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Classic Intel: King Kong (2005) - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday in 2013, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'Giving us the first CGI Kong, Jackson thankfully manages to restore both impact and dignity to what should be any King Kong film’s most treasured asset'

It’s clear from the outset of 2005’s King Kong that director Peter Jackson is an avid fan of the 1933 original. The stylistic choices for the opening and closing credits alone show an unashamed and potent nostalgic streak running through Jackson’s film. That this is the only Kong film since the giant gorilla first hit our screens that can accurately be deemed a remake of the original film, retaining a great many character names along with the 1930s time period, is not only a loving tribute to Merian C. Cooper’s iconic film, but also opens Jackson’s King Kong up to perhaps closer criticism than any other entry in Kong’s filmography.

Thankfully, there’s a great deal here that Jackson gets right, not least the eponymous ape. Since Willis O’Brien’s awe-inspiring animation in the 1933 film, Skull Island’s most famous inhabitant has been portrayed again and again by second-rate actors in shoddy monkey outfits. Giving us the first CGI Kong, Jackson thankfully manages to restore both impact and dignity to what should be any King Kong film’s most treasured asset - something which many Kong directors seem to have forgotten in the intervening seventy or so years between this film and the original.

Kong impresses visually, and whilst he can't achieve the same screen presence or tangibility as O’Brien’s stop-motion original, the computer-generated character is never distracting and regularly wonderful. Key to the success of the character is the superb motion-capture performance from Andy Serkis (pulling double duty here with a second live-action role as one of the ship’s crew), only a few steps away from his flawless turn as Caesar in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes several years later. Serkis’ body language and mannerisms make this the Kong most believable as an animal; Kong has never felt more like a monstrous gorilla - rather than a monster who looks like a gorilla - than here.

The chemistry between Kong and Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) also cannot be understated. Watts wisely never tries to out-damsel the original damsel-in-distress Fay Wray, instead making Darrow a feisty vaudeville performer and developing in Ann a believable mix of fear and sentiment towards Kong. Any time Watts shares the screen with the giant ape is a pleasure to watch, providing some of the film’s most entertaining and emotional scenes.

Remembering the film’s adventure and horror roots, Jackson creates plenty of effective scenes to both scare and excite. Kong’s fight against a trio of tyrannosaurs, which regularly pays tribute to the Kong versus T. Rex fight in the original, is a particular action highlight; a sequence set in a pit of giant insects (yet another tribute to a scene cut from the 1933 film that has never been found) is both skin-crawlingly chilling and satisfyingly tense. The infamous scenes set atop the Empire State Building during the film’s finale are impressively crafted and provide the film’s high point (no pun intended) in terms of action and emotion.

For all 2005’s King Kong does right, however, it does have flaws. Ever since he first ventured to Middle Earth, it seems Jackson has become unable to rein in his films’ running times and King Kong is no exception. At around three hours, this at times just feels too long for the story it tells. Jackson spends a stretch too long getting to Skull Island, and again feels as though he could have cut down the time spent there once he arrives, with only the film’s final act feeling well-paced. Additional stories of the director’s own creation, such as that of the paternal relationship between First Mate Mr. Hayes (Evan Parke) and crewman Jimmy (Jamie Bell), feel too corny and ultimately unnecessary when Jackson drops them from the final act completely in favour of the main story. The romance between Ann Darrow and Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) also never escapes the colossal shadow of Ann’s more developed (and more interesting) relationship with Kong. But whilst Jackson’s film isn’t perfect, it does far more right than it does wrong. The 2005 version of King Kong is both a highly respectful and worthwhile remake of the 1933 film, and without question the most successful attempt at bringing Kong back to the big screen since his debut eighty years ago.

By Ben Broadribb. Ben is a regular contributor to Film Intel, having previously written at Some Like It Hot Fuzz. He is normally seen in the wild wearing t-shirts containing obscure film references. He is a geek, often unashamedly so. He's also on Google+ and Twitter.

