it's presented under the banner of the United Nations News Network (they sure haven't been the same since Catwoman, Joker, Penguin and Riddler vaporized the Security Council) so as to create a false sense of "ringside commentary", and secondly, because in addition to American actors, you have English-speaking Latin Americans and Asian-Americans figuring into the mix as well. Having an Asian-American speaking more impeccable English than most present-day Caucasians may have been intended to bolster the film's credibility, and to that end Toho deserves credit, but when the rest of the movie involves badly-dubbed Japanese actors, it kind of disrupts the narrative flow.
Lastly, there's the stars themselves. Godzilla looks great in this one; Toho obviously took great care to make sure their biggest star looked his best in color. The opening defensive against Godzilla may be one of the best miniature sequences in the early films. And while the character has embryonic hints of silliness in his performance, he's still a mean mofo and it largely comes through whenever he's on screen. By contrast, Kong is the more comedic of the two, and everything about him suggests a more cartoonish approach, even the suit. This ape suit is easily among the worst ever filmed, but it might have been cut a little more slack if not for a truly awful Kong head used for close-ups. This second mask, I'm guessing, was meant to make the character more expressive than the mask on the "stunt" suit would allow, but at least there Kong still looks reasonably menacing. Had they just stuck with the "stunt" mask, that might have made this representation of the Kong character less overly goofy; as Captain Kirk once said, too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing.
All in all, though, KKvG is likely to provide a good time for those of us weaned on Saturday-night Creature Features. For its efforts, it's still entertaining to watch.

KING KONG ESCAPES

Now this one is a true rarity. I've only ever seen this movie once before on cable. It was apparently Toho's attempt to branch their new version of Kong out into his own series of films, to little avail. But it still is fun to watch for as much as any Japanese monster mash is. In a nutshell, this one involves Kong (now on Mondo Island rather than Faro - apparently they ran out of soma berries) becoming the subject of the mad desires of the scientist Dr. Who (again, no relation to the famous Time Lord - how the distributors of this movie avoided a lawsuit, I don't know). Crazy old Dr. Who needs super-strong Kong to dig through his mines looking for a powerful radioactive substance for Who's mysterious benefactor (the lovely Mie Hama, who got additional exposure to American audiences around this time as Kissy Suzuki in the 007 outing "You Only Live Twice" and as Teri Yaki in "What's Up, Tiger Lily?"). To achieve this end, Who kidnaps Kong's new human friends, Commander Nelson and his crewmates Susan and Jiro, to try to coerce him to obeying Who's orders when the usual mind-control ploys fail. When Kong escapes, and Nelson's team right behind him, Who sends out the ultimate super-weapon to bring Kong to his knees...(wait for it)...MECHANI-KONG!!! Yup, the 'giant monster's evil robot twin' gag starts right here, even before Mecha-Godzilla.
The movie itself, like all such fare imported from Toho, is grade-A cheese, yet that's part of its charm. And unlike KKvG, it's completely unfettered by American-filmed sequences, even though the American actors at some points do end up dubbing themselves over (maybe the distributors saw the discrepancies in KKvG?). In terms of pacing, it's also a much faster movie than KKvG, something that ultimately worked to these movies' favor as time went on.
The characterization here is much stronger than KKvG, even if doesn't make a whole lot of sense on a couple occasions (as when Madame X predictably switches sides because she's got the hots for Commander Nelson). As for the monsters, Kong starts out perfectly in line with where we last left him in KKvG, and ultimately ends up becoming a big kid who will follow lovely Susan around anywhere (you have to give Toho credit on this score too: at least their version of Kong still has that weakness for the ladies). Mechani-Kong is the real weak link in this chain, since he's simply a big remote-controlled toy for Dr. Who, but he proves nasty enough to leave a memorable impression.
The monkey suits here are a bit of an improvement. Mechani-Kong, being an armor-plated robot and genuinely cool-looking at that, really doesn't qualify for comparison to the quality of the ape costume in KKvG, but with Kong in this one at least the heads are consistent. Toho apparently tried to correct the proportions of the suit in relation to those of a real gorilla, which would almost work if not for the fact that the stuntman in the Kong suit - Haru Nakajima, Godzilla's portrayer for the better part of Big G's series - doesn't really employ many ape-like mannerisms in his performance.
KKE is, in many ways, a better film than KKvG. Which is saying a lot for movies as wonderfully corny as these.

The bottom line: come for the Big G, stay for the evil robot twin. There are plenty of worse ways to spend your Saturday nights.

