Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

From a sociological perspective, I think the Godzilla scholars like Ryfle and Godziszewski have put the movie into a context that has diminished its luster in a fandom that has come to accept these fella's word as gold. What I mean is, here in the western sphere where most of the fans speak little, if any, Japanese, fans have come to accept the works of these "serious" scholars/historians as not only a sort of window into a level of fandom that was once unavailable, but as authority. The shear amount of work that was put into their books "justifies" believing in the author's inevitable subjectivity that finds its way into said work, and the subculture as a whole celebrate the works as key in defining fandom (I mean come on, their roles range from G Fest speakers to authors to commentators on DVDs)... and these guys don't really praise 'KKong vs' much at all.


I suppose that was my main point above. I was just thinking this morning how there has been a sort of paradigm shift in the fandom during these lean times. Without new movies coming out, fans have embraced the old ones with the dvds that have come out as of late which happen to be Showa, predominantly. It's strange. The serious Godzilla movie was the flavor of the 90's, and now the campy/goofy lighter fare has come back in vogue, as evidenced by the many message boards among other fan networks out there. I would correlate this with the Showa DVD deluge of the past years.

Hmmm.. maybe with the onset of NEW goji scholars, Ed and Steve's celebration of the more serious-toned take on the franchise might be pushed out of vogue. Paradigm shifts are inevitable. It just thrills me that the franchise is totally capable of such a shift. It means the Goji is still alive and well, folks! YAY!

Aside from all that, Toho can't market the Kong image, so the movie has been kind of relegated to the collective background, thus, more apt to be passed over by new generations of fans. The suit looks pretty bad, so I could see how that might turn some people off. Especially when compared to the slick new version that Jackson put out recently. In fact, this is the Kong that the young fans consider THE Kong, and this will only become more of the case as years go on, most likely.


Finally, the movie itself, Americanized version especially, looks juvenile to the casual viewer, and really annoys the more serious toned fan... like me.

I don't really like the movie itself. The monsters are cool and all, but it [to me] haven't age well compared to other Showa entries like Mothra vs Godzilla or Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster. The movie pacing is very bad, the octopus scene was too slow, the comedy wasn't really funny [ I'm refering to the Japanese cut] and its not memorable as other movies.

I think King Kong vs. Godzilla was a great movie idea back in the 1960s but the movie itself was not that good. Today the movie has lost much of its luster and there are probley less King Kong fans than there are Godzilla fan. Its no wonder that many fans would like to see a remake of this movie and probley have Godzilla be the clear cut winner. Even when you compare the 8 Godzilla movies of the 1960s King Kong vs. Godzilla is not all that good imo. I think the reason the movie remained so popular was because some fans thought there might be 2 versions of the movie one where Kong won and one where Godzilla won. Many fans here in America never saw the Japanese version except for the diehard kaiju fans. When you watch the movie today it just looks silly no matter which version you are watching.

I wouldn't say King Kong vs. Godzilla is any less appreciated among the fandom than it has been for the past decade or so. I would, however, say it's definitely one of the more neglected movies of the series as far as message board discussion goes. I think the reason for that is simply because there is no legal, English-subtitled release of the Japanese version of the film anywhere in the world. All of the Showa films are available on DVD uncut, widescreen and original language in the US except for KKvsG, DAM and Megalon, and the latter two are available in the same way via Madman's Australian releases. KKvsG is the odd one out. The only way for strictly English-speaking fans in the States to see the uncut version is to import Toho's Japanese release and apply third-party downloaded subtitles or obtain it through illegal means.

Personally speaking, King Kong vs. Godzilla was one of the first Godzilla movies I ever saw, via VHS of the US version. Even as a kid, I didn't like it much at all and it became one of my least favorites of the series. When I got the Toho release a few years ago and was able to watch it on my computer with the DVD Subber program and the subs from Tokyo Monsters, it was a totally new viewing experience. I loved it. The real version of King Kong vs. Godzilla is just as much of a Golden Era classic as the other Honda/Tsuburaya greats of the early '60s.

But two years ago I got a new laptop with (unfortunately) Windows Vista, and DVD Subber isn't compatible with it. Consequently, it's been over two years since the last time I watched King Kong vs. Godzilla, so it's not a movie that I ever really have anything to say about nowadays. If I had English-subtitled copy of the uncut version on hand, that wouldn't be the case. I think that's why it's not as popular anymore, at least in terms of message board discussion frequency.

It depends. While I don't dislike the film, I think many of the other Showa films are better. Simple as that. I don't really like the Kong suit either, but beyond that it's well made. Just too many awesome films in that era for KK vs G to really have a chance IMO. As far as Ed and Steve...respect both....but in the end their opinions are just that...opinions...educated ones to be sure...but still opinions...and as such they hold they same weight as the opinion of anyone else. The only reason it would carry anymore is if you let it.

Well.... I'm always going to respect a more educated opinion, sorry. Scholarship is the ultimate work in my opinion, and is something that most folks don't think in terms of at all, sadly. It was the opinion of educated men and women at one time that the world was round vs. the common opinion that it was flat and we all know how that one turned out.

Everything is really NOT relative, but such is an assumption built up from western culture, whether you see it moralistically, philosophically, or economically. It's just not true in nature.

There is strong and there is weak. Intelligent and dim... some art is meaningful as a dot of paint on a 20 ft by 20 ft canvas vs the work on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. One obviously took actual hard work and the other was effortless. It's all in the meaning it is assigned... just be careful how you assign meaning, both from yourself and especially in what others feed you. A more informed opinion WILL serve you here.

I honestly think the campy aspect is what turns alot of people off from discussing this film.

The fact that this is a satirical film and a monster comedy for the most part with the occasional dramatic flourishes is a bit too hard for alot of western Godzilla fans to digest properly...

This films just dips its toes into so many different genres and moods that it makes it hard to love for alot of people. For me, it makes the film more enjoyable that it is in fact, all of these weird things that shouldnt go together.

Doesn't hurt that for me this is the best Godzilla suit

I don't think this film has lost any appeal at all. The only thing about it that's hard to swallow is the Kong suit. Worst ape suit ever but no one ever rejected the character because of it as was the case with the debacle in '98 that was supposed to be Godzilla. King Kong vs. Godzilla fits right in with other great matchup films made over the years that paired up two faves in a battle royal. Both the Japanese and American versions were (and still are) very entertaining with an "epic" feel unmatched in later films.

I just thought Kong was never that interesting of a Kaiju. I adored the film when all I owned was this and King of the Monsters, but as I saw more movies and saw new kaiju....I sort of just left this film behind. It's definitely a fun film and Mr. Taco is probably the funniest person in the Showa series (at least the dubbed Mr. Taco) I'm probably spelling that wrong. All in all I think it's a fun movie, I just don't have as much fun watching this as say Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla or Smog Monster.