Classic Intel: King Kong Escapes - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'Although not nearly as hideous as he looked when battling Godzilla, Kong is still a bloke in a manky monkey costume.'

The second of Kong’s Toho appearances, co-produced with US company Rankin/Bass, 1967’s King Kong Escapes is to date also the giant ape’s last. Stylistically similar in many ways to the earlier King Kong Vs. Godzilla (although, somewhat confusingly, not a sequel), King Kong Escapes is thankfully a largely more satisfying experience than Kong’s first Japanese outing.

Admittedly, there are still issues here linked to the gimcrack style of kaiju cinema. Although not nearly as hideous as he looked when battling Godzilla, Kong is still a bloke in a manky monkey costume. His nemesis, Mechani-Kong, comes across somewhat better with a pleasingly simplistic yet futuristic look. The final battle between Kong and his robotic adversary however is notably lacklustre after a pleasing build-up, and will likely leave you wanting more. Other creatures that appear throughout do the job though - including Gorosaurus, another Toho monster here in his first film appearance, who is arguably more convincing against Kong than Godzilla ended up being.

If you can buy into the ridiculousness of it all (Mechani-Kong, for example, is constructed at the start of the film as a means to mine a rare radioactive substance known as “Element X”), there’s fun to be had with the film’s story. Kong’s origin is retold once again, this time with perhaps a surprising amount of faithfulness to the 1933 film. There’s even a human love interest for the gigantic gorilla in Linda Miller’s navy lieutenant Susan Watson, joining the ever-growing list of women to pale in comparison to Fay Wray’s Ann Darrow. Carl Nelson (Rhodes Reason) is a more straightforward hero than his quasi namesake from the original film, but Reason does well playing things light-heartedly straight and is a pleasing presence on screen throughout.

The antagonists too are enjoyable: Eisei Amamoto as Doctor Who (in no way related to the BBC’s wisecracking timelord) makes for a suitably over-the-top villain, a snaggletoothed hybrid of Count Dracula and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The Bond franchise comparison is in fact quite apt, with the narrative echoing the campier 007 outings a fair amount of the time. Mie Hama’s mysterious Madame X also plays into this mould, beginning as a seemingly straightforward villainess but becoming a much more ambiguous femme fatale as the story wears on. It’s just a shame that her most intriguing plot thread is frustratingly left hanging at the end of the film.

King Kong Escapes certainly has discernible flaws. The story takes too long to get going, and there are patches here and there which become irritatingly unfocused. Along with the low budget Toho-style visual effects, you’ll also have to contend with some distracting sound editing (English-speaking Miller is inexplicably dubbed along with the Japanese cast). But whilst the flaws can’t be ignored, a lot of the time they can be forgiven. Go into King Kong Escapes looking for kitsch, throwaway fun and you’ll more than likely have a good time with it. At the very least, when weighing up Kong’s cinematic adventures in the Orient, this is consistently the superior of the two.

Classic Intel: King Kong vs Godzilla - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'The highlight here is undoubtedly the final battle between giant ape and giant atomic amphibian.'

Originally released in 1963, the US cut of King Kong Vs. Godzilla - cobbled together using the 1962 Japanese original, newly shot sequences and stock footage from other Japanese films - is notable for being the first film since the 1933 original to feature Kong (he’s only ever mentioned in The Son Of Kong). It’s also the first time the supersized simian (and indeed his sparring partner Godzilla) had appeared in colour. It’s a shame then that, apart from those Kong-related milestones, there isn’t a great deal more to get excited about within the film.

