Review of King Kong (1933) by Jason G — 21 Jan 2011

A true standard setter.

KING KONG acheived so much as early as 1933 that it's impossible to discount it's importance. Sure, to our jaded eyes, a film like KING KONG seems positively primitive. It is after all a "special effects" movie and at times, watching the titular Kong up on the screen as he twitches and spazzes in all his 1930's "state-of-the-art" animated glory... might only serve to conjure up fits of aggressive eye-rolling in most of today's "FX-Spoiled" audiences.

KING KONG might also prove a bit distracting to the uninitiated, due to the glaring, uncomfortable stereotypes found within. These socially unacceptable behaviours were often openly portrayed in a Hollywood of yesteryear and that will certainly be looked upon unfavourably by today's "politically incorrect" audiences. Outright racism and mild misogynistic leanings, thinly veiled as courageous acts of chivalry, are woven into the story as a matter of fact. It wasn't right, but this was just the way things were back then.

Ignore all of these distractions and watch KING KONG for what it is.

A time capsule from the past...

An example of fantastic film making...

A Spectacle!

King Kong himself is an absolutely horrifying movie monster. There's something creepy about the stop-motion animation process that FX master, Willis O'Brien used to achieve his 1933 creation. It's a sort of unrealistic, realism that makes him infinitely more terrifying once you see him... than any of his more recent cinematic incarnations (for all of their incredible realism).

Willis O'Brien was the man in charge of bringing King Kong to life and special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen has often stated that this film inspired him to make a career of special effects. In fact, Harryhausen would eventually work with O'Brien as his apprentice.

Before KING KONG, nobody had ever done anything as elaborate or extravagant as this. The acting is typical, 1930's.... hammy and overwrought. The pacing however, is tight and crisp. These guys get right to the point and even now, over 75 years later, I still watch the 1933 version of KING KONG with an amazement that could easily stand on it's own... but is even further augmented by my understanding of what it is exactly, that this film has wrought...

A classic in every sense of the word.