Due to licensing, the 1963 re-edited American version is the most widely available release of the film and the version most have seen outside of Japan. The only official US release of the Japanese version is on the Criterion Godzilla collection as a bonus feature.

RKO gave Toho specific instructions that their new design had to be different from the original Kong. Instead of a gorilla, Kong's face was modeled after the Japanese macaque. To give the suit longer ape like arms, two poles were inserted for suit actor Shoichi Hirose to hold. Hirose had to be sewn inside the suit each time filming began.

Unfortunately this American re-cut is the main version of the film available outside of Japan. The original version is only found on the Criterion set.

Yes, this was the first Godzilla film to use the big pool in which all the water scenes are film. It was over 43,000 square ft in size, almost 300 ft at its widest , and 210 ft at its deepest. Suit actors routinely ran the risk of drowning in the pool, as well as being electrocuted by the machines meant to generate ways.

When Universal brought the film to the US, they film entirely new sequences with American actors, rearranged several scenes and reframed the story as a news report. The film opens with a new title sequence. The film inserts stock footage of the spaceship from Toho's science fiction film The Mysterians, which was not present in the original film.

While the Japanese version picks up were the previous Godzilla left of, this version states that Godzilla has been imprisoned in the iceberg since the Jurassic period. Effectively, the American version ignores the events of the first two Godzilla films, while the Japanese version does not. This version also removes portions of the original story concerning Mr. Tako as well as the relationship between Osamu's sister Fumiko and Fujita.

Another significant difference is that the majority of the original Japanese music has been replaced with stock music from the Universal Library. The only piece of music from the original film left is the chant of the islanders.