The highlight here is undoubtedly the final battle between giant ape and giant atomic amphibian. It’s unashamedly low-budget, regularly humorously so, and at times feels like a brawl between two blokes in rubber animal suits outside a pub. But the titular brawl has an undeniable charm and is sure to entertain in one way or another. Despite the title, Kong and Godzilla share very little screen time outside of their climactic clash, which comes in the last ten minutes of the film’s running time. The remaining eighty minutes has some enjoyable Kaiju-style destruction (model tanks, trains, buildings, etc. being demolished by Godzilla and/or Kong) here and there, but there’s less bang than you might be expecting for your buck.

Unfortunately when King Kong Vs. Godzilla switches focus to storytelling, things get much less satisfying. There’s an interesting retcon of Kong’s origin story involving a pharmaceutical company travelling to his island to harvest rare berries with healing properties, including some well-crafted scenes of the natives on the island (provided you can overlook Japanese actors in blackface), but much of the rest of the story never takes hold.

Matters aren’t helped by the Hollywood alterations to the Toho original. The new scenes inserted attempt to tie the whole thing together through a United Nations news network reporting on the events, presumably to guide Western audiences unfamiliar with Godzilla at the time of the film’s release. All they largely end up doing is giving King Kong Vs. Godzilla a stilted feel whilst patronising the viewer: at one point Dr. Arnold Johnson (Harry Holcombe), a purported palaeontology expert, explains to newscaster Eric Carter (Michael Keith) what he thinks Godzilla is using a children’s book on dinosaurs.

The sequences retained from the original film largely have the exaggerated style of Japanese humour edited out of them (although remnants of this crop up now and again) leaving too many scenes throughout feeling quite dry. The English dubbing also doesn’t help matters, with lines at times delivered devoid of any emotion. We see government officials discussing the use of an atomic bomb to destroy Godzilla during a few scenes throughout, although considering the lack of urgency in the voice actors’ performances they might as well be talking about what type of biscuits to have with their tea.

Whilst some of King Kong Vs. Godzilla’s faults can be chalked up to sloppy Hollywood editing pandering to ‘60s American audiences, the plot remains largely intact from Toho’s feature and there are just too many inherent flaws carried over from the original film. The story falters throughout, coming across as unnecessarily complicated and contrived at several points, and becomes tiresome for too much of the film’s running time.

This is my first experience of a Kaiju film, so Godzilla enthusiasts may be inclined to add an extra star to my score. There is certainly a kitsch likeability in King Kong Vs. Godzilla’s low-budget effects - they’re certainly much more forgivable here than in Guillermin’s blockbuster King Kong films - but the entertaining moments are too few and far between to truly recommend this as a genuinely enjoyable watch.

Trailer Of The Week - Week #37 - Konga

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

Not a film about a long line of people drunkenly dancing at the end of a party, but British cinema’s 1961 answer to (read: rip-off of) King Kong. The promotional material for Konga makes no secret of this, clearly attempting to cash in on the original giant gorilla’s fame by bandying his name about not only in the trailer but also on the poster. The sixties trailer now functions as both an absolute gem of classic low-budget film promotion and a warning for anyone actually considering watching Konga - the ape suit here makes Guillermin’s 1976 King Kong remake look like a nature documentary. Look out too for the late Michael Gough, most well-known as Alfred Pennyworth in the Burton/Schumacher Batman films, hamming it up as the “madman” who creates Konga.

Classic Intel: King Kong Lives - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'Kong has never looked less impressive, with the man-in-a-gorilla-suit factor worse than ever.'

1976’s King Kong remake, whilst never as successful as the 1933 original, at least can be seen as respectful to the legacy of Kong’s first cinematic outing. Sadly the same can’t be said for 1986’s King Kong Lives, which essentially takes a giant-ape-sized dump over much of what made the original film so successful.

A direct sequel to his 1976 remake, John Guillermin returns to direct again here, but begins making mistakes almost immediately. None of the Kong cast of ‘76 are back, of which Guillermin poignantly reminds you by starting King Kong Lives with clips from the final moments of the previous film. Linda Hamilton is the only name of interest here, mainly due to King Kong Lives appearing only two years after Hamilton’s iconic turn in The Terminator. Despite the actress’ efforts she never gets anywhere near her success battling cyborgs from the future, ending up as the best performer of a bad bunch. The rest of the cast are barely worth a mention.