KING KONG ESCAPES; Presented in 2.35:1 true widescreen.Haruo Nakajima the first and longest Godzilla portrayer wears the Kong suit. The actor who portrays Robot Kong is Hiroshi Sekida the same actor who played Sanda, the good brown Gargantua, opposite Nakajima's Giara, the evil green Gargantua.Talk about role reversals. I can't seem to find the portrayer of the Gorasaurus. I was eight years old when this was released in U.S. theaters. Even back then I knew Kong looked questionable. But that didn't stop me from enjoying this fun filled fast paced giant monster movie. 36 years later, after sporadic TV showings and a one time availibility on VHS in fullscreen,finally! KING KONG ESCAPES is released in true widescreen with a beautiful, clear, colorful picture. And no my friends this is not a guilty pleasure for me. I stand tall and proud and shout to the world. I LOVE WATCHING KING KONG ESCAPES! KING KONG vs GODZILLA; released roughly five years before the above movie, also presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. Haruo Nakajima portrays Godzilla. And in this particular outing Godzilla is seen as a brand new monster.This U.S. version disregards his first two appearances.But hey! That's cool,this movie is totally awesome.Kong is portrayed by Shoichi Hirose who went on to play King Ghidorah for his first two earthly invasions. Just watch the way Kong runs with his arms in the air. Incidentally, Shoichi Hirose is credited for playing one of Dr. Who's Henchmen in KING KONG ESCAPES. My guess is, he was the righthand man because he's the first credited henchman. My first viewing of KING KONG vs GODZILLA, also at the age of 8 was on WOR channel 9 Sunday night. Just as Kong gets dropped on his rump from burning the so called indesructible wires attached to the helium balloons... click! Bedtime.To say I was pissed was definately an understatement,as I had to hear all the other kids in school talk about the greatest fight in world history. But miracle of miracles happened a few months later. It was re-released at the local theater and I finally saw the whole thing in glorious color and giant widescreen. The American news coverage gave the movie authenticity. None of which is shown in the Japanese version. I wish Akira Ifukube's original score could have been included as a second audio.

After an "off and on" possible release(Universal kept saying in form letter fashion they had no plans as late as July for either film, they were suddenly announced in the late summer for release now). With the New Kong coming this is as best free promotion as these two films will ever get. The good news: both films are in letterboxed format, the original Tohoscope aspect. Both prints are in good shape overall(As good as I saw them in theaters years ago)with King Kong Escapes being the best of the two. King Kong vs Godzilla is a little well for the wear in some spots but nothing badly detracting(unless you are a total "manic perfectionist"). Both are dubbed and are the US releases. KK VS G was completely truncated and re-worked anyway with some often hilarious footage(Harry Holcombe and the "brain comparison" scene-"UN Newsman Eric Carter" pondering the marble representing Godzilla's brain- as well him supposedly being a scientist and displaying the kid's Golden Book of Dinosaurs at one point. The set in the background was all put together with thumbtacks and cloth if you look close.) The Toho footage fares better here, than does the obvious grainy stock footage used in the US scenes, and the UN Newsroom footage is spotty, but then, even when it was relatively a new film, it was this way. The film was highly truncated, seemingly at the last moment, for US consumption in the early 60's.

King Kong Escapes is in pretty nice condition, full of color, widescreen. Universal had a grandfather clause on both these films dating back to the 60's(as they co-produced and co-fiananced them with Toho) and held onto all US rights so, any "Japanese versions" would have been impossible and a legal morass for Universal to pursue-Toho does their own versions in Japan, Universal their own,in the US-plain and simple. It allows Universal to release their versions of the films with no consultation or legaleze with Toho. No trailers but I didn't expect there would be, and frankly, the price is unbeatable for the two which come, btw, in their own attractive clamshells and packaging, not two or more disks to one package(ala Universal's recent "Hammer Franchise Collection" which crams in 8 films on two disks).

The "music supervisor" on KK VS G is credited(using all stock Universal stuff) and yet Akira Ifukube is not on the KK ESCAPES disk, anyplace despite his great score is on that. Considering either film has not had much rental in the last 20 years, it's a feat these are out on these low-budget DVDs anyway and they aren't panned or scanned or from 16mm.

