Product Details

• Actors: W, Poster & Frames
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Turner Home Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: September 16, 1992
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6302510341
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,365 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A masterpiece and one of the top moneymakers of the 1930s. Fortune-hunters travel to Skull Island in search of the fabled giant ape "King Kong." Enticing him with the lovely Fay Wray they capture him and bring him back to New York where he escapes and ransacks the city searching for her. Credits Producer: Ernest B. Shoedsack, Merian C. Cooper Cast: Bruce Cabot, Everett Brown, Fay Wray, Frank Reicher, James Flavin, Noble Johnson, Robert Armstrong, Sam Hardy, Steve Clemente, Victor Long Edition: 60th Anniversary Boxed Set Despite Kong's apparent death at the end of the 1933 classic, the tale of a giant ape set loose on the modern world has been retold many times since. The quickie sequel, SON OF KONG, was released in 1933 and shared director Ernest B. Schoedsack, special effects man Willis O'Brian and star Robert Armstrong with the first film. Armstrong joined Helen Mack and Victor Wong on a trip back to Skull Island, where they discover Kong's young son. In 1949, Schoedsack, O'Brian, and Armstrong went back to the well once more and retrieved MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, about another giant monkey. O'Brian shared effects duties with Ray Harryhausen this time out and Armstrong was joined in the cast by Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh, and "Mr. Joseph Young." Before KING KONG, Willis O'Brian worked on the 1925 film THE LOST WORLD. Based on the Arthur Conan Doyle tale, this silent classic tells the story of a group of scientists who stumble on a prehistoric world of dinosaurs and other presumably extinct creatures while on a museum outing. It was directed by Harry Hoyt and starred Bessie Love, Wallace Beery, and Lewis Stone. Disaster-movie king Irwin Allen produced a 1960 remake that starred Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, David Hedison, Claude Rains, Fernando Lamas, and Richard Haydn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTY AND THE BEAST..., August 9, 2002

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

As a young child in the nineteen fifties, I used to watch this film whenever it appeared on TV on "Million Dollar Movie". I loved it then. I love it now. Time has not diminished the capacity of this film to mesmerize and hold the viewer in its thrall.

The story line is basic. Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), a filmmaker and entrepreneur, leads an expedition to Skull Island where he discovers its deep, dark secret. It is a land where time has stood still, and prehistoric monsters still hold sway over the island and its inhabitants. There, the natives pay homage to the one whom they revere as "Kong", and who is, indeed, king of the island.

Denham, together with his beautiful, budding starlet, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), as well as with the crew of the ship that brought him to Skull Island, investigates the strange ritual being performed on the island by its native population. Before she knows it, however, Ann finds herself captured by the natives. She is to become the bride of the mysterious "Kong".

When Ann discovers who the mysterious "Kong" is, she starts screaming and doesn't stop. The ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), who happens to be in love with Ann, manages to rescue her from the clutches of "Kong". Notwithstanding the fact that "Kong" has taken a shine to her, Ann is relieved to have been rescued by the man whom she loves.

Denham then arranges to capture the creature, whom he calls "King Kong" and takes him back to New York with them on the ship that brought them to Skull Island. There, "King Kong" makes his debut, one that movie lovers will long remember.

The special effects of this film were superlative for its time and still pass muster today. The relationship between the beauty and the beast still makes the viewer sit up and take notice. This is an attention grabbing film that is as exciting today, as when it was first released over seventy years ago. It is a truly timeless, cinema classic. Bravo!

Collectors may wish to obtain this VHS 60th anniversary edition, as the box in which the video cassette is housed was specially created to commemorate this cinematic event. Press the box over King Kong's chest, and hear it roar!