The 1930s. The decade of the Great Depression. Music and gangsters dominated the box office. And yet, a giant gorilla saved a major film studio (RKO) from bankruptcy in 1933. It wasn’t music, singing, dancing, or machine guns. I reiterate: it was a one-of-a-kind giant gorilla! And the fact that the other studios didn’t jump on the King Kong bandwagon to create their own giant monsters remains a mystery. But I don’t care. “Frodo Lives” was the rallying cry for fans of The Lord of the Rings. Well, in my circle, it was “King Kong Lives!” And he certainly does live. Then, now, always, and forever.
A monster. That’s what King Kong was in the original 1933 film. The remarkable (to this very day) special effects emphatically drove this fact home. He exhibited occasional moments of calm (such as plucking a flower within his cave), but for the most part, he was a walking mass of pent-up anger. It was more than the fact that he knew he could win every fight. You got the impression that he was downright anxious to pick as many fights as possible!
Certainly, poor little Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) couldn’t calm him down. Not for a moment. She actually seemed to feed his aggression. He definitely had some sort of psychosexual fascination for her (clearly demonstrated by his habit of tearing off her clothes), but by the end of the film, we realize that his eternal doom was inevitable. And what a death it was! Its awesome grandeur is firmly etched in pop-culture mythology. But the most important thing we learned from his literal downfall is something that every man should never forget: You just can’t stop a girl from leaving when she decides to go.
What can I say about the 1976 remake of King Kong that hasn’t already been said… primarily through four-letter words?! Now, I know there are actual fans of the first remake, but men in gorilla costumes just don’t work for me. Neither do rubber snakes. Or giant robot gorillas that barely move. Or film directors (John Guillermin) who don’t know proper film speed to account for scale. The movie may well have won an Oscar for special effects (more about that here), but that just says negative things about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Basically, the special effects of the ’76 version of Kong plainly stink! And again, Kong’s uncontrolled aggression and psychosexual fascination for a young woman (this time referred to as “Dwan”) remain on full display. Like his predecessor, he just can’t resist the urge to remove the girl’s clothing. I don’t know about you, but I was cheering at the end when Kong finally fell to his death! In fact, speaking strictly as someone who firmly believes in being politically incorrect, I would have been perfectly happy to be one of the gunners who blasted him with a helicopter-mounted Gatling gun!
King Kong (2005), Directed by Peter Jackson
From the ridiculous to the sublime: Peter Jackson‘s superlative 2005 remake of King Kong remains the definitive interpretation. That’s right! You heard me! Those of you who dismiss Jackson’s film do so merely because it isn’t the 1933 original. Of course, the first Kong is a classic film. But Jackson’s movie is actually better. The special effects are tremendous and even though Jackson pushed the envelope just a bit (some of the action is a little over the top), the film is a visually stunning experience. But the real improvement becomes clear the very moment Kong arrives on the scene. For the very first time, through movement and appearance, Kong had finally been transformed into a genuine gorilla. More than that, there was an entirely new dimension to his character. He had emotional depth that had previously been missing.
A recent comment on a fan website crystallized it for me. The writer nailed it. You see, it’s easy to sympathize with Peter Jackson’s Kong if you ever owned a dog or cat. Alone on Skull Island, Kong felt nothing but anger until he actually acquired a pet in the person of Ann Darrow. As a result, he responded exactly the way we all respond to our dog or cat. And like the rest of us, he would do anything for his pet. Even risk his life for her, which he did again and again. Until, in the end, well…
Thousands of miles away from his home on Skull Island, what chance did he have? Kong’s classic death spiral from the top of the Empire State Building was more poignant and meaningful than ever. For once, the sadness we feel over his passing is genuine and overwhelming. Therefore, at this time, I would like to thank Peter Jackson for his remarkable version of King Kong. As a film, it’s more than unmatched. It’s a great and wonderful thrill ride that is truly unforgettable.
Blair Kramer is a commercial artist who has written for various publications in the Chicago area, including A Guide to Art in Chicago, Salmagundi, and others. He has written film criticism for American Metal magazine as well as biographical articles for the American Jewish Historical Society, including a profile of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.