Review of King Kong (1933) by Jonathan B — 05 Dec 2010

The original and still probably the best version despite the advances in movie making and special effects. This film not only probably saved RKO but has become the blueprint of all those disaster movies where a giant monster terrorises a city.

I think the appeal of this movie stems from childhood recollections of staying up late and watching it in my bedroom on a small black and white television with the lights off and the blankets wrapped around my head. I can't imagine the impact that it must have had on its original 1930s audience but even today, it has the power to thrill and there are some surprisingly violent scenes such as Kong stamping his feet down on fleeing natives or his iconic fight with a Tyrannosaurus.

I think we forget these days, that when this movie was made, it was contemporary. Expeditions really were exploring the unknown jungles or discovering strange creatures or new tribes of people. Kong would have represented many of their fears of the unknown savagery of the wild about which ordinary people knew little. It is therefore all the more amazing and worthy of note, that this monster actually is depicted with a great deal of sympathy and pathos, revolutionary for its time.

Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot all play their roles well and defined the stereotype for years to come. Direction by Merian C.Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack is taught and economical, unlike in the Peter Jackson remake which was far too long.

Of course, to our modern eyes, there are things that are do not sit well. The movie probably did much to confirm the inaccurate idea that the great apes were savage killers. The notion of the great white hunter dominating his environment for personal glory and monetary gain is at odds with modern sensibilities and the depiction of black people is at best naive (yes there really is a woman with a bra made out of coconut shells). However, these are artefacts of the era in which the film was conceived and made and need to be seen in that light. This is a magnificent film and the reworkings of the tale have not diminished it.