Review - King Kong (1933)

Along with The Wizard of Oz (1939) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and a few others, King Kong is one of the oldest movies, in my opinion, to have a very modern feel. The special effects are obviously clunky compared to today's CGI wonders, but they were extraordinary for the time, and can even compete with the 1950s Harryhausen monster movies that came two decades later. And, the action and story beats feel distinctly like a modern special effects thriller (most obviously, the Jurassic Park movies - Jurassic Park is basically King Kong without the Kong).

The plot isn't the strongest point of the movie, so I won't bore you with much of it. IMDB writes: "An expedition exploring a remote island capture a gigantic ape and bring him back to New York for exhibition. A beautiful actress who accompanies them is menaced when the monster's love for her causes him to break out." Thankfully, the script deals cleverly with a buildup of suspense and action to make up for its weak plot, which (again, like today's blockbusters), really only serves to set up the action and spectacle.

But boy, are they spectacular. King Kong enjoys the entrance employed by every giant beast today: the sound of his heavy steps pounding precede his shockingly giant first appearance on-screen. Kong carries the bound Ann Darrow into the jungle and the ship's crew make pursuit, but they encounter the other dangerous beasts of the island: dinosaurs! They are able to take down a stegosaurus with a gas bomb. The creature lies squirming on the ground, and they try to finish it off by shooting it once more. But, in a memorable moment, the gunshot actually excites the beast and he gets back on his feet (several more shots bring him down, though). Several memorable dinosaur death scenes later, and we come to what, for me, was the high point of the action for me: a three-minute wrestling match between Kong and a T-Rex.

The pace remains blistering as Denham rescues Ann from Kong by descending a vine on a cliffside. Unfortunately, Kong grabs the vine and tries to pull them back up. They plummet into the water far below. After a battle with the crew members and natives (which contains another moment duplicated in Jurassic Park: a man being smashed into the ground by a giant foot), Kong is taken down by a gas bomb and shipped back to New York for display as the 'Eighth Wonder of the World.' But, on opening night, the flashes from cameras excite him enough to break free of his bonds and wreak havoc on the city. He tears apart a train track and throws the train to the ground. People inside are thrown from end to end.

Finally, Kong recaptures Ann Darrow and takes her to the top of the Empire State Building, where he is shot down by a row of fighter planes (but not before taking on of them out). Kong falls to the street, bouncing memorably off the sides of the building.

King Kong was the biggest moneymaker of its day (until Gone with the Wind in 1939), and started a trend that wasn't fully realized for several decades until the arrival of summer blockbuster fare like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and E.T. It pushed special effects to a new level. It gave Hollywood a formula for the disaster epic and special effects extravaganza film. And somehow, it managed to also be a love story and moral poem.

This is a perfect movie for Peter Jackson to remake (coming next year). The role of Ann Darrow has gone to Naomi Watts - she's a great actress and her role in Mulholland Drive was actually quite similar to that of Ann Darrow. Carl Denham is being played by Jack Black, which I can't see at all, but I trust Peter's judgement. And, the budget is around $200 million, an giant amount that will still be stretched thin by such a grand story with so many monsters and disasters. But, if anyone can pull it off, it's Peter Jackson.