With ten years to rectify the special effects problems which were such a core failing in Guillermin’s 1976 picture, you would think that Kong would be a more impressive presence here. But somehow, despite a sizeable budget, the effects here are notably worse. Kong has never looked less impressive, with the man-in-a-gorilla-suit factor worse than ever. The suit itself could have been taken from any grubby fancy dress shop rack. And what’s more, with the introduction of “Lady Kong”, there are now two unconvincing giant gorillas to besmirch the stop-motion charm of the 1933 original.

Despite the poor acting and crummy special effects, the story is undeniably King Kong Lives’ weakest feature. After a somewhat intriguing opening scenario, involving a comatose Kong needing a blood transfusion in order for an artificial heart to be transplanted into him, things quickly become laughable. Adventurer Hank Mitchell (Brian Kerwin) happens upon Lady Kong with the same ease you might find your car keys down the side of the sofa, and characters make one unbelievably stupid decision after another to further the largely directionless plot. We’re even “treated” to Kong’s courtship of Lady Kong on a mountainside, which is either meant to be touching or funny, but is just awful. By the time Kong is being pursued - and even momentarily captured - by drunken redneck hunters, you won’t know who to feel more insulted for: you as the viewer, or Kong as the humiliated screen icon.

King Kong Lives is an undeniably bad film; but far more than that, it’s a film which shows no respect for its much-loved source material. The fact that Kong here survives his famous fall at the end of the original film removes the poignant and poetic message of this climax. The introduction of a giant ape love interest shows an insulting lack of understanding of why Kong’s infatuation with a human woman is such a powerful image. King Kong Lives is a completely unnecessary film, hollow of message and dull of narrative, that comprehensively fails to justify its existence from start to finish.

King Kong (1976) - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'Bridges' performance has more than a hint of Richard Dreyfuss' Jaws character Hooper, also forming the film’s moral compass which was largely absent (and most likely not seen as necessary) in the original'

John Guillermin’s remake of King Kong was released just a year after Jaws, and the influence of that prototypical and most influential summer blockbuster can be seen throughout. Guillermin attempts to do for giant apes what Spielberg did for great white sharks, and it’s a stylistic choice which in many ways pays off.

King Kong is not a straight remake; a more accurate description using modern film terminology might be a reboot, with the time period updated from 1930s to 1970s and only the core elements of Kong’s journey from his island home to America left intact. It’s a decision which infuriated many at the time of the film’s release, but in all honesty when combined with the Spielbergian feel, it largely works a treat. The updated elements can be spotted more overtly during the film’s final act, and whilst Guillermin takes the brave decision to alter two of the original’s most iconic images - Kong’s US début and the setting of his final moments - they are changes that work well, fitting the film’s aesthetic and its underlying themes of corporate greed and nature versus man.

The opening act set-up to the arrival at Kong’s island effectively establishes the epic tone of the story, with unanswered questions and eerie historical passages alluding to the isle’s enigma and convincingly building up the tension. Writer Lorenzo Semple Jr.’s choice to shift the story’s focus from the film industry to Big Oil is an inspired one, and whilst the script paints greedy oil exec Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin) with broader strokes than the original’s filmmaker Carl Denham, he’s an effective character brought to life successfully through Grodin’s performance.

Jeff Bridges does well opposite Grodin as “primate paleontologist” Jack Prescott, developing the role from its 1933 foundations in Bruce Cabot’s Jack Driscoll. Bridges' performance has more than a hint of Richard Dreyfuss' Jaws character Hooper whilst still bringing a satisfying originality to Prescott, also forming the film’s moral compass which was largely absent (and most likely not seen as necessary) in the original. Jessica Lange however becomes the second actress after Son Of Kong’s Helen Mack to fall under the shadow of Fay Wray as the original’s damsel. Lange does deserve credit for her part in crafting the mutual feelings between Kong and her character Dwan, a relationship which in the 1933 film was entirely one-way and therefore arguably less complex and intriguing.