A good addition to anyone's Kaiju Collection of films(seemingly getting easier in the US as the years go on)

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962)

PLOT: Mr. Tako, head of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, is frustrated with the television shows his company is sponsoring and wants something to boost his ratings. Tako is informed by a special type of berry that only grows on a small Pacific island called Faro Island. The natives there process the berries into a juice that they use as a medicine. They also use the juice as an offering to their giant god named "Kong". Tako sees potential in the berries and decides to set up an expedition to Faro Island. When Tako's men arrive at Faro Island, the natives there claim that "Kong" is real being. Meanwhile, an American submarine named Seahawk gets caught in an iceberg. Something goes wrong and the submarine blows up. An American helicopter hovering above watch as the iceberg breaks open and Godzilla crawls out. Godzilla heads toward a nearby army base. The base is no match for the mighty power of Godzilla. Back at Faro, a giant octopus attacks the village and the natives quickly throw spears at it. Unfortunately, the spears are no match for the giant creature. Suddenly, Kong shows up and beats up the giant octopus, sending it crawling back into the sea. Kong drinks some of the giant containers of berry juice and falls asleep. Tako's men then inform him of Kong. Tako makes plans to take Kong back to Tokyo, as a publicity stunt for Pacific Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Tako arrives on the ship transporting Kong, but unfortunately, the monster then wakes up and breaks free from the raft. Kong finally reaches Tokyo and meets up with Godzilla in a valley. This is a match between the mightiest monsters of all time. Who will win?

COMMENTS: This film marked the first time that two famous monsters from separate film franchises were teamed up since Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943). This film acted as both a sequel to Son Of Kong (1933) as well as Godzilla Raids Again (1955). The film marked the first time either monster was seen in color and also the first time Kong was created using suitmation rather than a stop-motion model. For Godzilla, King Of The Monsters (1954), Toho Studios had originally planned on making Godzilla as a stop-motion model, but the process proved to be too extensive for the tight budget. For that film, and every other one to follow, it became traditional to create Toho's monsters through suitmation. The film was directed by Ishiro Hondo, who directed most of the classic Godzilla films. He purposely made the film campy and comical in order to entertain (and not frighten) children. The film itself is not exactly an Oscar-worthy film, but it featured two very popular monsters in a death match and several people went to see it. In Japan, it became the highest grossing Godzilla film to date. Many King Kong fans hate the comical appearance of Kong in the film. For the American film poster, they used a cropped photo of Kong from the original film rather than the way he looked in this film. Kong was made to look comical so the audiences would root for him over Godzilla. Many fans have noticed that King Kong is much larger in this film than he was in the original King Kong film. The film states that the reason for this was because the narcotic berries that Kong ate also contained growth hormones, which would explain him growing to the equal enormous size of Godzilla. At one point during the fight sequence, Kong shoves a tree down Godzilla's throat. This was a tribute to the original King Kong film, in which Kong shoved a tree down a Tyrannosaurus Rex's throat. Several rumours exist between the Japanese and American versions of the film. It is claimed that the film is called King Kong vs. Godzilla in the U.S. and Godzilla vs. King Kong in Japan. This is untrue; the film has the same title in both countries. Also, it is also claimed that Kong won the fight in the American version and that Godzilla won the fight in the Japanese version. This is also untrue; King Kong won in both films. Some fans also argue that King Kong swims away at the end because he is frightened of Godzilla, who didn't resurface from the ocean because he lives underwater anyay. Just the same, Toho Studios announced that King Kong was always meant to be the victor. At the time, King Kong was more popular in Japan, even though Godzilla was a Japanese creation. The film sparked sequels from the point of view of both monsters. Godzilla made his return in Mothra vs. Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla vs. The Thing) (1964); King Kong made his return in King Kong Escapes (1967). This DVD presents the film in the original widescreen theatrical ratio. There are no special features.


KING KONG ESCAPES (1967)

