KINGKONGU NO GYAKUSHU (KING KONG ESCAPES) - 1967
As part of the licensing deal to make an animated series, the producers had to make a live action movie, which they did with Toho Productions, the makers of Godzilla. When a mechanical replica of Kong is unable to dig for the radioactive material in the Artic, the evil Doctor Hu and Madame Pirhana kidnap the real Kong along with hostages Lt. Susan Miller and her boyfriend Lt. Nomura. When Kong escapes, Hu and Pirhana re-activate the giant mechanical Kong in an attempt to recapture him. However, Kong grabs the damsel and heads for Tokyo tower where battle commences. More monkey business that's generally well thought of by the fans.
As part of the licensing deal to make an animated series, the producers had to make a live action movie, which they did with Toho Productions, the makers of Godzilla. When a mechanical replica of Kong is unable to dig for the radioactive material in the Artic, the evil Doctor Hu and Madame Pirhana kidnap the real Kong along with hostages Lt. Susan Miller and her boyfriend Lt. Nomura. When Kong escapes, Hu and Pirhana re-activate the giant mechanical Kong in an attempt to recapture him. However, Kong grabs the damsel and heads for Tokyo tower where battle commences. More monkey business that's generally well thought of by the fans.
KING KONG (1976)
This time we have an expedition arriving on Skull Island looking for oil, only to find a giant ape worshipped by natives. The plot is similar to the classic; the dame (Jessica Lange) is offered as a sacrifice only to find herself the object of Kong's affections, anthropologist Jeff Bridges tries to come to the rescue. The budget and effects were big, especially the showdown on the World Trade Center, but producer Dino de Laurentiis and director John Guillermin make the disastrous mistake of trying to give Kong a more human face, thereby undermining him as a menacing, primeval force of nature.
This time we have an expedition arriving on Skull Island looking for oil, only to find a giant ape worshipped by natives. The plot is similar to the classic; the dame (Jessica Lange) is offered as a sacrifice only to find herself the object of Kong's affections, anthropologist Jeff Bridges tries to come to the rescue. The budget and effects were big, especially the showdown on the World Trade Center, but producer Dino de Laurentiis and director John Guillermin make the disastrous mistake of trying to give Kong a more human face, thereby undermining him as a menacing, primeval force of nature.
KING KONG LIVES - 1986
De Laurentiis and Guillermin re-teamed ten years later for this sequel, and many wish they hadn't. Kong has been in a university research centre in a coma. When a big game hunter discovers a female Kong in the jungles of Borneo, she is brought back to the centre for a transfusion that will enable Kong to be given a new heart. Linda Hamilton lowers the organ in place from a crane. Romance blooms and the two apes make a bid for freedom. Laughably bad.
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De Laurentiis and Guillermin re-teamed ten years later for this sequel, and many wish they hadn't. Kong has been in a university research centre in a coma. When a big game hunter discovers a female Kong in the jungles of Borneo, she is brought back to the centre for a transfusion that will enable Kong to be given a new heart. Linda Hamilton lowers the organ in place from a crane. Romance blooms and the two apes make a bid for freedom. Laughably bad.
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