King Kong Vs Godzilla/King Kong Escapes :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Two fun Kong films for the price for one.

2008-06-26
King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes are probably two of the most fun and entertaining kaiju films ever to come out of the far east. First up we get the famous King Kong vs. Godzilla. Thanks to this film, Godzilla's been a world pop icon and beloved by millions on every continent (Well, maybe except Antarctica). I should note though that you're getting the American version, not the Japanese version. With that being said, you'll know what to expect. King Kong is downright ugly due to the suit being one of the worst in history which is a mystery since Mr. Tsuburaya himself had great respect for the ape and was known for great costumes like King Ghidorah, Gorosaurus, Anguirus (1968), etc. Godzilla looks okay but his face is bent down a little making him an odd version of the monster king. The two kings give a great fight and one of the greatest in kaiju history. You should definitely go check it out for yourselves. Now for an even more fun film, King Kong Escapes! Kong looks way more better then his previous film but he still looks kinda ugly. Mechani-Kong is a well thought up foe for the eighth wonder of the world and is the inspiration for the famous and lethal Mechagodzilla. Gorosaurus makes his first appearance here in all of his Kangaroo-Kicking glory and gives the good 'old ape a good fight. There's one more monster, the giant sea serpent but he's not a big deal for Kong to worry. The DVD's for each film have fantastic quality but lacking in any sort of extras but at least the price is a low one. To wrap it all up, two fun films presented on two perfect DVD's (In quality), and it's a good buy considering the price being low.

Monkey Maddness.............

2008-04-17
Seen both films when I was a kid, teen. and, adult. I have to say many thanks for Peter Jackson remake is why both films got release. I hear people complaints about no extras, or no japanese version. I say who cares. I'm just glad the movies got release in widesceen with decent picture quality. Another thing you can't beat the price for both films. In life take what you can get, and be happy.

King Kong vs Godzilla/King Kong Escapes......

2007-07-07
I recall seeing both these movies way back when I first started watching Godzilla movies. Both are among my favorites to watch every now and then. I mean, who wouldn't want to see an American icon like King Kong go up against the 'King of Monsters'? or see Kong go up against a Mecha-version of himself? I'll admit, by today's standards, both of the movies are kinda cheesy and the plots are 'out there' but they are still fun to watch. Makes me wish that Toho could/would make more up-to-date versions of these two movies. From what I've read online, Toho did try that back in '91 -especially with King Kong vs Godzilla- but Turner Entertainment(owners of the original film) asked for too much money for King Kong's use in the film to which Toho declined & instead made Godzilla vs King Ghidorah as part of the Heisei series. With the recent success of Peter Jackson's King Kong, I think it would benefit both parties quite well. Not only making Godzilla fans happy but generating interest in the original Kong film as well as the rest of movies in the franchise. At any rate; we can hope that one day, in the near future, both companies can come to some agreement so our favorite giant monsters from opposite ends of the globe can battle it out once again.

Both of these movies were directed by Ishiro Honda with visual effects either done by or directed by Eiji Tsuburaya.

King Kong vs Godzilla was made in 1962 and tells the story about Mr. Tako who is head over a pharmaceuticals company. Frustrated with the tv shows his company is sponsoring, he tries to come up with something to boost the ratings. He soon finds out about a giant monster that was discovered on Faro Island. Believing it would give him the publicity he needs, he sends two men to find and bring the monster back. Meantime, an American submarine gets caught in an iceberg. The same iceberg that Godzilla was trapped in the movie, Godzilla Raids Again. Godzilla eventually breaks out and head toward a nearby Japanese Artic base to which he obliterates. On Faro Island, Kong is captured by Tako's men and brought back to Japan. Kong breaks free and meets up with Godzilla & the rest is history. You know what happens, lol, just by looking at the title. Guess who comes out the winner. It sold 11.2 million tickets during it's inital theatrical run in Japan and holds the title of having the highest attendance records ever on any Godzilla movie to date.

King Kong Escapes was made in 1967(hehe.. the year I was born). A mean genius named Dr. Who creates a Mecha-Kong in order to dig for a highly radioactive element dubbed "Element X". When Mecha-Kong fails, he decides to kidnap the real Kong and hypnotize him to dig for it. Kong soon snaps out of it and heads off for Tokyo. Kong and Mecha-Kong end up fighting on Tokyo Tower with the city hanging in the balance. This is also the first film to feature Gorosaurus(who played a part in Destroy All Monsters and made a cameo in Godzilla's Revenge) who is a fan favorite from Toho Films.

While there is no special features to speak of nor no extras, any respectful Godzilla or King Kong fan owes it to themselves to add these films to their collection just to have them. The way things stand right now, we might never see any more films featuring Kong & Godzilla duking it out or Kong battling a mecha version of himself. That, in itself, makes these two films worth collecting. My only gripe is that you're unable to see it in its' original Japanese dialogue with subtitles. I would've loved to have seen it that way.

Nice films, but just AWFUL DVDs!

2007-06-16
These discs are terrible, although the tranfers may not be that bad, threre are no extras at all. No feturetts, no deleted Scenes, no Original Japaneses versions, not even Theatrical trailers. Unlike Sony who provide some features for there Godzilla titles, or Warner Brothers for there King Kong titles. Universal usauly provides wonderful extras for there DVDs and HD-DVDs. This is wrong!

There Really is a Mechi-Kong!

2007-03-21
When I was a kid and saw King Kong Escapes, I was mesmerized by the Mechi-Kong robot. What a great idea! He looks so cool! It had been so many years since I saw the film, I thought I had dreamt the movie. Imagine my suprise with this two-pack release! It is a pristine wide screen presentation. The film is as fun as I remembered it. Not to be taken too seriously, it is a rubber monster movie with cool ideas and plenty of monsters clashing, all within the trademark cheapo effects of the time. Utterly charming.
The Toho version of Kong (his rubber suit, that is) is truly awful, but this only adds to the fun of the film. As this is a Japanese movie overdubbed in English, we also have the voice talents of Paul Frees ("Winter Warlock" from the Rankin / Bass production of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer") providing the voice of the villian. What more could you ask for? How about the bonus of getting Godzilla vs. King Kong? You got it! What a bargain!

Awesome twin pack!

2007-03-21
It’s King Kong to the rescue when a giant robot threatens to destroy Tokyo in the gripping King Kong Escapes! The action begins when the conniving Dr. Who builds a robot Kong in order to retrieve a highly radioactive element for his mysterious benefactor, Madame X. When the robot proves less than reliable, the devious duo scheme to kidnap the real Kong from his remote island home of Mondo. But interfering with their plans are the heroic trio of U.S. Cmdr. Carl Nelson, Lt. Jiro Nomura, and Kong’s current crush, Lt. Susan Miller. It’s up to them to outwit the greedy ape-nappers in this sci-fi adventure that takes Kong to unprecedented heights of excitement.

The two mightiest monsters of all time battle in the thrilling adventure classic, King Kong vs. Godzilla. When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus. Meanwhile, far below the sea, a submarine crew unleashes reptilian terror when they melt a block of ice and release the ferocious Godzilla from his icy lair. When both destructive monsters descend on Tokyo, it’s a fight that holds the future of mankind in the balance in this knock-out film that was the first theatrical release to bring its larger-than-life contenders to the big screen in glorious color.

The Two Mightiest Monsters Of All Time! 2007-03-16
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.

Godzilla vs King Kong.... 2007-03-13
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!

GREAT DEAL SOME BONUS MATERIAL WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE! 2007-03-08
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!

Good for the price 2007-02-13
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.