Die Rückkehr des King Kong

4) KING KONG vs. GODZILLA – ORIGINAL SHOWA SERIES 1954-1974. This episode was the turning point. Godzilla is no longer evil (temporarily) and it adds a considerable amount of infantilism and (unintentional) comedy, which Honda would develop in later works, with Fukuda taking it almost to the point of absurdity. The situational humour comes from the comic appearance of King Kong and his fights with Godzilla, which are hilarious. There are many memorable scenes: the octopus attack, Kong's first appearance, and the final King Kong vs. Godzilla fight, whose theatricality and childishness became a model for subsequent films. If you’re expecting some kind of monumentality in a fight between an ape and a lizard, proportional to their size, you are wrong. It looks pretty much like two wrestlers in costumes grappling each other, with kicking legs, shoving and a few judo moves. King Kong jumps at Godzilla but misses, hits his head on a rock and faints (!). Godzilla forgets that he can spew flames, so he tries to destroy the stunned Kong by pelting him with rocks, like dogs burying their excrement with their hind legs. Then lightning strikes King Kong near the end of the fight and he starts spewing electricity from his fingers, like the Emperor from Star Wars punishing Luke Skywalker; there are times that you come across something that goes beyond your imagination. The effects are funny, the dialogue is witty in the sense of "If we don't destroy Godzilla, he will destroy us", the performances are downright Dadaist and the whole thing is fun in an Ed Wood kind of way. I refuse to believe Ishiro Honda meant this seriously. (11.12.2010)

King Kong, Godzilla, decorations, costumes, cardboard, utter madness. Yes, it's as bonkers as it can get, as bad as it can get, but it's as much fun as anything. (22.11.2004)

"King Kong vs. Godzilla" is a film that definitely deserves recognition in terms of the combination of these two monsters, but I was expecting more. The progression is good, gradual, the audience looks forward to the final battle and hopes it will be as long as possible. It's not bad, it's quite long, and especially when Gojira shows off all his attacks, it's awesome. However, some phases of the fight are still awkward (again, those where it's too clear that they are disguised humans. Well, let's be honest, this was filmed easier than animatronic sequences. (27.04.2014)