Review Date:2/1/99
If you're a fan of the cable (like me) odds are you've seen this movie at least once. If your a fan of Godzilla then you've seen it many times. Regardless this movie has just been re-released on video so I figured it was time to dust of my copy of King Kong vs. Godzilla and see if it still held the charm it had when I first watched it, long, long ago in a house far, far away.
I'm happy to report that this movie does hold a certain type of charm, but it isn't the same kind as a 10 year-old Dr. Psy Chosis experience upon seeing this movie for the first time. On cable if I remember correctly.
We begin with a shot of the earth from space before anyone had ever seen the earth from space. At least space doesn't have clouds like other sci-fi movies of a similar vintage (this is 1962 by the way). Anyway as the camera pans over a spinning globe a Deep Voiced Narrator (there were lots of them in the 1960's) quote Shakespeare by saying "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horratio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Those stuck up intellectuals (and Kenneth Branagh fans) will recognize that quote from the play Hamlet. What its supposed to mean is beyond me. Probably something about how we should all ignore all the really strange things (King Kong and Godzilla for instance) in this movie's plot.
The Deep Voice is played by Les Tremayne if I'm not mistaken. Les also plays the captain of the U.N submarine Sea Hawk, dispatched to the Bering Sea to study some really weird ice brigs. The ship contains a bunch of scientists who scratch their heads for awhile until the Sea Hawk is sunk by (guess who) Godzilla.
Actually, Godzilla doesn't sink it. Here Godzilla brakes out of an ice berg and the sinking blocks of ice sink it. Now, if one where to stop and think about this for a second you would find that ice floats, thus poses absolutely no danger for a sub. Shall we continue?
Godzilla heads to
Tokyo for. . .some damn reason, and the military tries to stop him. This leads to an
(in)famous scene of tanks melting like models exposed to blow torches. I'll talk more
about this movies SPFX later on.
In Tokyo we find that a drug company called Pacific Pharmaceuticals has discovered a narcotic berry that only grows on a small island in the South seas. With PP's TV ratings sinking like ice berg damaged submarines the boss, Mr. Tako (Ichiro Arishima) dispatches Sakurai (Tadao Takashima) to head and expedition to Faro island, where the berry's were discovered and are used by the natives to placate a "mysterious god" (guess who) that is apparently a giant monster. Tako figures that if PPTV can find this giant monster/god their ratings will go through the roof.
Our expedition goes to Faro, finds a bunch of funky natives (dig those dance numbers) and (you guessed it) King Kong. Kong, after battling a giant octopus (yes, you read right), pauses for some liquid refreshment. Nothing like berry juice after you've pounded your opponent into the dust, eh? Luckily for giant monsters everywhere the berry juice makes Kong pass out at the drop of a hat. Seams the king can't hold his liquor that well.
The expedition soon builds a raft and hauls Kong back to Japan, but they meat a little resistant from the government, who isn't to keen on the idea of two giant monsters walking around Japan. Turns out they don't have much say in the matter, as Kong breaks loose and heads on a direct intercept course for Godzilla.
Since this is a giant
monster movie I'll start with the monsters. For the third time in as many movies Godzilla
got a new suit. This one is more reptilian in form the the previous two, with a longer
snout and more even teeth, kind of like a crocodile. The whole thing is a little slimmer
and the dorsal plates are more even, which would give the actor more mobility. And thank God
they got rid of those stupid looking ears. I've heard mixed opinions about this suit but I
generally like it. Not as much as suits in latter Godzilla movies, but its certainly
better then what had come before. The only major complaint I have is that (as with Godzilla) the puppets used for close ups look almost nothing like
the full suit.
Lets get something
straight: No, this is not the King Kong from King Kong.
That Kong would have lasted about, oh, five seconds against a Godzilla about 4 times
his size. To even out the odds Eiji Tsuburaya (the movie's special effects man) and screen
writer Shinichi Sekizawa beefed Kong up to a sound 150 feet tall and gave him the power to
shoot lightning from his hands. In this movie electricity makes him stronger. Unfortunatly
the Kong suit is really awful, with a vacant expression, an immobile mouth and what appear
to be two sets of arms (on human length the other giant ape length) it just sticks out as
the week link in this movies chain. To bad we're about 15 years from the monster effects
of Rick Baker.
Acting? What acting?
Okay, I suppose I should mention Tadao Takashima as Sakurai because he has the most stuff to do. Its just that this script isn't character oriented. Unless the monster count, that is.
Come to think of it, the inclusion of underwritten human characters actually weakens the movie because it takes time away from watching the monster rail on each other.
But once they do man is it fun to watch. If you're the kind of person who loves monsters then this is a can't miss movie. If you like human characters then this movie will disappoint, but it still might offer some fun.
RATING(OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)
A TRUE MONSTER MASH.
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