Unfortunately, despite its admirable strengths, Guillermin’s film also suffers from some fairly weighty flaws. The script fluctuates from the convincing to the camp to the utterly cringeworthy (how Grodin managed to deliver straight-faced the line “he tried to rape you, honey” when talking to Lange’s Dwan about Kong is utterly beyond me). Despite the epic feel effectively established at the start, by the time we reach the end of the second act the two-hour-fifteen-minute running time begins to feel really quite bloated.

But the biggest problem within this version of King Kong is regrettably Kong himself. 1933’s Kong was both a hugely impressive special effect and a compelling screen presence. 1976’s Kong is most accurately described as a giant gorillagram. From the moment he first appears on screen, Kong seriously underwhelms and proceeds to stink up pretty much every scene he’s in. A sequence in which Kong fights a giant snake (which holds the dubious honour of being the only special effect here worse than Kong himself) is laughably bad, with comparison to the original’s T-Rex battles only compounding the scene’s ineptitude further. It’s rare for special effects to make or break a film for me, but it cannot be understated how crucial and pivotal an element the realisation of Kong is. The fact that, any time the giant ape is on screen, all you will see is a man in a monkey suit is by far the most critical blow to the credibility of Guillermin’s film.

King Kong turns out to be an awkward marriage of excellent ideas and mediocre execution. The performances from the talented central cast, the saga-like mythology and the moral questions used to effectively flesh out Kong’s story are regularly at odds with ropey dialogue and unsightly B-movie effects. Whilst enjoyable, Guillermin’s film ultimately rests uncomfortably between success and failure, never delivering an experience as pleasurable as the 1933 original.

Classic Intel: The Son Of Kong - Online Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'Shot and released in the same year as its predecessor, this was essentially a chance for RKO Radio Pictures to gain as much money from their giant ape franchise as quickly as possible'

Shot and released in the same year as its predecessor, The Son Of Kong is the amiable sequel to King Kong that has rightfully been dwarfed by the success and legacy of the original. Essentially a chance for RKO Radio Pictures to gain as much money from their giant ape franchise as quickly as possible, The Son Of Kong turned a profit but never came close to the success of King Kong. Viewing the film objectively eighty years on, it’s not too hard to see why.

The film retains only one of the lead trio from the original, with Robert Armstrong reprising his role as Carl Denham. Armstrong’s performance here is one of the film’s highlights, as arguably the best thing The Son Of Kong manages is to develop Denham’s character from the first film. Armstrong was allegedly more of a fan of this film than King Kong because of this, and this shows through his performance which is as charming and engaging as that seen in the original.

Elsewhere the success of the cast varies. Frank Reicher’s role as Captain Englehorn, also carried over from King Kong, is also developed a little from his dual function in the first film of steering the ship and inexplicably being able to speak and understand the language of the natives of Kong’s island. John Marston as Nils Helstrom is a satisfying enough foil to Denham, although his character comes across as somewhat inconsistent. Helen Mack as the story’s damsel is also fine, but suffers from never having the presence on screen of Fay Wray, nor being given anything as interesting to do as Wray was as Ann Darrow in the original.

The effects, mostly either unused or reused from King Kong, are scattered more sparsely here but impressive enough in their own right. The problem is that everything you see here was done better in the first film. 'Little Kong', as he’s referred to affectionately by Denham, is technically wonderful with some charming personality coming through his facial expressions, but never dominates the screen or the story anywhere near as effectively as Kong. Little Kong’s fight with a giant bear is a prime example: it should astound considering the film’s age, but in reality it’s laid bare as a half-hearted imitation of Kong’s T-Rex battle in King Kong.

