WELCOME - TO THE NEW 8MM FORUM !
HENCE " 8MM RED PRINT THEATER " !
( Name change because we also have RED PRINT THEATER in 16MM ! )
Hello fellow film fiends !
This month's selection is …..KING KONG VS. GODZILLA...ON SUPER 8MM !
The Marketing Films 3-Parter !! In all it's " Faded " , "Red " GLORY !!
A UN reporter broadcasts a report on the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own. (US Version)
(Re-edited US Version) Eric Carter, a reporter for the United Nations, reports on a submarine which collides with an iceberg and frees Godzilla. The news of this soon leads to Mr. Tako, the chairman of a pharmaceutical company, to seek a monster of his own to generate publicity. He sends out an expedition to Faroe Island where they discover the god of the island in the form of King Kong. The giant ape is capture and returned to Japan, upon which it escapes and heads off on a collision course straight towards Godzilla. The two rivals soon clash in a giant climatic battle.
I had enjoyed this movie as a very young child and still enjoy this movie to this day. Bottom line this movie was made in the early 60's so considering this, they did the best they could with the budget and the resources they had in special effects. Perhaps, this may have looked better in stop animation, but that was not Japan's way of making monster movies. This movie marked the return of both King Kong and Godzilla. A movie of this type should be viewed for the sole purpose of enjoyment, granted a lot of elements may have not made a lot of sense [e.g. mammal and Lizards are natural enemies, King Kong and the electricity] but it's all in fun. Enjoy the concept of the two famous monsters battling it out; it's a B movie that is made for fun.
However you can still get the NEW super 8mm 200 foot color / sound digest with the scenes of the emergence of Godzilla and the final battle with Kong on Kodak color polyester - low-fade filmstock ( the above will never happen to your print ).
FUN FACTS :
The unedited original Japanese version of the film remains the highest attended Godzilla film in Japan. It is also one of the most attended films of all time at the Japanese box office as well as the most successful live-action science fantasy film with admission numbers surpassing Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars and Avatar. To this day it remains as the 13th most attended film of all time in Japan. The heavily re-edited US version that inserted new actors and deleted several scenes from the original was just as much of a success at the US box-office as well.
In the fight scene, when King Kong throws Godzilla over his shoulder, suit actor Shoichi Hirose didn't throw an empty suit, but actually threw it with Haruo Nakajima still inside as this was Hirose's way of proving he was the stronger of the two. This move was one of the many martial arts influences in the fight choreography since Godzilla suit actor Nakajima practiced Judo and was given the opportunity to choreograph the fight.
When both King Kong and Godzilla crash into the ocean during the film's climax there is a big difference in the power of the Earthquake that occurs between the U.S and Japanese versions. In the Japanese version there really is no "Earthquake" but a slight tremor caused by the two big monsters fighting off of the coast. A few small rocks topple from a hill and a small sapling falls over. In the U.S version there really is an Earthquake and it's far more powerful. Not only does the quake cause the ground to split open swallowing up several houses, but massive tidal waves occur flooding the nearby valleys. Universal-International wanted a big ending and, unsatisfied with the Japanese version's small tremor, used stock footage of a violent Earthquake from the Toho film THE MYSTERIANS (1957) to add to the U.S cut of the film.
HENCE " 8MM RED PRINT THEATER " !
( Name change because we also have RED PRINT THEATER in 16MM ! )
Hello fellow film fiends !
This month's selection is …..KING KONG VS. GODZILLA...ON SUPER 8MM !
The Marketing Films 3-Parter !! In all it's " Faded " , "Red " GLORY !!
A UN reporter broadcasts a report on the appearance of a prehistoric monster that emerges from hibernation while a pharmaceutical company seeks publicity with a monster of their own. (US Version)
(Re-edited US Version) Eric Carter, a reporter for the United Nations, reports on a submarine which collides with an iceberg and frees Godzilla. The news of this soon leads to Mr. Tako, the chairman of a pharmaceutical company, to seek a monster of his own to generate publicity. He sends out an expedition to Faroe Island where they discover the god of the island in the form of King Kong. The giant ape is capture and returned to Japan, upon which it escapes and heads off on a collision course straight towards Godzilla. The two rivals soon clash in a giant climatic battle.
I had enjoyed this movie as a very young child and still enjoy this movie to this day. Bottom line this movie was made in the early 60's so considering this, they did the best they could with the budget and the resources they had in special effects. Perhaps, this may have looked better in stop animation, but that was not Japan's way of making monster movies. This movie marked the return of both King Kong and Godzilla. A movie of this type should be viewed for the sole purpose of enjoyment, granted a lot of elements may have not made a lot of sense [e.g. mammal and Lizards are natural enemies, King Kong and the electricity] but it's all in fun. Enjoy the concept of the two famous monsters battling it out; it's a B movie that is made for fun.
However you can still get the NEW super 8mm 200 foot color / sound digest with the scenes of the emergence of Godzilla and the final battle with Kong on Kodak color polyester - low-fade filmstock ( the above will never happen to your print ).
FUN FACTS :
The unedited original Japanese version of the film remains the highest attended Godzilla film in Japan. It is also one of the most attended films of all time at the Japanese box office as well as the most successful live-action science fantasy film with admission numbers surpassing Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars and Avatar. To this day it remains as the 13th most attended film of all time in Japan. The heavily re-edited US version that inserted new actors and deleted several scenes from the original was just as much of a success at the US box-office as well.
In the fight scene, when King Kong throws Godzilla over his shoulder, suit actor Shoichi Hirose didn't throw an empty suit, but actually threw it with Haruo Nakajima still inside as this was Hirose's way of proving he was the stronger of the two. This move was one of the many martial arts influences in the fight choreography since Godzilla suit actor Nakajima practiced Judo and was given the opportunity to choreograph the fight.
When both King Kong and Godzilla crash into the ocean during the film's climax there is a big difference in the power of the Earthquake that occurs between the U.S and Japanese versions. In the Japanese version there really is no "Earthquake" but a slight tremor caused by the two big monsters fighting off of the coast. A few small rocks topple from a hill and a small sapling falls over. In the U.S version there really is an Earthquake and it's far more powerful. Not only does the quake cause the ground to split open swallowing up several houses, but massive tidal waves occur flooding the nearby valleys. Universal-International wanted a big ending and, unsatisfied with the Japanese version's small tremor, used stock footage of a violent Earthquake from the Toho film THE MYSTERIANS (1957) to add to the U.S cut of the film.
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