King Kong vs. Godzilla
Short description
A Japanese pharmaceutical company, led by its president Mr. Tako, looks for a way to promote its products and seizes on reports of a giant creature living on a remote island in the Pacific. An expedition is sent to capture the monster and bring it back, but the plan goes wrong when the creature escapes and heads for Tokyo. At the same time, a nuclear submarine accidentally releases Godzilla from the iceberg where the monster has been trapped, setting the two giant beasts on a collision course.
The film was directed by Ishirō Honda, the twelfth of the twenty-five features he made in chronological order, between Varan the Unbelievable and Atragon. Shinichi Sekizawa wrote the screenplay with Paul Mason and Bruce Howard, and Tomoyuki Tanaka and John Beck produced. The cast mixes Japanese and American performers, among them Tadao Takashima, Kenji Sahara, Ichirō Arishima, Michael Keith, Harry Holcombe and James Yagi, with twenty-nine credited cast members and sixty-eight credited crew.
Released in 1963 and running 96 minutes, the film blends action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, horror and science fiction, and was a co-production between Japanese and American companies. It took about 3 million dollars worldwide. Audiences rate it 5.7 out of 10 on IMDb and 6.6 out of 10 on TMDB, while a smaller group of critics gives it 5.1 out of 10.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the Japanese version, when Kong fights Godzilla underwater, a small earthquake occurs on land. In the American version, producer John Beck made the earthquake much stronger.
- At the end of the film in the Japanese version, as the screen fades to black and the credits begin, the roars of Kong and Godzilla can be heard. In the American version, only Kong's roar is heard.
- Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya wanted to make a film aimed at a young audience. This approach was approved by Toho studio, and the film has a much lighter tone than the previous two Godzilla films, and contains a lot of humor.
- Most of the film was shot on Oshima Island.
- There are several versions of the film: Japanese and American. The American version is 7 minutes shorter than the Japanese one. New scenes with American actors were added to the American version, along with English dubbing and music from classic horror films "The Wolf Man" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon." The version for American release was created in 1963 by Universal Pictures. German and Italian versions of the film also exist.
- This is the first film to feature the so-called "classic" Godzilla roar.
- Akihiko Hirata, Satio Sakai, and Kenji Sahara appeared in the original "Godzilla" (1954), but here they play different characters.
- The film was made to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Toho studio.
- In the German version of the film, Doctor Frankenstein appears, who, according to the plot, created all the monsters that Godzilla fights.
- The German version of the film is titled "The Return of King Kong".
- Four octopuses were used to depict the giant octopus attack. Hot air was directed at them to make them move. After filming this scene, three octopuses were released. The fourth ended up as lunch for Eiji Tsuburaya.
- The first film featuring Godzilla and King Kong, and the first time both monsters appeared in color.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
