Review of King Kong (1933) by Damien K — 14 Jul 2011

This is the one film that got me so interested in film making, and my all time favorite film. It's overall feel is just pure adventure. Its plot today is so famous, an adventurous film director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) searches for a leading lady for his next motion picture.

He hires a young girl Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and they set off the mysterious Skull Island where dinosaurs and prehistoric monsters run amok. On the voyage Ann falls for the ship's first mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot).

When they arrive at Skull Island, they encounter natives who wish to purchase Ann upon seeing her. The crew refuses and return to their ship, but the natives sneak aboard later in the night, capture Ann, and sacrifice her to their god Kong; but Kong finds a unique interest in Ann and carries her off into the jungle.

Once the crew realizes she had been taken, they follow Kong into the jungle in an exciting hunt. They rescue Ann, capture Kong, and bring him to New York in one of the greatest Movie climaxes in cinema history.

What most people don't know is how elaborate it's Kong and creature effects were. Most people know Kong and the dinosaurs are stop motion models, but other times strips of film with the live actors were place in the shot frame by frame with the live actors.

Other times two strips of film were placed together, and other times the actors would perform in front of a large screen while they reacted to the action. The acting is also just terrific. Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham is like bread and butter.

The last thing I must praise is it's sound and music. For an early talkie film, its truly a marvel to the ears. There is never a quiet moment on the island. There's jungle ambiance, creatures calling out, and a fully orchestrated orchestra by Max Steiner (who would later go on the write the music for "Casablanca" and "Gone with the Wind").

To me it is certainly of the the greatest films ever made, for its time and for all time.