Review of King Kong (1933) by Kylie P — 08 Jan 2009

Owing to the year in which it was made, King Kong is nothing short of sexist, racist, endangers animals, is paleontologically inaccurate (thanks to what knowledge was available in 1933), and is pockmarked by some cheesy dialogue. Also, King Kong himself sometimes looks like a stuffed animal with moving facial features. Once you get past all of these dated shortcomings, however, and consider the film on its merits, it's actually quite a wonder, especially given the year in which it was made. First of all, the story is fantastic in the sense that it's a great fantasy story playing on a sense of mystery and wonder that has managed to spawn two remakes and influence any number of creature features to follow, including modern marvels like Jurassic Park. The story is timeless, ageless, and still hooks you: what if there was a land that time forgot and in that land lived a great, intelligent primate with a penchant for fair-haired humans? The story is also fantastic in the sense that each character is both complex and simplistic, archetypes with layers, not the least of which includes Kong himself, and the entire adventure captures the imagination in many ways.

Second of all, the visual effects in this film are actually quite amazing, thanks to the animator that ultimately provided the template for claymation and CGI renderings in hundreds of later movies. Kong himself is kind of a lumpy mess, and the dinosaurs are a little mushy-looking, but the great wall, the fights (including Kong lifting the log of crewmen), the rear projection techniques - these are stage effects translated superbly to screen and because they were innovations in this film, they're that much more charming.

Third of all, in the uncensored special edition, for a black and white oldie like this original version, King Kong is actually quite gory and sexy. Made prior to the Hayes code, the restored edition includes bloody monster battles (including Kong vs. the airplanes) and the great ape peeling clothes off of a swooning Ann Darrow in his gigantic hand. Code censors later chopped and spliced the movie to more innocent and audience-friendly version, so this restored cut was actually quite entertaining, honest, and endearing.

Most of all, though, the story is so good and the spirit of it is so enthralling that King Kong is nothing short of a riproaring good time. Just be prepared for some of the most legendarily protracted and shrill screaming in movie history. After all, this is considered a horror film too!