Review of King Kong (1933) by Irfaan J — 14 Nov 2009

The original monster movie that started it all is still a pleasure to sit through, 76 years after its premier. It may not astound and amaze in the same way it surely did for those audiences in the past, but it will do for just how effective it still is at delivering the goods. The action scenes are still exciting and thrilling, the adventure is still engrossing and the special effects are still breathtaking for the mastery behind it all. Obviously the stop motion isn't the smoothest (Ray Harryhausen, the successor of the animator behind Kong, Willis O'Brian, would later do far more amazing things) but considering the date and what else was on the market at the time (and indeed some of what has come after till this day) everything works as it should and does the job without wanting more. Kong shows a surprising array of emotions and moves with great fluidity during the action, along with his fellow denizens of Skull Island.

The one thing that has dated quite a bit is the acting, which is all very theatrical and has moments of unintentional hilarity. But even then there's still a sly sense of humour that runs throughout, Robert Armstrong in particular holding some of the best lines. However this movie was not meant for character development and drama, it's about the thrill of the ride and it works perfectly. We also have the the surprisingly affecting ending where Kong is shot down trying in vane to protect his captive Anne Darrow, followed by the immortal line summing up Kong's doomed plite, "It was beauty killed the beast.".

It's due to this final scene of Kong's demise that later reiterations saw an oppertunity to play up the relationship between Anne and Kong into a more developed one, where Anne actually reciprocates Kong's "feelings". While this veered a little on the silly side in Dino DeLaurentii's 1976 version, it worked to heartrendering effect in Peter Jackon's admirably faithful rendition in 2005. But even though the original may not have the same depth that would later be layered upon it, that's something that it does not require to succeed. The more dramatic elements are only touched upon and stimulate further thought and reflection after the film is over. While watching however, one is swept away by the awesome adventure and action that to this day still thrills and amazes. "King Kong" is truely an undisputed classic and one that is destined for immortality.