This lacklustre feel that permeates throughout is by far the biggest problem with Son Of Kong. After a promising start in which Denham flees New York to escape the multitude of lawsuits being filed against him for Kong’s Manhattan rampage, the story basically falls apart. At a little over an hour in length this is slight stuff, and yet the film takes far too long to get to Kong’s island leaving too little time for anything to develop properly once we get there. A quest for treasure on the island is essentially remembered and forgotten as is convenient, and too much relies on coincidence to ring anywhere near true. Whereas King Kong was a hybrid of the adventure and disaster genres, this is firmly in family friendly adventure-comedy territory and the script follows: it is too weak and lacking in jokes to succeed. The destructive climax on Kong’s island should provide an emotional high point, but with so little in the way of relationship development throughout it just feels empty.

In the end, The Son Of Kong remains worth a look as a cinematic curiosity, the little-known sequel to one of the most iconic Hollywood pictures of all time. However, whilst it entertains here and there, The Son Of Kong is never more than a pale and underdeveloped imitator to its father.

Classic Intel: King Kong - DVD Review

With the original film reaching its 80th birthday this year, Ben has set out on a journey to a land that time forgot, watching all of the King Kong films along the way.

'It’s easy to see how animator Willis O’Brien’s work on this film inspired a young Ray Harryhausen, with Kong himself still an impressive presence on screen both as a character and as a technical achievement.'

Due to its immeasurable impact upon modern culture, King Kong has become one of those films which it’s now nearly impossible to review as you would most others. Becoming a cinematic octogenarian this year, the 1933 original version of this now iconic story has arguably surpassed being considered as just a film with so many of its themes, ideas, images and characters having passed into the realm of indelible iconography. To assess King Kong from an objective viewpoint today is therefore an inevitably forced decision to make before you start watching.

However, it’s a decision which pays dividends. Eight decades after it was first released, there is a huge amount to not only like here, but to be thoroughly impressed by. Structurally, the film has clear and careful craft throughout. It’s around fifty minutes (roughly half the total running time) before directors Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack allow the infamous ape on screen, a calculated and restrained decision which pays off heartily and one which it’s difficult to imagine many contemporary directors having the reserve to carry off.

Early scenes before the story reaches Kong’s island satisfyingly build the characters of the lead trio Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) and Ann Darrow (Fay Wray). A sequence in which filmmaker Denham shoots test footage of starlet Darrow, directing her to imagine a horrific creature rising up above her, brilliantly echoes her later inaugural encounter with Kong. The fact that the scene takes place aboard the vessel unknowingly carrying them to the giant gorilla’s isle serves to enhance the dramatic irony further.

The true star of King Kong is undeniably the eponymous ape himself. It’s easy to see how animator Willis O’Brien’s work on this film inspired a young Ray Harryhausen, with Kong himself still an impressive presence on screen both as a character and as a technical achievement. The other wildlife of Kong’s island are also brilliantly realised; the famous fight between Kong and a Tyrannosaurus Rex is a particular highlight and firmly stands up as a tightly choreographed and beautifully animated piece of cinema.

It might seem straightforward to laud King Kong as a perfect film, but there are flaws here. Most characters outside of the main three don’t receive much in the way of development, and the plot also has a handful of weaker areas with the opening scenes in particular feeling somewhat slow and a little flimsy. Whilst it can be forgiven that we never actually see on screen Kong being transported from the island to New York due to budgetary and technological limitations, it’s undeniably a section of the story which is almost entirely glossed over. We move from an unconscious Kong on the the island one minute to the ape chained up in a Manhattan theatre the next, giving the film a somewhat awkward transition from its middle to final acts.

These quibbles are unlikely to hinder your enjoyment though. In its eightieth year, King Kong overwhelmingly stands as tall and impressive as its supersized simian star as an entertaining and technically superb piece of cinema.