PLOT: The film begins with a UN submarine searching for oil. The ship is under the command of Commander Carl Nelson (Rhodes Reason). Susan Watson (Linda Miller) finds Nelson in his quarters with Lt. Hiro Nomura (Akira Takarada). The two are studying photographs of gorillas and they inform her of the legend of King Kong, who supposedly inhabits the nearby Mondo Island. Meanwhile at the North Pole, strange things are going on at a secret base. The base is run by the evil genius Dr. Who (Eisei Amamoto). Dr. Who is being employed by the mysterious Madame X (Mia Hama). Madame X has hired Dr. Who to dig up a mineral called Element X, which makes uranium look like gravel. In order to do the job, Dr. Who and his men have built a giant robot version of King Kong, called Mechani-Kong, to dig up the Element X. Unfortunately, the radiation from the deposit short out the robot's circuits. Mechani-Kong must be redesigned so that this doesn't happen again. Back in the sub, an underwater rockslide damages the rudder. The sub docks at Mondo Island for repairs. Nelson takes the opportunity to explore the island with Nomura and Susan. A native on the island tells them to leave, for they are trespassing on the territory of King Kong. Nelson and Nomura go after the native to ask him more questions, leaving Susan behind at their hovercraft. Suddenly, a large dinosaur called Gorosaurus comes out of the jungle. Susan screams in terror and the mighty King Kong comes to her rescue. Kong fights with the Gorosaurus and eventually kills it by breaking its jaw. Nelson and the others make it back to the submarine. Kong, who has has become smitten with Susan, follows. A large sea serpant attacks the sub, but Kong quicky attacks and kills it. Later on, the three UN explorers hold a press conference to discuss the events involving King Kong. Madame X attends the conference disguised as a reporter. She then sends her information back to Dr. Who, who decides to capture the real King Kong for digging up Element X. Is Dr. Who brilliant enough to capture the mighty King Kong?

COMMENTS: This film was produced by both Toho Studios and Rankin/Bass Productions. Rankin & Bass were famous at the time for producing Christmas TV specials such as Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Frosty The Snowman (1969), and Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (1970). The film acted as a sequel to King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) while at the same time being a spin-off of the Rankin/Bass animated series The King Kong Show. Ishiro Honda once again returned as director. The character of Mechani-Kong was first used in the animated King Kong show. It later served as the inspiration for Mecha-Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mecha-Godzilla (1974). The Gorosaurus dinosaur also returned in other Toho Godzilla films, including Destroy All Monsters (1969). The scene in where Kong kills the Gorosaurus by breaking its jaw is actually a tribute to the original King Kong (1933), in which Kong kills a Tyrannosaurus Rex the same way. The fight scene between Kong and the sea serpent is also a tribute to a similar scene in the original King Kong. There is also much confusion about the character of Dr. Who, who bears the same name as a TV series and titular character on British television. Despite the fact that both characters have the same name, they are not related. This film isn't exactly the best King Kong film, but it is entertaining for children and it serves as a nice follow-up to King Kong vs. Godzilla. Plus, Mechani-Kong is a really cool character. This DVD presents the film in the original widescreen theatrical ratio. There are no special features.

If anything good comes out of this new
Kong remake by Peter Jackson it's all the King Kong related ballyho
and I couldn't believe it when I heard Universal wasn't putting out
just one but two of their Toho related epics in letterbox to boot.
I've seen King Kong vs. Godzilla more times than I wish to say It's
just one of those flims I never grew out of (and I'm not alone,last
year's revival at New York's Film Forum was standing room only)

What is it about this movie that keeps us coming back for repeat
viewings surely we know Kong's not the animated wonder created by
painsakeing stop motion work. Surely Godzilla is not the broodish
figure from his first romp. and we ALL know how it ends but still
the movie has just the right amount of attention & just the right
amount of goofyness that it just equals fun every time. The story
concerns that of an advertising company in search of big story to
boost their tv ratings after the recent reappearance of Godzilla
They come to find on an island in the south pacific the presence
of the island god King Kong. After defeating a giant octopus and
downing a truckload of laced native berry juice he is tranported
to Japan for exploitation and his brawl with the Big G!"King Kong
Escapes" continues the adventures of our Tatty costumed simian as
he is taken again from his jungle to fall in love with the lovely
Linda Miller, dig up Element X and fight robot repilca of himself
atop the Tokyo Tower (has anyone took count of how many times the
Tower has been destroyed by Toho monsters?)
These are two great disc for two fun monster films my only b***h
is no trailers (which is a shame because they are as fun as the
flicks themselves)

I recall seeing both these movies way back when I first started watching Godzilla movies. Both are among my favorites to watch every now and then. I mean, who wouldn't want to see an American icon like King Kong go up against the 'King of Monsters'? or see Kong go up against a Mecha-version of himself? I'll admit, by today's standards, both of the movies are kinda cheesy and the plots are 'out there' but they are still fun to watch. Makes me wish that Toho could/would make more up-to-date versions of these two movies. From what I've read online, Toho did try that back in '91 -especially with King Kong vs Godzilla- but Turner Entertainment(owners of the original film) asked for too much money for King Kong's use in the film to which Toho declined & instead made Godzilla vs King Ghidorah as part of the Heisei series. With the recent success of Peter Jackson's King Kong, I think it would benefit both parties quite well. Not only making Godzilla fans happy but generating interest in the original Kong film as well as the rest of movies in the franchise. At any rate; we can hope that one day, in the near future, both companies can come to some agreement so our favorite giant monsters from opposite ends of the globe can battle it out once again.

