King Kong vs. Godzilla

"The Terrifying Battle Between The Mightiest Monsters of All Time!"

1963 1h 36m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 284

ActionScience FictionComedyAdventureFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“The Terrifying Battle Between The Mightiest Monsters of All Time!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Michael Keith
Eric Carter
Harry Holcombe
Dr. Arnold Johnson
James Yagi
Yutaka Omura
Tadao Takashima
Osamu Sakurai
Kenji Sahara
Kazuo Fujita (as Keji Sahaka)
Ichirō Arishima
Mr. Tako (as Ichiro Arishima)
George Takei
Osamu Sakurai (voice) (uncredited)
Les Tremayne
Mr. Tako / Dr. Shigesawa / Dr. Akira Makino / General Masami Shinzo / Commander Roberts / Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Thomas Montgomery
Writers: George Worthing Yates, Willis H. O'Brien, Paul Mason
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $3M — a 225.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Thomas Montgomery, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Reiko Kaneko shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Keith and Harry Holcombe and James Yagi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Thomas Montgomery directs. Hajime Koizumi behind the camera. Reiko Kaneko cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Japan. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $3M — a 225.0× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
363 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.
5Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Thomas Montgomery, shot by Hajime Koizumi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Reiko Kaneko shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michael Keith and Harry Holcombe and James Yagi carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The Terrifying Battle Between The Mightiest Monsters of All Time!".
10IMDB entry: tt0056142 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 12 themes, including "island", "iceberg", "giant monster", "dinosaur".
12Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hajime Koizumi
Editing: Reiko Kaneko
Production design: Teruaki Abe
Runtime: 96 min · 1h 36m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000
Box office: $2,700,000
Return: 22500% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)

Part of

Americanized Godzilla Collection

Because of the Godzilla franchise success in Japan, heavily re-edited "Americanized" versions of some films were made for a theatrical release more suitable for the American audience.

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Production companies

Who made it

Universal International Pictures
US
RY
Ryder Sound Services, Inc.
US
TOHO
JP
Tokyo Laboratory
JP

Key crew

Music SupervisorPeter Zinner
Sound EffectsWilliam L. Stevenson
Lighting TechnicianToshio Takashima
Visual EffectsHiroshi Mukoyama
ChoreographerKenji Aoki
Special EffectsSadamasa Arikawa
Production DesignTeruaki Abe
Special EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Visual EffectsEiji Tsuburaya
Original StoryGeorge Worthing Yates
Production DesignTakeo Kita
Special Effects AssistantKoichi Kawakita
Visual Effects Art DirectorAkira Watanabe
Special EffectsMotoyoshi Tomioka
VFX Director of PhotographySadamasa Arikawa
Visual Effects CameraYukio Manoda
MusicHerman Stein
Special EffectsMasakatsu Asai
First Assistant DirectorKoji Kajita
MusicHenry Mancini
Visual Effects CameraKoichi Kawakita
Visual Effects Production ManagerTakashi Narita
Assistant DirectorKoji Hashimoto
VFX Director of PhotographyMotoyoshi Tomioka

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

island
iceberg
giant monster
dinosaur
alternate version
kaiju
giant ape
giant octopus
godzilla
mount fuji, japan
king kong
tokusatsu

Release history · US

When it landed

Premiere1963-06-03NR
Theatrical1963-06-26NR
Physical2005-11-29· Universal Pictures Home Entertainment DVD
Physical2014-10-07· Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Triple Feature DVD. Packaged with "King Kong" (2005) and "King Kong Escapes" (1967).
Physical2019-10-29· The Criterion Collection Blu-ray set titled "Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975". Packaged with original Japanese version.
Physical2014-04-01· Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray
Physical2019-09-10· Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray steelbook, FYE exclusive