“King Kong”(1933) review

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King Kong

review

by Anastasija Strelcova

The film „King Kong” (1933) is the first and original story about a big monkey called Kong, story which tells us about the strong love of the beast to the beauty.

This film inspired a lot of modern film directors and definitely it is a master piece of film industry, because all the people who didn’t even watched the film know who King Kong is. Despite the fact, that „King Kong” has a lot of racism and sexism in it, which was quite a norm (an everyday occurrence) at that time, as Sergej Kudrjavcev(2008) said the very first "King Kong" not only has its sense of proportion and taste, but also really touches your soul.

Throughout the whole film it was interesting to see how with the use the special effects, that are outdated nowadays, filmmakers are trying to show the power of mighty gorilla King Kong as well as other inhabitants of the island. The battle between T- rex and King Kong was very entertaining despite the fact that they looked very plasticine, but we must remember, that if models of Kong and other creatures seem very doll-like and unnatural to people of 21 century, people of that time really thought that the battle between two monsters was real.(Figure 1)

Figure 1. The battle between T- rex and King Kong(1933)

Another thing that author wants to point out is the atmosphere of the film, for example, its’ beautiful landscapes, which, in fact, weren’t even filmed on the island, instead of that creators of „King Kong” used outskirts of Los Angeles.(Figure 2) The filmmakers really tried their best filming some of the scenes, such as a battle between Kong and pterodactyl took only about 20 seconds of screen time, but a couple of long weeks to create it.(Figure 3)

Figure 2. The island(1933)

Figure 3. The battle between pterodactyl and King Kong(1933)

"Interestingly, one of the key moments of the film, a famous scene - giant gorilla crushes building in New York – was just a dream of  a 38-year-old producer."(Sergej Kudrjavcev,2008) It is amazing how such a seemingly simple dream became a legend of the world film industry.

 Acting is good, but as Joe Bigelow(1933) mentioned, neither the story nor the cast gains more than secondary importance, and not even close. After all the main protagonist here is Kong and the rest of island’s big inhabitants, which impressed the audience the most.

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Bibliography:

1. Сергей Кудрявцев(2008) Рецензия на фильм "Кинг Конг",  Книга Кинорецензий "3500", Том 1 [In Russian] Review of the film "King Kong", Book of film reviews "3500", Volume 1. Translated by Anastasija Strelcova

2. Сергей Кудрявцев(2008) Рецензия на фильм "Кинг Конг",  Книга Кинорецензий "3500", Том 1 [In Russian] Review of the film "King Kong", Book of film reviews "3500", Volume 1. Translated by Anastasija Strelcova

3. Bigelow, J. (1933) Review: "King Kong", http://variety.com/1933/film/reviews/king-kong-2-1200410783/, accessed October 13,2016.

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Illustrations:

1. http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/kingkong/images/2/25/King-Kong-1933-Tyrannosaurus-Rex-fight.png/revision/latest?cb=20150801002814&path-prefix=en

2.https://burrellosubmarinemovies.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/kingkong1933-mood.jpg

3. http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/king-kong-killing-pterodactyl.jpg