Director: Merian Cooper
Year: 1933
Country: US
Language: English
In the film, director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) needs to finish his movie and has the perfect location; Skull Island. He still needs to find a leading lady. This 'soon-to-be-unfortunate' soul is Ann Darrow (Fay Wray). Living on this hidden island is a giant gorilla, who eventually falls in love with Ann.
King Kong is an out-pour of creative energy and technical genius. Released during the Great Depression, it was the ultimate fantasy for people living in incredibly tough economic times. Film historian Ron Haver has described that in order to make the stop-motion King Kong figure look larger than the real actors, the film crew had to hit on a screen made entirely of condoms. Surely the special effects have aged, but an aspect of creepiness remains where there isn't in today's slicker special effects.
The first 30 minutes, before the reveal of the great ape, are admittedly quite flawed. The dialogue drags to a crawl and the acting, especially by Robert Armstrong, is quite hammy. Much like being in a traffic jam, it's an ordeal, however once the ape enters the screen the action hits high pace and the tension never ceases. The story breaks convention; unlike every film make during the Hay's Code era, King Kong has no heroes or villains. The ape is a sympathetic creature, because it is in love with a woman that it could never have, however it destroys a lot of New York City to be alone with her.
In conclusion, the original King Kong is far greater than every remake that has come since. Not even Peter Jackson in 2005 came close. This film is not perfect, but despite it being 81 years old it is still engaging and entertaining. The end result of both story and special effects is a beautiful picture that stands the test of time. Praise it! 4/5
I think every minute of the movie is great, the first 30 minutes give flesh to the players and Max Steiner's music slowly weaves a spell while we drift into the fog and to Skull Island. I often listen to the soundtrack all by itself, a total masterpiece!
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