Both of these movies were directed by Ishiro Honda with visual effects either done by or directed by Eiji Tsuburaya.

King Kong vs Godzilla was made in 1962 and tells the story about Mr. Tako who is head over a pharmaceuticals company. Frustrated with the tv shows his company is sponsoring, he tries to come up with something to boost the ratings. He soon finds out about a giant monster that was discovered on Faro Island. Believing it would give him the publicity he needs, he sends two men to find and bring the monster back. Meantime, an American submarine gets caught in an iceberg. The same iceberg that Godzilla was trapped in the movie, Godzilla Raids Again. Godzilla eventually breaks out and head toward a nearby Japanese Artic base to which he obliterates. On Faro Island, Kong is captured by Tako's men and brought back to Japan. Kong breaks free and meets up with Godzilla & the rest is history. You know what happens, lol, just by looking at the title. Guess who comes out the winner. It sold 11.2 million tickets during it's inital theatrical run in Japan and holds the title of having the highest attendance records ever on any Godzilla movie to date.

King Kong Escapes was made in 1967(hehe.. the year I was born). A mean genius named Dr. Who creates a Mecha-Kong in order to dig for a highly radioactive element dubbed "Element X". When Mecha-Kong fails, he decides to kidnap the real Kong and hypnotize him to dig for it. Kong soon snaps out of it and heads off for Tokyo. Kong and Mecha-Kong end up fighting on Tokyo Tower with the city hanging in the balance. This is also the first film to feature Gorosaurus(who played a part in Destroy All Monsters and made a cameo in Godzilla's Revenge) who is a fan favorite from Toho Films.

While there is no special features to speak of nor no extras, any respectful Godzilla or King Kong fan owes it to themselves to add these films to their collection just to have them. The way things stand right now, we might never see any more films featuring Kong & Godzilla duking it out or Kong battling a mecha version of himself. That, in itself, makes these two films worth collecting. My only gripe is that you're unable to see it in its' original Japanese dialogue with subtitles. I would've loved to have seen it that way.

The main event in this two-pack is the matchup between the two biggest names in giant monsters. While there are shortcomings here, it's hard to believe anyone who likes either the the big "G" or the big "K-K" wouldn't want to check this out..

Die-hard Kong fans probably won't like this. Let's be honest, it's probably impossible for a single movie to be loyal to the style of both monsters considering the differences in the underlying movies. The original "Kong" and Peter Jackson's worthy sucessor/remake are both driven by non-human special effects--stop motion and CGI. Godzilla on the other hand uses "suitmation" (and a few years ago, we all saw how unsuccesful the American attempt to convert him to more hi-tech effects was). This movie was produced by Toho and, with one exception, it uses the latter technique--suits and all. Go into it expecting something like "Destroy All Monsters" and you won't be disappointed.

This two-pack includes the American repackaged version of the Japanese orginal. It contains awkwardly-inserted scenes containing caucasian actors and sadly deletes of the original musical score by Arika Ifukube. While I would prefer the original version, I will settle for the sake of the bargain price.

The other benefit is the added-on movie, King Kong Escapes. Like the main movie, this is an odd spin on the big ape (Mecha-Kong?!?). This is probably a movie I would not have watched but for its inclusion here...but as a wacky, light-hearted fantasy, it works.

In short, if you appreciate the idea of Kong done kaiju-style then come for the main bout versus Godzilla. Stay for the match-up with the evil robotic twin.

Once Upon a Time in the Sixties, kids would go to the local (downtown) theater and watch incredible double features including Hercules, Abominable Snowmen, Godzilla and other masters of mayhem for about 75 cents. When I was Seven, I sat on the front row and was awestruck by King Kong vs. Godzilla! I mean, it was SO realistic. Of course, years later, as an adult, I had grown and the screen had shrunk so it just wasn't the same. However, I still enjoyed it even as a grown-up. Now that monster movies have to be made to impress adults and more cynical children, we have lost a little movie magic. The only complaint I have with KKVG is that Godzilla gets in a few more licks than Kong. The big ape deserves a rematch!

For years fans have had to suffer through Goodtimes' old copy of King Kong vs. Godzilla in fullscreen, but Universal finally gives us what we've been waiting for! The video quality is great on both movies. The lack of the Japanese version or extras is disappointing but understandable. If you want the US theatrical trailers, you can find it on the trailer compilation DVD "All Monsters Attack".