Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fay Wray screams her way into cinematic immortality, December 8, 2005
This review is from: King Kong: The Original Uncut Version (VHS Tape)
When Fay Wray paased away at the age of 96 every single notice of her death mentions the role that made her immortal as the beauty loved by the beast in the 1933 classic "King Kong." Wray had been noticed in a few films before that, such as Stroheim's "The Wedding March" (1928), "Thunderbolt" (1929), "Doctor X" (1932), "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (1933) and "The Vampire Bat" (1933). Then came her rendezvous with the biggest leading man in history and Fay Wray made her claim to the honor of being the greatest screamer in movie history.
Fay Wray is remembered not just because she played opposite King Kong but also because as Ann Darrow she was both sexy and vulnerable. Plus she had the big ape's lung capacity beat six ways to Sunday. Granted, the special effects by Willis O'Brien are enough to make this a classic film, the cinematic forefather of "Jaws," "Jurassic Park" and other celluloid monster movies that involve something other than an actor in makeup. But every time you want to reduce "King Kong" to pure technical achievement, you hear Fay Wray screaming her head off.
The story was pretty much a cliché the moment it was set down on paper. Movie director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) has heard the legend of Kong and hires a ship to find Skull Island. Ann Darrow is starving and destitute, but photogenic and he hires her to be the beauty part of the equation in the film he has planned. Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), the first mate of the tub they are traveling on takes an interest in the young girl's safety, and she responds with guarded affection. Then they get to the island and he discovers that he is indeed involved in a love triangle, but the third party is not Denham, but a giant ape.
One thing you have to give directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack credit for in this film is that they give Kong a big build up and then they deliver. On the way to the island Denham was making a film test with Ann and had her scream. Then she sees Kong for the first time and takes it to a whole new level. At that point the film becomes a series of action sequences as Kong takes the girl into the jungle, Driscoll leads a rescue party after her only to have Kong follow them back to the native village (the look of terror on Wray's face as she runs for her life through the jungle is equally memorable), which Kong proceeds to destroy before being captured. Then there is the final act of the drama as King Kong, the 8th Wonder of the World is put on display in New York City, only to break free, once again capture Ann, and take her to top of the Empire State Building (whose lights will be dimmed tomorrow night in Wray's honor).
I think the T-Rex attack sequence in "Jurassic Park" is one of the greatest in any monster movie ever made, and I have argued that in addition to the special effects and the masterful cutting of the scene, the sound of the T-Rex is an integral part of what makes the scene work so well. Tonight I am going to make the same argument for Kong's first appearance in "King Kong." After all, we are talking about mixing stop motion animation with a giant mechanical head, but such "primitive" special effects are forgiven because Fay Wray's screams convince you it is really happening. She was not remembered just because she was the girl in "King Kong" (quick, name the actresses who had the female lead roles in "Dracula" and "Frankenstein"). She was remembered because she was an integral part of the film's success (To save you the trouble of looking up the previous trivia point: Helen Chandler and Mae Clarke).
This is the "original uncut" version of the film, but it still does not include the legendary scene when four crewmen who are shaken off the log by Kong fall into a ravine where they are eaten alive by giant spiders. When first previewed the scene stopped the movie cold and Cooper pulled it from the film. The scenes that were cut in the late 1930s and not restored until the 1970s were (a) where Kong pulls Ann's clothes off; (b) the shots of the Apatosaurus (nee Brontosaurus) biting the sailors; (c) Kong eating natives when he breaks through the gate; (d) Kong stepping on a native; (e) Kong biting a New Yorker after escaping from the theater; and (f) Kong grabbing the wrong woman from the hotel and throwing her to her death. It would be nice if they could find the spider sequence or any of the other bits we know were cut by Cooper before the film was released, but it is probably never going to happen and we will just have to make do with Peter Jackson's recreation in his blockbuster remake. Even so, we will never forget Fay Wary.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saturdays at the Movies, April 18, 2010
This review is from: King Kong: The Original Uncut Version (VHS Tape)
Saturday afternoons were made for great adventure yarns, and serials dating all the way back to the silent era played upon our love of a rousing good jungle story, filled with danger and the thrill of discovery, with just enough romance thrown in to suggest love sprung from such exciting endeavors. RKO would make the most supreme adventure of all time and in 1933 change the expectations of moviegoers forevermore once the lights dimmed and their logo adorned screens across America. A new bar for adventure was set, and the film which raised it was King Kong. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Shoedsack helmed this fabulous RKO film from an idea by Cooper and Edgar Wallace.
