DVD Reviews

King Kong - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Sep 28, 2010, 1:21 GMT

Captured on Blu-ray at last comes "the greatest of all horror films" with "masterly special effects" (Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic). Memorable moments abound: a moviemaking expedition on a fantastic isle filled with dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures; the giant simian\'s lovestruck obsession with the film shoot\'s blonde starlet (scream queen Fay Wray); Kong\'s capture; his Manhattan rampage; and the fateful finale atop the Empire State Building, where Kong ...more

Step right up ladies and gents and see the eighth wonder of the world!  You say it’s just a giant monkey, but wait till he escapes, steps on you, and then scales the Empire State Building with your remains on his foot.  Yowza, Yowza, Yowza!  Now you can thrill to the big guy in the wonder of Blu-ray, the ninth wonder of the world.

Maverick director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) is about to set sail for a mysterious island to shoot his latest film.  The problem is that he is lacking his female star.  A quick trip into town finds down on her luck Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) who happily agrees to the work. 

The S.S. Venture steams towards Skull Island (now how could anything bad happen on an island with that name?) and romance blooms between first mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot) and Ann.  They go ashore and the natives want to trade some of their women for the blonde Ann.  It’s no sale, but the natives sneak aboard the Venture and kidnap her.

She’s tied up and offered up to the 50 foot ape Kong who grabs her up and takes her into the deep, dark jungle.  Denham, Driscoll, and the crew venture into danger to get Ann back from the monstrous ape.  Driscoll manages to get Ann away from Kong and he rages back towards the village. 

Denham, always on the lookout for a new star, has arranged a trap with gas bombs and knocks Kong out, hustles him aboard the Venture, and transports him back to New York for a gala premiere.  Stars can be temperamental and Kong escapes, grabs Ann again, and climbs up the Empire State Building for his big finale. 

The country was in the middle of the Great Depression and audiences needed some escapism to make them forget the troubles of the day.  They found that taking a thrill-filled trip to Skull Island was just the ticket (and the cost of a movie ticket may not fit into an already stretched thin budget). 

The film went on to be a big hit and in modern times is on the National Film Registry.  The special effects may seem hokey to us today, but I’d imagine at the time that they were fascinating to behold.  Actually the film really can still have some brutality to it. 

When Kong squashes some natives you still see them wiggling as well as some other scenes of carnage.  So much so that when the film was re-released in 1938 some of that footage, as well as the infamous dress sniffing scene, was cut. 

The film was restored and the print on the Blu-ray restores all of those scenes as well as the overture.  They still pack a punch and you might not think of such coming from a film from 1933.  The infamous “spider pit sequence” is still missing although Peter Jackson, who remade King Kong, and company recreated it and that can be found on the special features.

Kong is still king and he looks glorious, in glorious black and white even, on Blu-ray.  It may even look better than those depression era theater patrons saw.  Even better is that there are some grand special features that make this the must-have high-def release for classic film lovers. 

King Kong is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.33:1).  Special features are in standard definition unless noted.  They come from the DVD special edition released several years ago (to coincide with the 2005 Jackson redo) but are still fascinating. 

First up is a commentary with effects legend Ray Harryhausen and effects master Ken Ralston with vintage contributions from Merian C. Cooper and Fay Wray.  The 2 hour 39 minute RKO Production 601 is an exhaustive seven-part documentary.  The 6 minute “Lost Spider Pit Sequence” is a recreation of the missing sequence (in high definition). 

The 5 minute “Creation Test Footage” (in high definition) was for an earlier film that was scrapped when Kong went into production, it’s silent with commentary from Harryhausen.  The 57 minute “I’m King Kong” is all about Merian C. Cooper.  You also get the 94 second theatrical trailer. 

The disc comes in digibook packaging with 32 pages of great artwork and text written by film historian Rudy Behlmer. 

King Kong arrives on Blu-ray (Carl Denham would be proud!) in a fantastic transfer and ports over the excellent special features from the DVD release.  The film is a classic and even still packs a punch for a 77-year-old. 

Visit the DVD database for more information. King Kong is also available for download on iTunes.