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.

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.