ABOUT THE FILM

This is the 1st of 2 Japanese made films featuring the King Kong character and also the 1st time both King Kong and Godzilla appeared on film in color and widescreen!

THE PLOT

Godzilla, freshly released from his iceberg enclosure from the end of Godzilla Raids Again rampages through Japan. He eventually faces King Kong, brought from his island originally as a publicity stunt by the greedy head of a pharmaceutical company…

HISTORY OF THE MAKING - FROM FRANKENSTEIN TO GODZILLA

Around 1960, the animator of the original stop-motion Kong, O'Brien, came up with a proposed treatment, King Kong vs. Frankenstein, where Kong would fight against a giant version of Frankenstein's monster in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, the cost of stop animation was prohibitive, but the producer eventually attracted the interest of the Japanese studio Toho, which decided to replace the Frankenstein creature with their own monster Godzilla.

SPECIAL EFFECTS DIRECTOR EAGER TO WORK ON THE FILM

Special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya was very eager to work on the film: "The script [of King Kong vs Godzilla] is special to me; it makes me emotional because it was King Kong that got me interested in the world of special photographic techniques when I saw it in 1933."

KING KONG PLAYING VOLLEYBALL?

The animator, Eiji Tsuburaya, had a stated intention to move the Godzilla series in a lighter direction. This approach was not favoured by most of the effects crew, who "couldn't believe" some of the things Tsuburaya asked them to do, such as Kong and Godzilla volleying a giant boulder back and forth.

But the animator wanted to appeal to children's sensibilities and broaden the genre's audience and in the end, King Kong vs. Godzilla has a much lighter tone than the previous two Godzilla films, and contains a great deal of humor within the action sequences.

The director, Ishirô Honda was not a fan of the dumbing down of the monsters. Years later Honda stated in an interview. "I don't think a monster should ever be a comical character."

WRESTLING MOVES

The actors for King Kong and Godzilla were given a mostly free rein to choreograph their own moves. The men would rehearse for hours and would base their moves on that from professional wrestling (a sport that was growing in popularity in Japan).

GODZILLA WITHOUT HIS SMALL EARS

A brand new Godzilla suit was designed for this film and some slight alterations were done to his overall appearance. These alterations included the removal of his tiny ears, 3 toes on each foot rather than 4, enlarged central dorsal fins and a bulkier body.

These new features gave Godzilla a more reptilian/dinosaurian appearance.

BAD KING KONG LOOK?

The King Kong suit for this film has widely been considered to be one of the least appealing and insipid gorilla suits in film history. The sculptors had a hard time coming up with a King Kong suit that appeased Tsuburaya. The first suit was rejected for being too fat with long legs giving Kong an almost cute look. A few other designs were done before they found the final look that was ultimately used in the film.

FIVE LIVE OCTOPUSES

For the attack of the giant octopus, four live octopuses were used. They were forced to move among the miniature huts by having hot air blown onto them. After the filming of that scene was finished, three of the four were released. The fourth became special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's dinner.

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Rare 35mm screening of the most popular of all the Godzilla films, for its 50th anniversary!

This is the third installment in the Japanese series of films featuring the monster Godzilla, and remains the most successful of all the Godzilla films to date. This first time both King Kong and Godzilla appeared on film in color and widescreen!

 WATCH THE BEST TRAILER EVER SINCE THE INVENTION OF SLICED BREAD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PBbK8tkTE8

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Tickets

On the night: £5 / £3.50

Or advance tickets £4.50 / £3 ( http://www.wegottickets.com/event/180517 )

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