Review of King Kong (1933) by Thomas D — 08 Mar 2017

King Kong is a character that has been retold and re-imagined so many different times that it should feel tiresome and worn out. But one can't truly scold the property until he's seen the original piece. So in preparation for Kong: Skull Island, I've decided to take a look at the film that started it all.

The 1933 King Kong film is dated, and I understand that. But I don't think there's any question how important this film was to cinema. It's groundbreaking use of stop-motion was unmatched at the time and left a huge mark in that style's legacy. I genuinely wasn't sure how they pulled off some of the stunts and animations. Sure, it's not always crisp, but there's nothing quite like it.

Because I've seen other iterations of the famed giant ape, I know where the story ultimately goes. But I never found that to be distracting. How did the original treat Ann Darrow? Or Carl Denham? Did they make Kong out to be more of an anti-hero or straight menacing? These were questions I found myself wondering, and surprisingly enough, not everything is the same in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake. Perhaps a product of the time, but Darrow is treated much more like a damsel in distress than a real human being. I think she did more screaming and crying than she actually spoke words. Maybe monster movies aren't always the destination for well-told character dramas, but there didn't seem to be much of an effort to develop the humans at all.

It is those humans, however, that should take all of the heat for the events of the film. Just like in most monster movies, it's the humans who go looking for trouble and seem frustratingly stunned when they eventually do find it. I can only hope that Skull Island treats that situation with more care than most monster pictures do. The 1933 King Kong film isn't just another monster picture though. Just because I saw this nearly 85 years later doesn't mean I can't appreciate all that this film did for the genre. Great pacing, groundbreaking special effects, and a ton of action make for an entertaining experience. An experience unlike anything else I have seen before.

+Effects.

+Holds a legacy unlike any other monster film.

-Characters don't always act like humans.

8.3/10.