King Kong

Year: 1933

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Cooper/Schoedsack

Review

strange as it may seem, i hadn’t ever seen this in its entirety. even stranger, i think that the kong in this version is the most scary of them all. i don’t even remember the kong in the 76 version, and the kong in the 05 version was just too video game-ish for me. there’s something that is more effective about the awkward movements of the live action kong; it’s just more visceral than i remember the others being. fay wray is hot and shows a lot of skin considering it was made in 1933. this one is the best of the group from a technical standpoint (it’s more efficient than the 05 version and more focused on kong than the 76 version). ultimately the film has to be about kong and his obsession with the damsel. it has to be about kong as a representation of man’s id, unchecked aggression, power, and lust. i think this element is what makes the first version superior to the others. that’s not to say that i’d want to watch it the most, because i don’t. the film dates itself in a lot of ways and the 30s produced an expressive acting style that i tend not to like. lastly, the music in this version is quite good.