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King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) on IMDb

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Who will win? 2 giant monsters rampage throughout Japan!

King Kong vs. Godzilla (キングコング対ゴジラ, Kingu Kongu tai Gojira) is a 1962 Japanese kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the third film in the Godzilla franchise, and the first of two Toho-produced films featuring King Kong. It is also the first time that both characters appeared on film in color and widescreen. The film stars Tadao TakashimaKenji SaharaYū FujikiIchirō Arishima, and Mie Hama, with Shoichi Hirose as King Kong and Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla. In the film, as Godzilla is reawakened by an American submarine, a pharmaceutical company captures King Kong for promotional uses, which culminates into a battle on Mount Fuji.

The project began with a story outline that featured King Kong battling a giant Frankenstein monster, written by Willis H. O’Brien. O’Brien handed the outline to producer John Beck for development. Behind O’Brien’s back, Beck would eventually take the project to Toho to produce the film, replacing the Frankenstein monster with Godzilla and scrapping O’Brien’s story.

King Kong vs. Godzilla was released theatrically in Japan on August 11, 1962. The film remains the most attended Godzilla film in the franchise to date, and it is credited with encouraging Toho to prioritize the continuation of the Godzilla series after seven years of dormancy. A heavily edited version was released by Universal International Inc. theatrically in the United States on June 26, 1963.

King Kong vs. Godzilla
Theatrical release poster
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