Final
Blog-essay
Godzilla
Vs King Kong Review
Charles
Perry
12/11/15
King Kong Vs. Godzilla:
A Review
King Kong vs. Godzilla is an odd
movie. It’s the first major vs. film out there. This was way before films
Avengers, Freddy vs. Jason, Alien vs. Predator, and even Dracula Vs
Frankenstein! Whoever thought of this idea must have been either the best
businessman/ marketer in the world or a child who really wanted to see a giant
ape fight a giant lizard. The reality of this films creation comes down to
original animator of King Kong, Willis O'Brien, wanting to make a sequel to
King Kong in which Kong fights another monster. No American studio wanted to
pick it up, so Toho stepped in to save the project. Now I find this funny
because, even though no American Studio wanted to make this film, they still
localized it and produced a weaker, lamer American cut of this film. Another
hilarious thing about this movie is that it is actually being remade by
Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers. These are the very same studios who
gave us The Dark Knight Trilogy, Pacific Rim, and the 2014 Godzilla
remake! In today’s day and age cinematic
universes are the key to tapping into the large market of geeks. So in a sense
we have finally come full circle on the cross-over and continuity by going back
to the source.
Thankfully
, I found the Japanese version of this film to view and review! This assignment is actually viable again as a
study of Japanese cinema, rather than a deep dive into the current Hollywood
movie environment! Hooray for the internet and all of the wonderful things it
contains!! Don’t worry we will still
analyze a scene from the American version of this film. Since I had to sit
through 2 mins of that film so will you reader! Also don’t worry Professor
Mizenko I will actually follow the instructions and
dutifully study a scene from the Japanese film. I really want to compare and
contrast these two different versions of the same film. Spoiler Alert, later on
in this blog I am going to discuss why the Japanese filmmakers did better
merging cultures than the American filmmakers.
PART
1: THE AMERICAN INTRO!!
Screenshot 1: The Earth
Both the American and Japanese versions of the film
open on a shot of the Earth in the lower right hand corner of the frame. This
part of the scene also has opening narration about how man barely understands
the Earth and its creatures. To be more specific, in the American version the
narrations says, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth Horatio than dreamt
in your philosophy. ” The Japanese cut of the film however has the narrator
say, “ The Earth is alive everyone. As it spins at 1,670 km we pay little attention to it. But if at any
moment, its rotation can come to a halt
and we would be in severe distress.” Now this is where the similarities
between the American and Japanese cuts of the film end. Remember how Hollywood
messed up Gojira. Keep that in mind as we dive deeper.
Screenshot 2: Flags of the World
We
then fade into some stock footage of the flags of various nations! When in
doubt use stock footage to pad out your film. I am currently using stock footage
of trains to keep my desk from wobbling.
This almost looks like it can be part of the opening to a news cast or
something.
Screenshot 3: The U.N.
We
then cut to an establishing shot of the surprisingly not a model U.N. building
in Manhattan. Once again it’s stock footage, the American studio putting this
out needed to save money where it could.
Screenshot 4: News Caster who looks like Tom
Hanks
Here
we come to the first of many characters added into the American version of this
film to make it more accessible for western audiences. I don’t know his name,
but as the caption suggests he does look like Tom Hanks. Tom here is a
newscaster who will be relaying the events of the film for American audiences
thanks to the power of the super communications satellite. In the front right layer of the shot we see a
globe, much like the globe spinning at the start of the film .
Screenshot 5: It’s only a model
We
then zoom into a screen showing quite possibly the oddest looking satellite I
have seen, and yet it looks rather familiar. It might be stock footage again.
This is the satellite which is broadcasting this newscast around the world and
also connects various correspondents to each other. The reason for this shot is to show how
communication via satellite will work and Tom says that he is calling a
correspondent in
Screenshot 6: Floating plates with propellers
in space, the future of communication
We
then fade into the image of the floating plate in space. It is in the center of
the frame and has a propeller on it for some reason. It just floats there,
spinning for a while, as Tom explains the process of satellite communication.
