Search - King Kong vs. Godzilla on DVD

1 star for the DVD release - not the film. A waste of money

Cleve | Western NY | 09/17/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Save your money, Godzilla fans. This is a mediocre DVD effort by Universal. The print is a nice copy, and it looks good. That's the only positives I'll give it. I've been spoiled by the wonderful Toho Master Collection releases by Classic Media over the last few years. Those movies include both the original Japanese version and the American theatrical release, along with some interesting still galleries, trailers, and insightful commentaries.



This DVD only includes the American version, which is hugely disappointing. Even worse, this is a no-frills DVD. No special features, no expert commentary, no nothing. The menu is "Watch Movie" "Languages" and "Scene Selections". Nothing else. I pre-ordered this one on the hopes that perhaps it was mis-labeled at Amazon. Sadly, it isn't.



I would have gladly paid a few extra dollars for a decent DVD of this film which included all the aforementioned content. Only buy this one if you really, really want a nice looking DVD copy of the American version and nothing else."

STOP PUTTING THIS VERSION DOWN

JACK LOBO | Greenwich,CT USA | 06/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the one most of us grew up on and have a great affection for. Godzilla looks good. King Kong looks terrible. But they both kick ass. There seems to be a misconception that the Japanese version is more sophisticated than this version. Trust me it isn't. It's different, but not better. In fact sometimes it plays off more comical than this version. The Japanese ending is not any different, other than Godzilla gets the closing roar. The ending is a matter of perspective. Kong swam away in victory because he's the hero and had Godzilla on the ropes before they fell into the water. Kong swam away in retreat because he couldn't stay underwater indefinitely like Godzilla can. What many people don't know is there is a third version. The Japanese print with english dubbing done by a different studio. That one is really hard to find."

A silly fun fun hour and a half

Graves | Pennsylvania | 09/03/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am always amused when people say this is a terrible movie. I want to ask "What were you expecting? The title is `King Kong vs. Godzilla' not `King Lear.'" It is a movie with two guys in rubber suits or giant puppets tap dancing on a model Tokyo and beating the snot out of each other. There is no great philosophical debate going on. There is no look into the human soul for answers or guilt.



When I was a little kid there were lots of movies like this. If I was lucky I'd catch them on channel 9 in NYC on a Saturday afternoon, and this was always the best. This was the one that my brother and I would get most excited about.



The model Kong lacks the realism of the original RKO ape, yeah I know think about that phrase, and this Godzilla lacks the cinematic art and sadness of that monster's theatrical debut, but this film still has its moments. From here came a wide number of increasingly cheesy monster movies but this was its birth. And for plot and development this was the best of them.



It tries to be self consistent and for the most part it succeeds, though I will admit to laughing out loud when people are told to evacuate a bullet train because Godzilla is heading right for them. The conductor vainly says "Don't panic" and I want to say "What else is there to do?"



If you are looking for great acting, plots or heck even FX this is sooo not for you. However if you love this genre or like me, you have fond memories of the Japanese rubber suit movies, then this is a gem for your collection"

Simply Painful

Graboidz | Westminster, Maryland | 01/28/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I love Godzilla. Let me state that again..I LOVE GODZILLA! I'm a fan of the entire series from "King of All Monsters" to "Final Wars". I own every film available on DVD, I own the video games, I own quite a few of the soundtracks on CD and I will be the first in line when "vs. Biollante", "vs. Megalon" and "1985" hit DVD and pay whatever is asked just so I can complete my collection. Yes, I can even sit through the Matthew Broderick travesty that bears the name "Godzilla".



That being said....



I'm not sure how anyone, fan or non-fan, can enjoy "King Kong vs. Godzilla"???? This film is so astonishingly awful, it veers way off of the "So Bad It's Good" track onto the simply horrible realm at about 20 minutes in. I love bad b-movies, I'll sit back and watch "Mesa of Lost Women" or "Eegah" all day long, but "Kong vs Godzilla" is mind numblingly awful. Where to begin....



1. King Kong does not look like "King Kong". This ratty ape suit looks like it's barely holding together, and the nightmarishly barely animated hand-puppet face used for close ups of the giant ape is grade school level F/X at best.



2. While having a strong plot isn't exactly key to a successful Godzilla film, Kong's storyline is so minimal as to not exist. Basically a company has found out these island berries can get you intoxicated, so they want to steal them. Unfortunately they happen to be King Kong's drink of choice as well. So basically the events of the film occur because some Japanese folks and King Kong both want to get high! Godzilla only gets involved because the worlds worst submarine captain doesn't understand that iceburgs don't simply float on top of the water, and that most of the ice is actually below the water's surface, thus ramming his nuclear sub into Godzilla's ice prison.



3. The UN / American footage. I don't know if watching the original Japanese version of this film would help much, but the American version with the narrator/UN report guy is amazingly dull. For some reason there is a space station shown, and some maps, a Japanese correspondant who doesn't know how to wear headphones....and everybody is watching the events unfold on a 10" color TV screen? The American scientist is awful as well, you have to love when he holds up a small gumball and states that it is the size of Godzilla's brain??? What???



4. The fight scenes are dull. If nothing else you can usually rely on Toho films to provide some decent monster fights in their films...not so much here. Sure Godzilla and Kong meet for a final showdown about 10 minutes before the film ends...but it's just bad...and worse there really isn't a conclusion.



Luckily, Godzilla would go on to much better things after this third entry in the series. I guess as a Godzilla fan I'm happy to have this disk in my collection, I can't imagine I'll pull it out very often (maybe in another 10 years or so?), but as a completist I had to own it."