Review of King Kong (1933) by Jordan C — 17 Aug 2009

An ageless classic that's cemented in time, King Kong is still incredible to watch, 76 years after it's original release. The actings very typical of the 1930's, i.e wooden as an ironing board, but the real star is of course Kong himself, brought to life by the original king of stop-motion animation Willis H.

O'Brien (whose assistant was none other than the future king Mr Ray Harryhausen). In his expert hands, Kong becomes a character in his own right, given a personality (note the curiosity as he examines the dead dinosaur, or caresses Fay Wray's clothes between his fingers).

O'Brien crafts some truly jaw-dropping set-pieces, with Kong fighting dinosaurs, snakes and other creatures. Obviously it looks dated, but it's still absolutely incredible to watch, and so impressive.

I can only imagine what it must have been like watching this in a cinema in 1933. The stop-motion footage is blended in well with the live-action stuff, and it all leads to that famous ending with Kong climbing the Empire State Building with Fay Wray in hand.

"It were beauty what killed the beast". Such an incredible film to watch, with groundbreaking special effects. A sequel followed the next year (Son of Kong), as well as a completely awful remake in 1976 featuring a man in a ape suit climbing the World Trade Center (which, believe it or not, had its' own sequel which saw Kong survive the fall and then need a heart transplant! Yes, really).

Peter Jackson, who often cites this film as his inspiration, did his own remaker in 2005, featuring state-of-the-art CGI. So, Merien C Cooper and Ernest B Shoedsack's film is still influencing filmmakers today and it's an undisputed classic which will stand the test of time.