Screenshot 7: Another Newscaster
Now
we go over to the other Newscaster in other part of the world. This entire
opening is shot like a typical new broadcast. I would normally not have a
problem with this, but the actors are not giving the best performance. Its dry,
wooden, and it feels like it is a slow news day. Maybe the actors are trying
act as professional newsmen, but it comes off as forced. Not only that, but
this news cast is the framing device for the whole American Cut of this film.
PART
TWO: THE JAPANESE INTRO
I believe that one can tell a lot about a film just
by looking at its introduction. It usually helps establish the world and the
film’s tone. This does not need to hold true for every film mind you, but one
should note that this concept works best when the film is something for general
audiences. This is where the Japanese King Kong vs. Godzilla film really shines
when compared to its American cousin.
Screenshot 8: Zooming into the earth
Unlike
the American Opening the earth is in the center of the frame and is slowing
being zoomed in upon by the camera, or quite possibly a camera.
Screenshot 9: What?!
Welcome
to my favorite part of this introduction. The earth stops rotating and suddenly
Mr. Scientist man shows up. He then goes on to say that the previous narration
was something from comic book, but yet our he states that our earth still has
plenty to teach us! In other words what you though was an epic opening
narration was for this guy’s Science TV show that you (and the main characters
in the film) are now watching. Don’t believe me check out this next scene.
Screenshot 10: I’m Watching TV in a Movie!
There
is a quick cut to a title card of the show followed by another cut to
screenshot 10. This series of events is similar to the what the director, Ishirô
Honda, used during the first Godzilla film to transition from the scene in the
Lab to the girls singing the song calling for peace. The only difference being
that the scene from King Kong Vs. Godzilla is the reverse of the scene in
Gojira. The idea of screens within screens is a very interesting design choice
and appears to be a favorite for Ishirô Honda. Following this scene we are
introduced to our main characters who will go on a quest to Pharoh (not Skull)
Island on the hunt for a large beast. It should also be noted that these lead
characters work for the advertising department for a pharmaceutical company.
They plan to use the monster (King Kong) to promote medicine created from the
island’s native berries.
Another great thing about the
Japanese version of this film is how it utilizes its American roots. For a few
scenes we see inside a US submarine. The sub is filled with white actors who
are all speaking English complete with Japanese subtitles! Their acting was not good, it honestly almost
wen full resident evil 1, but it did help with the immersion into this films
world. We got to see people speak their native language as a means of helping
establish a large world. There was no contrived reason for them to be speaking
another language, nor was the scene changed to make be more in line with the country
of origin. Huh, who do that? Cough, American Version, cough.
This intro is a far cry from the overly serious and
dull American intro to the film. It sets up the tone well for this type of
movie. This film is way more of a lighthearted affair when compared to the very first Godzilla film and I think it was
because they added King Kong into the mix. Suddenly the Godzilla, the great
monster of the Golden Age of Japanese film, was now on the world stage crossing
over with one of the great monsters of the Golden Age of American Film.
Part
3: A Tale of Two Golden Ages
As I said in part 2, this film is the end result of
the coming together of two different Golden Ages of film. One would think that
a crossover between the East and West would lead to something of a wonderful,
artistic, meaningful film in the vine of Tokyo Story or Casablanca. Instead the
end result of this collaboration was well:
Screenshot 11: Yeah
However, dumb is not a bad thing: King Kong
getting lighting-powers is not a bad thing. It’s confusing and out of left
field, but not a bad thing. It actually happens in the film, like no really
King Kong basically becomes a Sith Lord for a period of time. From my own interpretation of this film, I
see a bunch of filmmakers who wanted to have fun while on set and get to play
with toy trains and model houses. I’d imagine that it would be a sweaty, yet
fun time to be in the Godzilla suit while on set.
I think all this fun comes from a very special place;
King Kong vs. Godzilla is in fact a celebration of the Golden Age of Cinema for
both Japan and the United States. It is a combination of east meets west. A joyous,
if not a bit dumb, celebration of what makes cinema special. Film as a medium
allows for those who are creative to craft narratives ranging from epic
adventures to subtle elegant melodramas. There is a joy film, both watching it
and creating it. Thus, something tells me that King Kong vs. Godzilla is chock
full of that joy.
