This is one of the most iconic classic films I can think of. It has been referred to by many actors for their inspiration to get into acting, directors for inspiring them to try a technique they've seen in this movie and all across the special effects field for the amazing use of the technology of the day to make it feel so realistic. Fay Wray is constantly referred to as being one of the most iconic beauties in this film and only she could have tamed this beast. This movie inspired generations of movie makers, lovers and films. It's been remade and rebooted multiple times. King Kong has been forced to fight over and over again in multiple sequels creating an entire franchise that's lasted decades. I'm not sure of the exact plot line, but I know they find King Kong in a jungle and bring him back to New York where he wreaks havoc and eventually is killed. The iconic scene where he drags Fay Wray to the top of the Empire State Building is probably one of the most replayed scenes I know of. Since this movie is so revered, I felt it was high time I watched it myself. Time to see what all the hype is about!
There was a lot I liked about this movie and a few things that irritated me. The irritated part was mainly because of the old mentality that women do nothing but scream and faint when facing stressful situations and the American mentality of needing to own something and not just appreciate it from afar. That mentality still hasn't really changed for some, though it is at least more of a minority in the populous now. There are more people who want to protect our natural world more than those that want to own it, at least. As for the rest, it was well done and I enjoyed it. From the classic style of the filming, to the scenery and especially the special effects. For being a movie made almost a century ago, they did incredibly well with keeping as realistic as possible. I was even impressed with the stop-motion puppetry of Fay Wray being held in Kong's hands. You could tell it was a puppet, but they did so well to make the motions realistic. It holds up well enough to the standards of today while giving you a sense of nostalgia for it's vintage style.
The movie's plot is fairly simple. A movie director gets a lead on an unknown island where he wants to shoot a film. He finds himself the leading lady that he wants to have star in this film and gets her on a ship heading towards this unknown island. Once they get there, they find a primitive culture and varying species that shouldn't exist. The leading lady is taken by the islanders in sacrifice to Kong, the biggest animal of them all and the ship's crew runs in to save her. They are able to rescue her and somehow stun Kong enough to capture him and take him back to New York with him. Kong is turned into an attraction for the wealthy to come gawk at, but he escapes into the city in search of his prize. Carrying Fay Wray to the top of the Empire State Building, he winds up being killed and falling to the streets below. It's a sad tale because Kong was just being the animal he always was and humans decided to try to make him an attraction. He was the one to pay for their arrogance, though.
The characters in this film show very traditional 30s personalities. The ship's First Mate was the first to stand out to me to have an antiquated mentality when it came to having Ann Darrow on his ship. She was bad luck and a distraction to his men in his mind. She was also going to get in the way. This mindset hasn't exactly gone away in the decades following this movie, but it has gotten a lot better. And I was glad to see the Captain come around and be nicer to Ann, feeling a bit protective of her when she's taken. Ann has a bit of a backbone at times, though she seems like a wilting flower at others. Wray performs her role flawlessly, though, and is a ray of light in the darkness of this film. The film director, Carl Denham, is the perfect stereotype of an American white male in that era. One that seems to only think of what something or someone can do for him. Whether that is the starving woman he finds on the street or the massive beast that is a wonder on his island, Denham forces them both into situations they are unprepared for without care or concern how it may affect them. He isn't exactly a bad person, but a very short sighted and selfish one who I can't seem to like all that much.
The stop motion animations for this film are epic. I was highly impressed with the amount of detail they put into these scenes on the island. The fight between Kong and the Tyrannosaurus Rex was incredibly brutal and gruesome. I couldn't believe the animators would go to the extent of having Kong brutally rip apart the T-Rex's jaws. It was kind of shocking, actually, to see just how vicious they made the fight. The brontosaurus that chased the group down even had a realistic lip curl that reminded me of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, even if it wasn't realistic for an herbivore to be aggressive like that. They had rippling of Kong's fur, as well, showing just how attentive they were to the details in these scenes. Then there was the scene where Kong was chasing the crew down through the jungle. He kept shaking the log they were on until they all fell down to a gruesome death at the bottom of a ravine. Even though you could tell they were dolls, it was such an impactful image that I can only imagine left the original crowds in shock. I also couldn't believe that the director survived this particular attack. The First Mate, Jack Driscoll, hid in a hollow on the cliff side, so that was understandable, but the director just seemed to disappear, then show up later. Kinda off a bit, if you ask me. But he survives and shows up in time to get Kong off of the island.
This movie is a perfect example of how this American mentality of owning something (rulership), passed down from the English and again from the Romans, has left a lingering stain on our world. The Americans sail into this unknown island without a care for the native population, their culture or customs. They find an untouched ecosystem where species that should be long dead still survive and everything has grown to an immense size and they invade it, destroying so much in their haste to catch up with Ann and Kong. They only think of themselves and their own goals, not the world around them and what their actions could mean in the long run to this culture and ecosystem. Then, when they take back what Kong wants, which is Ann, he destroys the entire village in search of her. The crew just pack up and leave with Kong, leaving the village decimated with many wounded natives. Just, "Run away! Run away!" This is something that has always bothered me. The mentality of not caring about the effects of your actions. Someone could be hurt, but because it's not their pain, it doesn't matter to them. I guess that's a byproduct of being incredibly empathetic, my brain automatically thinks of how the other person feels. Can't help myself. The human race has been incredibly destructive in it's existence and this movie shows perfectly that major character flaw in our species.
There were a few other things that stood out to me, but that's more a criticism of the mentality of the past and not anything to do with the film itself. I've already mentioned the way they portrayed Ann Darrow to only faint or scream in stressful situations. They also had her stay in place when Kong was at the top of the Empire State Building. I know I would have been creeping towards that staircase when he was busy with the planes shooting at his head. Seriously, why wasn't she trying to get away? Self-preservation should have kicked in. Also, when Kong was leaving the jungle and destroying the village, why was he destroying every building in sight and picking up people to chew on them? If he was looking for his prize, he should have only been on a search mission where he may have destroyed buildings to see if she was in them, but not just because a person ran by or the building was in his way. But movies back then weren't thinking about an animal's motivation and driving force, along with what works within the realm or standard behavior for that species. Then there's the point of him being taken to New York. If he's the 8th wonder of the world, you sure didn't make sure he was protected. Now you've destroyed a wonder of the world and he'll never be duplicated. These things show just how far we've grown as a society and cement in my own opinions of never going back to that mentality and only moving forward from here.
This was a great film, even if my criticisms seem to say otherwise. My criticisms are more about the mindset of the age, not in the making of the film. The special effects were uncanny for what they had to work with in that decade and I was highly impressed. The actors portrayed their roles perfectly and the story had a mostly smooth flow. I'm just glad I live in this day and age where I can see stronger women on screen who fight back and don't just wilt in the sight of danger. Fay Wray was stunning in this, but that's exactly what Hollywood wanted. They wanted her to be the beautiful damsel in distress and she did excellent doing just that. I would recommend watching this to anyone that hasn't seen it. Though some things are outdated, it's not enough to turn you off from the rest of the film. It's a classic and is meant to be enjoyed as such.
For my next movie theme, I'm going to watch a movie in honor of National Preparedness Month. It's all about being prepared for sudden, drastic and unexpected situations, so I decided to watch 10 Cloverfield Lane. It's available to rent on multiple streaming services, but I'm going to borrow it from the library to save some money. Stay tuned!
For more movie love, check out my other blog, "You're Watching That Again?!"
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