King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: King Kong vs. Godzilla
Year: 1962
Director: Ishiro Honda
Country: Japan
Langauge: Japanese

With Ishiro Honda’s 1954 masterpiece, the studio uncovered a true main eventer in the King of Monsters, a boss that could go toe-to-toe with other creatures in the cinematic equivalent of prize-fights. This idea is far removed from Godzilla's original intention; which was to reflect Japan's fears regarding the atomic age and to remind us about the horrors that happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the United States dropped their atom bombs.

In this picture, a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong and brings him to Japan, where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released Godzilla.

Toho's Their first attempt at the "King of All Monsters" gimmick was a flop primarily because Godzilla's foe in Godzilla Raids Again was the forgettable Anguirus and the story was rushed due to Toho wanted to cash on the original film's success asap.To get the audience hooked Toho needed a real heavyweight to captivate the audience and make them think that their monster was in real jeopardy. The company decided American-made King Kong would be the perfect match.

Such crossovers weren't exactly new at the time; Universal had been doing Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man- type pictures for a couple of decades. The billing suggests that King Kong is the main character of the story and indeed he is. Until the big fight, the film almost feels like a remake of the original 1933 classic. Throughout the picture we sympathize with the big-ape, Godzilla is somewhat of a villain in this story but he does walk the line of an anti-hero.

Later Toho bouts would be more structured and organic, but King Kong vs. Godzilla has a playful feel that answers a BIG question "Who would win in a fight? King Kong or Godzilla?" While there are poignant observations about the nature of television and the spectacle (should educational programming be tossed aside for the surreal and shocking) this is a film that doesn't need to be analyzed to be thoroughly entertaining.