Rating: 
Summary: Hopeful for DVD Soon
Review: A movie I can't wait for to be released on DVD. It's almost a crime that it isn't available yet.
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Summary: A timeless adventure tale
Review: Ah yes, "King Kong". It's simply a testament to its vision and spirit that after nearly 70 years, it still remains as one of the greatest films of all time. Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack for RKO-Radio Pictures, the film was released at the perfect time, as RKO was on the verge of bankruptcy. The figure of Kong, the majestic ape who is taken from his kingdom and put down in an alien place, is one of the major cultural icons that the cinema has produced, and in Fay Wray, we get the cinema's original Scream Queen. And to this day, it still remains as the best Dinosaur film ever made. Sure, you get the cool CGI beasts in "Jurassic Park", but the script of "King Kong" is a model of tightly constructed narrative - the same thing can hardly be said of Spielbergs big creature feature. And as for the FX in "Kong", do you care that Kong is made from aluminium alloy, with rubber and sponge serving for muscle? Only 18 inches high, and utilising effects that are primitive by today's standards, Kong becomes a huge lumbering beast and truly LIVES on the screen. Much has been read into the thematic concerns of "King Kong"; from racism to slavery, but no matter because "King Kong" is first and foremost a timeless fantasy horror film. This masterpiece has been the inspiration for many an inferior film (just look at the awful "remake"), but there is no film that caught the imagination in quite the same way as the unbeatable original. I'm just hoping for a quality DVD release.
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Summary: A work of art that never fails to deliver
Review: The brilliant creators of the original "King Kong" concocted a cinematic soup the likes of which had never been seen- and never will be again. They combined elements of exploratory adventure, ancient pagan religion requiring human sacrifice, paleontology, archeology, mythology and romance. They added eye-popping special effects and an ear-shattering array of sounds- roars, grunts, squawks, hisses, shouts, crashes and those famous spine-tingling screams. All this was enhanced by an electrifying musical score and perfect casting. The result is the most exciting adrenaline rush of a movie experience that, even after countless viewings, never fails to deliver. Everyone has a favorite scene: perhaps the throbbingly frenzied bridal sacrifice; maybe the gargantuan hand snatching the beautiful heroine from her hotel room; or the colossal fight between Kong and the slithering, snapping carnivorous dinosaur- a struggle that has never been equaled in the history of screen showdowns. This movie is a series of unforgettably haunting images and sounds. With his gusto and theatrical voice, Robert Armstrong portrays the expedition leader Carl Denham with a contagious enthusiasm. Bruce Cabot delivers a refreshingly uncomplicated, virile performance- his Jack Driscoll cares only about saving the woman he has come to love. To make this fantastic story plausible, the most critical casting was that of Ann Darrow. With the wrong actress, all of the aforementioned elements would not have been enough to save the film's premise from falling faster than a giant gorilla off the Empire State Building. Indeed, it would have been merely an elaborate dirty joke. Fortunately, they cast an actress with the perfect combination of credentials: beauty, feminine grace, sweet innocense and an uncanny ability to portray sheer, unadulterated terror. Fay Wray was- and is- the only woman for Kong. Almost seventy years of sequels, remakes and ripoffs only emphasize this movie's matchless ability to entertain. Carl Denham's prophetic declaration early in the film still applies today- we need "new adjectives" to describe this work of art.
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Summary: GREAT
Review: King Kong is truly a classic in every since of the word. Though it may be kind of slow starting off, when Kong shows up, it more than well makes up for itself. The special effects in this movie is better than almost anything you see today. And this was 1933. They didn't have all the computer equipment that we have today. This one is a true classic.
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Summary: DVD Version
Review: Amazon has proven time and again to be customer friendly, which no doubt adds to their success. I found the warning about the DVD version to be helpful, as I was going to purchase it. Thanks to the customer's warning, I will hold on to my vhs copy.
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Summary: A timeless classic
Review: This film is an American classic, no doubt about it. Some might call the special effects outdated and cheap compared to today's standards. But if you think about it, by 1933 standards the effects were very innovative and cutting edge. The attractive Fay Wray is excellent as Ann Darrow, the beauty who is kidnapped by the beast, King Kong the eighth wonder of the world. If you haven't seen this film, be sure to go out and get it today. It is without a doubt a film that will live on in movie history forever.
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Summary: DVD KONG release: beware!
Review: King Kong is a wonderful film, superbly made and highlyentertaining, but this first DVD release (UK release from'Universal' as of 15th January 2001) of King Kong is atravesty. Beware. I've never being so incensed by a DVD that I wantedto warn anyone who might be thinking of buying this. The sleeve notesproclaim that the DVD has been re-mastered from a recent archivalprint. That might be so, but it would interesting to know where itcame from! The print is pockmarked and drab looking. Even theopening titles aren't framed properly (lettering cut off). Some mightargue that the films heavy use of optical composite shots is thereason for the poor look of much of the film, however shots which haveno optical effects are just as poor as those with them! Eventelevision prints have been cleaner than this. I've seen a clip of'Kong' on the recent 'Universal Horror' documentary, which wasvastly superior to anything shown on this DVD. Allowing for that,some of the dirt could have been cleaned up and the shots individuallygraded. There is no sign of this. The soundtrack is full of 'dirt'and white noise. Extras aren't even stimulating with no trailer and acheap 17min documentary which has been clearly partly shot using the1970's 'Making of King Kong' book. Avoid.
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Summary: Fantastic and cruel masterpiece
Review: This movie is fantastic. Well polished storyline impresses us with pyramid of power and terror. Savage islanders (maybe politically incorrect but I never mind) fear him by heart. Mighty dinosaurs (surely scientifically wrong but I never mind) are easily slain by him. He is King Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World! Though I don't have particular fondness for stop motion animation, I thought visual effects are great. Essences of VFX for gigantic materials are perspective, points of view and contrast with smaller / nearer objects, and this film is filled with very clever examples of them. And this movie is cruel. You see, that huge ape is not responsible for disaster in New York. Totally not. He might be horrible tyrant in Skull Island, but he never hoped to visit Big Apple. All of tragedies of later part were basically done by human arrogance, and nobody in film feels sorry for poor Kong. But this selfish cruelty effected as an unplanned pathos, invited unexpected sympathy of audience and made this movie a forever masterpiece. Never miss.
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Summary: Inaccuracy on dinosaurs!
Review: King Kong has many problems with it, especially when it came to dinosaurs! First, brontosaurs were not carnivoris, so why was one eating people in this movie? Second, just like it's spines, stegasaurus's tail spikes were made of bone, so why did they bend like rubber in this movie? Other problems with this movie include the claymation (Kong looked like an ape with a rubber suit of armor instead of hair), and when somebody falls and lands in water from that hight, they should be dead. I don't care how many people didn't find this review helpful, because this is not a classic (especially when the Godzilla series can easily be considered better), and anyone who thinks it is, is blind!
Rating:
Summary: less is more
Review: Amazing what movies can achieve by relying on simple storytelling and giving your own imagination the real power. I think I saw this movie when I was five. At any rate, I remember riding down the aisle of the Cedar Cinema in Berkeley on my Dad's shoulders. (This was the late 60's). Of course it didn't scare me. Because it was a black and white movie I knew it happened a long time ago. My folks remember, though, that just about a week later I turned to my mom and asked, "Um, where is King Kong now?"
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