Kingu Kongu no gyakushû (1967)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writer:

Takeshi Kimura (writer)

Release Date:

19 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

King Kong is brought in by an evil ruler to dig for precious gems in a mine when the robot MechaKong is unable to do the task...

Plot Keywords:

King Kong | Island | Japan | Tokyo Tower | Femme Fatale

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Rhodes Reason	...	Commander Carl Nelson
Mie Hama	...	Madame Piranha (Madame X)
Linda Miller	...	Lieutenant Susan Watson
Akira Takarada	...	Lt. Commander Jiro Nomura
Eisei Amamoto	...	Dr. Who
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Frees	...	Dr. Who (voice: English version)
Shôichi Hirose	...	Henchman
Andrew Hughes	...	Reporter
Tôru Ibuki	...	Henchman
Nadao Kirino	...	Henchman
Ryuji Kita	...	SDF General
Seishirô Kuno	...	Soldier
Susumu Kurobe	...	Henchman
Haruo Nakajima	...	Kingukongu (King Kong)
Tadashi Okabe	...	Soldier
Sachio Sakai	...	Henchman
Ikio Sawamura	...	Mondo Islander
Yû Sekida	...	Mekanikongu / Gorosaurusu
Kazuo Suzuki	...	Henchman
Yoshifumi Tajima	...	Henchman
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi	...	General
Osman Yusuf	...	Submariner

Also Known As:

King Kong Escapes (UK) (USA)
King Kong Strikes Again (International: English title) (literal title)
King Kong's Counterattack (International: English title) (literal title)
The Revenge of King Kong

Runtime:

104 min | USA:96 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (DVD rating) (2005) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:G

Company:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia:

This film was a live action tie-in to the animated TV series "King Kong" (1966), was was also produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, and not a sequel to _"KinguKongu tai Gojira" (1962)_ (also produced by Toho and directed by Ishiro Honda) as is often suggested.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During some of the North Pole scenes, Dr. Hu's men cast shadows on the painting of the "distance" (mainly snow-capped mountains) on the studio set.

Quotes:

[Lt. Commander Jiro Nomura and Lt. Susan Watson are being held in a freezing cell by Dr. Who because they wouldn't help him manipulate King Kong]
Dr. Who: Why should you endure this when it's not necessary? Nelson cannot aid you any longer, he's been cancelled.
Lt. Commander Jiro Nomura: You dog!
[Dr. Who points gun at him]
Dr. Who: I am a realist and I need you, so I'm going to be generous. I'm going to let you go without a bit of trouble, and with lots of cash. You just have to do one thing for me.
[Lt. Commander Jiro Nomura and Lt. Susan Watson refuse]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spin off from "King Kong" (1966)

Fun, likable movie

I've seen "King Kong Escapes" several times on American television with English dubbing, commercial interruptions, scenes omitted, and full-screen format. Despite all that, I found "King Kong Escapes" to be a fun, silly, enjoyable fantasy movie. One criticism I have is that the fight between Kong and robot Kong was too short.

Many reviewers have complained about the annoying voice of Linda Miller, but this was actually the voice of another actress. For some reason, the producers decided to dub Miller, even though she spoke English.

I recently purchased a DVD copy of this movie on eBay, with the original Japanese dialogue, uncut, in wide-screen. The script is slightly more mature and sensible, and the Japanese dubbing of the English speaking actors (Rhodes Reason, Miller) is done very well. Even the Japanese version is silly, though. But like I said, silly in an enjoyable way.