King Kong vs. Godzilla

King Kong vs. Godzilla is a Japanese sci-fi/action film and is classified as a Tokusatsu of the daikaiju ("giant monster") subgenre. It is the third film in the Godzilla film series as well as the third film to feature the American giant monster of King Kong. The movie was directed by Ishirô Honda with a script written by Shin'ichi Sekizawa. It was produced by Toho Company, Ltd. and released in Japan on August 11th, 1962. The film was repackaged for released in the United States by Universal International, with heavy editing, re-written scenes by Paul Mason and Bruce Howard and English dubbing.

Fun Facts

 * Taglines for this film include, "The two mightiest monsters of all time!", "The battle of the century!", "The most colossal conflict the screen has ever known!", and "The motion picture screen beckons you to adventure that thrills the emotions with shock and terror!" All of these were used on promotional material for the American release of the film.


 * This is the first movie in the Godzilla film series released in color.


 * This is the first movie featuring King Kong that was released in full color.


 * The Japanese version of Kong featured in this film is clearly a different animal than the one scene in the original 1993 Merian C. Cooper film. For starters, the original ape was killed at the end of King Kong, but also, this ape hails from a different island altogether, and is significantly bigger, making him a sizable contemporary to Godzilla.


 * Two of the primary real-world settings for this film are Tokyo and Gunma Prefecture in Japan.


 * This is quite possibly the first appearance of a unique species of jungle octopus. Yes, a jungle octopus.


 * Rumors have floated around for years, suggesting that the Japanese version of the film and the American version had alternate endings with a different winner emerging victorious from the final battle: Godzilla in the Japanese version and Kong in the American version. In truth, the scenes are relatively unaltered with the last battle ending in an ambiguous draw. Kong emerges from the water and begins stomping back to Farro Island and lets out a mighty roar. Godzilla remains underwater, but also issues a roar of frustration. In the American version, Godzilla's roar was omitted, giving viewers the impression that Kong had succeeded in vanquishing his scaly foe.