King Kong was much more than a girl screaming as a huge ape held her in his palm, just as Fay Wray was much more than a "B" icon with one great sound film to her credit. She had graced many silent productions, including Coast Patrol, Street of Sin, The Wedding March, and Paramount's last silent, The Four Feathers, where she worked with Merian C. Cooper. She made an easy transition to sound, her lovely presence and vulnerability boosting many early talkies from average to worth watching. Her importance to the success of King Kong is often not given its full due due to the staggering technical achievements behind the camera, often overshadowing everything else. Wray is simply wonderful at the beginning of King Kong, making viewers fall in love with her Ann Darrow long before Kong appears. If this was only an extraordinarily polished jungle adventure, it would be a film classic simply on the basis of Wray's performance and a timeless 1930's sense of style and adventure. With the added element of King Kong, a fearsome beast protective of something too beautiful to allow harm to come to it, it became one of the greatest films ever made.
Robert Armstrong is Carl Denham, a filmmaker known for his exciting tales of adventure. A ship bound for a mysterious location only known to Denham to make a film needs only a bit of romance to satisfy the studio. Finding the lovely Ann Darrow about to pass out from hunger during the depression is a stroke of luck for the brash director. Ann is suspicious of Denham's proposal at first, but hunger and his enthusiasm, and his assurance that there are no strings attached, give Ann hope that her luck has changed. Fay Wray is wonderful in these early moments, which often get forgotten amidst the thrilling adventure encountered in the later half of the story. She endears herself to the audience early on and cements our affection for Ann once onboard. Bruce Cabot is excellent as John Driscoll, weary of having a woman onboard but soon falling in love with Anne just as viewers have. Their romance is sweet, filled with the innocent love of the era that has a timeless appeal.
It has been breezy fun for the viewer until the ship is west of Sumatra. Denham reveals a map he has obtained in Singapore pinpointing an uncharted island where legends of a high wall and a beast called Kong are said to exist. As they approach Skull Island adventurous fun gives way to fog shrouded waters and jungle drums. The high wall does indeed exist, and after a scrape with natives enamored of Ann they find themselves confronted by a world untouched by time. Great beasts from prehistoric times roam the jungles of the island, Kong the most fearsome of all, ruling his kingdom from a high cliff where he will take Ann. Harrowing action and thrills ensue as Jack tracks his love after Kong disposes of everyone else but Carl to protect his lovely prize. The special effects still offer excitement but it is the story which makes this film such a classic. We are rooting for Jack to rescue Ann just as in the best serials, only this is no serial, but rather a topflight production creating an astounding adventure heretofore unseen in theatres.
A gripping escape over a cliff edge will lead to Kong's demise when he follows Ann and is captured by Carl. Billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World, the flash of cameras perceived by Kong as an attack on his Ann creates chaos in the streets when he breaks free, leading to perhaps the most famous ending in film history. High above the New York skyline, atop the Empire State Building, Ann will find herself in the arms of the man who loves her when Kong faces down dangers he never had in the jungle. It is both romantic and bittersweet. Max Steiner's score, a screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose which perfectly balances romance and adventure, and sterling photography from Eddie Linden, Veronica Walker, and J.C. Taylor make this a memorable experience. The Nostalgia Merchant print here is one of the many I've owned over the years and is very good. If you have a combo player it is an inexpensive way to pick up a true screen classic.
Though Fay Wray is terrific in this film, it is a shame that many viewers only know her from King Kong. Born in Canada but raised in the United States, she was a big supporter of events held at the Empire State Building over her lifetime, and after her passing, the lights of that landmark were dimmed for fifteen minutes in her memory. King Kong is perfect viewing for a Saturday morning and if you haven't seen it in awhile, or perhaps never seen it, it is much more than you might have imagined. A lovely way to remember Fay Wray.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fay Wray monkeys around, December 9, 2005
This review is from: King Kong: The Original Uncut Version (VHS Tape)
The basic story is of Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who makes those cute little animal pictures that are going out of style. If he wants to stay in business he must add a female interest and some excitement. Circumstances forcing him to leave port quickly, he meets a girl Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), that is down on her luck and convinces her that he will make her a star (on the up and up).
Things get complicated as you know it is bad luck to bring a woman onboard a freighter. And Ann really stirs them up including the first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). On top of this she has a large date awaiting her at Skull Island.
I will not tell the rest of the story just incase you are one of the few that has missed the movie. But as you have guessed it includes a big ape named KONG. Not that cheesy thing that is always tussling around in Japanese movies, but a much more convincing Kong that can show great emotion.
You are about to watch the eight wonder of the world.
The Most Dangerous Game - Criterion Collection
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
