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Rating:  -
Truly a killer twin pack King Kong movies. Get it for the "King Kong vs Godzilla" alone, a very awesome movie that hardly gets air play and great for any movie monster collection...highly recommended!!
Rating:  -
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.
Rating: -
What else would you expect, it the movie we all grew up with. How can you not love it plus you get the equally campy and horribly good King Kong Escape! Love good bad movies, especially with giant monsters wreaking havoc!
Rating: -
Hard to resist two for the price of one. These movies are pretty silly, but it's hard to dislike any of these older ToHo films. King Kong Escapes is hilarious dito King Kong VS Godzilla. I grew up watching all of these films, so it brought back some good memories. These are "party with your buddies" movies if there ever were any!
Rating: -
If you are a serious collector of Toho monster movies, these two films are not for you. They are average quality with no extras or goodies like trailers, etc.
However, if you're like me and just love the campy old films and don't want to spend a lot of money, these are exactly what you are looking for. Pour some beers, get your friends together for a groovy movie film festival, and laugh your kiester off.
My money can't buy enough of this stuff.
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