The King Kong That Appeared in Edo (1938) User Reviews

Terrors of the Orient

[mahatma_phanishwar · 26 October 2005]

King Kong Arrives in Edo...

...was made either in 1934 or 1938, making it the very first kaiju ever filmed. It was a Japanese period piece in which King Kong destroys sections of ancient Tokyo, in former days was called Edo.

Edo being the period from 1603-1867 when Japan was isolated from the outer world in the period of (I believe) the 17th or 18th century. Granted, Kong invaded Japan (in this film at least), but in the Edo timeframe. They threw in some Caligari-esquire, expressionistic structures so's he'd have something to climb...! It sounds very strange!

Kong itself is said to look like a kaiju that Sid & Marty Krofft ("H.R. Pufnstuf") would have designed, a dodgey gorilla, in this movie, that grapples with not only a titan bumble bee, but at one point, ensnared in Moloogra's trap (a 20-story tall ant lion), the over-blown primate is harassed by troublesome mayflies! Sadly, this movie constitutes perhaps the most tragic loss to World Cinema since Disney pulled the plug on SONG OF THE SOUTH, (1946) --- or Cozzi's HERACLES (1983)

Lost film

[BandSAboutMovies · 10/10 · 31 March 2021]

In 1938, King Kong was reissued in Japanese theaters and smaller studios -- like Zensho Cinema -- took advantage of the popularity by making this film, broken up into two silent chapters.

On March 31, Edo ni Arawareta Kingu Kongu: Henge no Maki (The King Kong That Appeared in Edo: The Episode of the Monster) played theaters, followed a week later by Edo ni Arawareta Kingu Kongu: Ogon no Maki (The King Kong That Appeared in Edo: The Episode of Gold).

Fuminori Ohashi, who assisted in the creation of Godzilla, as well as working on as a makeup advisor on Planet of the Apes and as a technical advisor and designer for the attractions at the original Disneyland, created the ape suit for this movie.

The first chapter is all about Chinami, the daughter of the rich Hyoue Toba, who has been mysteriously kidnapped one night. Magonojyo Go, one of Toba's workers, is the one who kidnapped her, using his father's pet ape. In the second part, various money stealing schemes end with nearly everyone dead, including the ape.

This is a lost film, as the nuclear blasts and bombing of World War II destroying so much of Japan's archived films. There was conjecture for years as to whether the film even existed until Ohashi spoke on it and still debate whether the ape in the film is normal-sized or a kaiju.

If he was giant-sized, this would make The King Kong That Appeared in Edo the very first Japanese monster movie of its kind.

Still extant?

[Nightmarechicken · 29 March 2004]

Sadly recorded as a lost film, it seems highly unlikely that a print of Edo ni arawareta Kingu Kongu still exists even in Japan.

A Japanese version of the RKO classic, it would be especially interesting to see due to the fact Fuminori Ohashi worked on the special effects. He also produced effects for the Godzilla movies, the 60s Toho versions of King Kong (such as Godzilla vs. King Kong) and worked on the original Planet of the Apes.

Considering giant monster movies are one Japan's most famous movie exports - and despite their ephemeral nature, were (and still are) highly entertaining, varied and influential - it's very sad that their earliest ancestor can no longer be seen trampling across the land in all his monotone splendor.