Horror Movie Reviews
More Details...Price: $39.98 |
Title: King Kong (Collector's Edition) (2005) |
|
Review of King Kong (Collector's Edition)
- DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Documentaries
Other
Theatrical Trailer
Description
- "Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!" And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man." Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate. King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T. rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the 20th century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the movies' most indelible and iconic images. --Donald Liebenson
DVD features
Not surprisingly, the eighth wonder of the world’s DVD treatment is nothing short of spectacular. The newly restored, digitally mastered print of the 1933 version of King Kong is sharp, well balanced, and given that this film is seventy years old, has very few scratches or blemishes. The restoration is nothing short of amazing. What may frustrate some is the audio. Though crystal clear, it is still in 2.0 Mono. The soundtrack on Kong is such an integral part of the film you really wished they could have pulled it out to at least 2.0 Surround; but this is a minor criticism. The bulk of the commentary track is by visual effects veterans Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston joyfully discussing the special effects of the film and discussing why King Kong is such a favorite and important film to the community of visual effects artists. Spliced between their commentaries are colorful and humorous anecdotes from director from Merian C. Cooper and Fay Wray. The two documentaries on disc two run over three and half hours long. I Am Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper is an engaging documentary on the renegade, Hemingway-like director. It is fascinating to learn that Cooper was every bit the adventurer that the fictional director Carl Denham in King Kong was in the film. RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World is a two and a half hour documentary broken into 7 parts: "The Origins of King Kong," "Willis O'Brien and Creation," "Cameras Roll on Kong," "The Eighth Wonder," "A Milestone in Visual Effects," "Passion, Sound and Fury," "The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence," and "King Kong's Legacy." Also included is complete footage of the legendary "The Lost Spider Pit Sequence." Presenting the segments are various film historians and filmmakers including Rudy Behlmer, Cooper biographer Mark Cotta Vaz, the Chiodo Brothers (of Team America: World Police special effects fame), and directors John Landis and Peter Jackson. Here you will learn everything you would ever want to know about the making and importance of King Kong, including that the producer/director team of Cooper and Schoedsack played the pilots who shoot Kong off the Empire State Building. The highly anticipated, long-awaited release of King Kong will meet most viewers' expectations, and exceed everyone's else. --Rob Bracco
Amazon.com
[ Back to Homepage | Back to Horror Movie Reviews Index ]
HellHorror.com not responsible for reviews/comments and they may be removed at any time.
Submit Comment
Login / Join/Register for a free account
Comments for King Kong (Collector's Edition)
- Posted on 2007-06-20
King Kong (1933)
Warner Home Entertainment has surpassed itself with this painstaking restoration of the 1933 adventure/horror classic. The movie has not looked this good in my lifetime, which only reinforces how well "Kong" stands up as entertainment after over seventy years. The groundbreaking stop-motion effects work of Willis O'Brien are on full display, and while the acting style is decidedly pre-Method, the story enthralls, and the picture moves briskly along to that immortal climax atop the Empire State Building. An early sound masterpiece from directors Merian C. Cooper (who also helped originate the story) and Ernest B. Schoedsack. This still outshines both re-makes.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2006-12-21
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST...
As a young child in the nineteen fifties, I used to watch this film whenever it appeared on TV on "Million Dollar Movie". I loved it then. I love it now. Time has not diminished the capacity of this film to mesmerize and hold the viewer in its thrall.
The story line is basic. Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), a filmmaker and entrepreneur, leads an expedition to Skull Island where he discovers its deep, dark secret. It is a land where time has stood still, and prehistoric monsters still hold sway over the island and its inhabitants. There, the natives pay homage to the one whom they revere as "Kong", and who is, indeed, king of the island.
Denham, together with his beautiful, budding starlet, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), as well as with the crew of the ship that brought him to Skull Island, investigates the strange ritual being performed on the island by its native population. Before she knows it, Ann finds herself captured by the natives. She is to become the bride of the mysterious "Kong".
When Ann discovers who the mysterious "Kong" is, she starts screaming and doesn't stop. The ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), who happens to be in love with Ann, manages to rescue her from the clutches of "Kong". Notwithstanding the fact that "Kong" has taken a shine to her, Ann is relieved to have been rescued by the man whom she loves.
Denham then arranges to capture the creature, whom he calls "King Kong" and takes him back to New York with them on the ship that brought them to Skull Island. There, King Kong makes his debut, one that movie lovers will long remember.
The special effects of this film were superlative for its time and still pass muster today. The relationship between the beauty and the beast still makes the viewer sit up and take notice. This is an attention grabbing film that is as exciting today, as when it was first released over seventy years ago. It is a truly timeless, cinema classic. Bravo!
Score: 5 - Posted on 2006-12-15
Raising more questions than it answers
Am I supposed to believe that this big honking gorilla wants to have sex with something that could easily fit up his rectum? OK, so maybe he's more than a one-night stand, but still, is he out of his pea-brain? I mean, you ever see a mouse run by in the kitchen and go grabbing after it because you wanted to rescue it from its loveless plight? Do you not think I know that I've just asked three questions in a row? Far more interesting, but never addressed by the director, is how King Kong got to be so big. Did this island belong to Dr. Moreau or was it Jurassic Park? Was he buddies with Godzilla? Did he give pointers to the Hulk? Could he dance with a Sentinel? And what, exactly is the joke I missed that has Kong wearing such a sh**-kicking grin in all of his scenes?
Score: 1
- Posted on 2006-04-02
Be VERY Careful
The image on the "Collector's Edition" page is that of the deluxe "King Kong Collection," which contains Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young in addition to the two-disk KK in the collector's tin. Conversely, the King Kong Collection's image is that of the Collector's Edition--Amazon is responsible for a rather sloppy reversal of images.
I highly recommend going the extra mile for the Collection, which was formerly available only through BestBuy, and which contains extra art work in addition to the two extra films and the tin, all packaged in the box shown (I'm a sucker for special editons). If you're budget-minded, the films are available as a plain-vanilla box that's also available on Amazon.
No need to elaborate on the films themselves except to mention that I love them all, the prints look great, and the extras, including the commentaries, are super. I don't think the Collection is available at BestBuy anymore, so grab it while you can now that it's available through Amazon--it's a keeper. Just make sure you order the right one, else you'll be returning it as "not as pictured."
Score: 5 - Posted on 2006-03-19
Favorite Movie
I just love this movie and, after seeing it on DVD, I have a nre found love for it!
Score: 5