King Kong Vs Godzilla/King Kong Escapes (1963)

It’s King Kong to the rescue when a giant robot threatens to destroy Tokyo in the gripping King Kong Escapes! The action begins when the conniving Dr. Who builds a robot Kong in order to retrieve a highly radioactive element for his mysterious benefactor, Madame X. When the robot proves less than reliable, the devious duo scheme to kidnap the real Kong from his remote island home of Mondo. But interfering with their plans are the heroic trio of U.S. Cmdr. Carl Nelson, Lt. Jiro Nomura, and Kong’s current crush, Lt. Susan Miller. It’s up to them to outwit the greedy ape-nappers in this sci-fi adventure that takes Kong to unprecedented heights of excitement.

The two mightiest monsters of all time battle in the thrilling adventure classic, King Kong vs. Godzilla. When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus. Meanwhile, far below the sea, a submarine crew unleashes reptilian terror when they melt a block of ice and release the ferocious Godzilla from his icy lair. When both destructive monsters descend on Tokyo, it’s a fight that holds the future of mankind in the balance in this knock-out film that was the first theatrical release to bring its larger-than-life contenders to the big screen in glorious color.

Two fun Kong films for the price for one.

King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes are probably two of the most fun and entertaining kaiju films ever to come out of the far east. First up we get the famous King Kong vs. Godzilla. Thanks to this film, Godzilla's been a world pop icon and beloved by millions on every continent (Well, maybe except Antarctica). I should note though that you're getting the American version, not the Japanese version. With that being said, you'll know what to expect. King Kong is downright ugly due to the suit being one of the worst in history which is a mystery since Mr. Tsuburaya himself had great respect for the ape and was known for great costumes like King Ghidorah, Gorosaurus, Anguirus (1968), etc. Godzilla looks okay but his face is bent down a little making him an odd version of the monster king. The two kings give a great fight and one of the greatest in kaiju history. You should definitely go check it out for yourselves. Now for an even more fun film, King Kong Escapes! Kong looks way more better then his previous film but he still looks kinda ugly. Mechani-Kong is a well thought up foe for the eighth wonder of the world and is the inspiration for the famous and lethal Mechagodzilla. Gorosaurus makes his first appearance here in all of his Kangaroo-Kicking glory and gives the good 'old ape a good fight. There's one more monster, the giant sea serpent but he's not a big deal for Kong to worry. The DVD's for each film have fantastic quality but lacking in any sort of extras but at least the price is a low one. To wrap it all up, two fun films presented on two perfect DVD's (In quality), and it's a good buy considering the price being low. June 26, 2008

Monkey Maddness.............

Seen both films when I was a kid, teen. and, adult. I have to say many thanks for Peter Jackson remake is why both films got release. I hear people complaints about no extras, or no japanese version. I say who cares. I'm just glad the movies got release in widesceen with decent picture quality. Another thing you can't beat the price for both films. In life take what you can get, and be happy. April 17, 2008

King Kong vs Godzilla/King Kong Escapes......

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.

July 7, 2007

Nice films, but just AWFUL DVDs!

These discs are terrible, although the tranfers may not be that bad, threre are no extras at all. No feturetts, no deleted Scenes, no Original Japaneses versions, not even Theatrical trailers. Unlike Sony who provide some features for there Godzilla titles, or Warner Brothers for there King Kong titles. Universal usauly provides wonderful extras for there DVDs and HD-DVDs. This is wrong! June 16, 2007

There Really is a Mechi-Kong!

When I was a kid and saw King Kong Escapes, I was mesmerized by the Mechi-Kong robot. What a great idea! He looks so cool! It had been so many years since I saw the film, I thought I had dreamt the movie. Imagine my suprise with this two-pack release! It is a pristine wide screen presentation. The film is as fun as I remembered it. Not to be taken too seriously, it is a rubber monster movie with cool ideas and plenty of monsters clashing, all within the trademark cheapo effects of the time. Utterly charming.
The Toho version of Kong (his rubber suit, that is) is truly awful, but this only adds to the fun of the film. As this is a Japanese movie overdubbed in English, we also have the voice talents of Paul Frees ("Winter Warlock" from the Rankin / Bass production of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer") providing the voice of the villian. What more could you ask for? How about the bonus of getting Godzilla vs. King Kong? You got it! What a bargain! March 21, 2007

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