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The Commentary Track is on the 2006 1-disc DVD issue of the original 1933 "King Kong". The commentary was recorded while Peter Jackson's 2005 remake was in production, and the remake is mentioned a couple of times. Commentators are Ken Ralston and Ray Harryhausen. Ralston was one of the founders of Industrial Light & Magic and has won 5 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. Ray Harryhausen is the father of stop motion animation. He calls Willis O'Brien, the "Chief Technician" of "King Kong", the grandfather of stop motion.
The two introduce themselves at the beginning of the commentary, with Harryhausen saying "We're both in love with the same picture, 'King Kong'!" Ray, born in 1920, saw "King Kong" in 1933 at the fabled Grauman's Chinese Theater. O'Brien (O.B. as he and Ken call him) was his mentor. There are also a few places in the commentary track with inserts from archival interviews with Merian C. Cooper, director and co-producer, and Fay Wray, who, of course, played Ann Darrow, the beauty to Kong's beast.
At one point, Merian says that the last line in the film was one he'd had in mind for many years: "It was beauty killed the beast". And, in case you're wondering, he made up the "Old Arabian Proverb" at the beginning of the movie.
Both Ken and Ray are very complimentary to Max Steiner's great score. Harry: "I can't stress [enough] how important music was to this film." Ken: "I remember hearing this, and it may be wrong, but technically, they had less ability to do a lot of levels of sound effects, and ... nuances like that. So for Steiner, he was adding a lot more musically to this. [Music] that took the place of what would now be the sound effects realm basically burying the music. This is like an opera piece, where you've got great music and visuals going through the whole piece." Harry: "And each character has their own leit motif ... It's just marvelous."
I couldn't agree more. For example, it is a masterwork how Steiner's music builds the tension as the kidnapped Ann is kneeling in front of the giant gate, and then it opens and she is dragged through to the columns where she is tied. Then the music STOPS. The gong is struck. Then the music starts low, again, as you hear growling, then trees crashing, and then....
But it's not just the music. I love the expert scene composition. When Kong beats his way through the giant gates, you see him from below, the torches lighting him up with his eyes blazing, while silhouettes of terrified villagers run towards you on your level. Great stuff!
Ken reminds us: "When this was released, this was their 'Jurassic Park'. When this came out, Kong blew everyone out of the theater, totally took them by surprise .... It raised the bar on visual effects." Merien adds: "Willis O'Brien was a technical genius. In this picture, we had to invent 11 new processes [for visual effects]. This was the first time that rear projection was really ever used. There had been 2 or 3 [prior] tries at it."
Then there was Ruth Rose's dialogue. As Ray says, "You notice the dialogue is so tight. There's no superfluous inferences.... [The script] takes you by the hand from the depression era to the most outrageous fantasy." This brings up the TV versions of "King Kong". You must view the fully restored movie if all you've seen is the TV version. It wasn't just the censorship of scenes like Kong or the lagoon dinosaur chomping on the crew. They cut out huge swaths of the beginning of the movie, where the stage is set, where the characters are filled out, where the mystery starts to build, of, just what the heck is Carl Denham up to?
I could go on and on about favorite comments in the commentary, but you get the idea. I loved this original "King Kong" before, but watching it through the eyes of Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston added to my enjoyment immensely.
If you're interested, you can get many CD's of Max Steiner's film work. Probably his most famous soundtrack is for 1939 "Gone With the Wind". Here's the CD of the 1933 "King Kong"
King Kong: The Complete 1933 Film Score
I love Peter Jackson's "King Kong" - Jack Black and Naomi Watts took iconic characters and made them their own - but I will always have a place in my heart for the original "King Kong".
Happy Reader
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FABULOUS Commentary Track to the 2006 DVD - with Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston!
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2012
The Commentary Track is on the 2006 1-disc DVD issue of the original 1933 "King Kong". The commentary was recorded while Peter Jackson's 2005 remake was in production, and the remake is mentioned a couple of times. Commentators are Ken Ralston and Ray Harryhausen. Ralston was one of the founders of Industrial Light & Magic and has won 5 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. Ray Harryhausen is the father of stop motion animation. He calls Willis O'Brien, the "Chief Technician" of "King Kong", the grandfather of stop motion.The two introduce themselves at the beginning of the commentary, with Harryhausen saying "We're both in love with the same picture, 'King Kong'!" Ray, born in 1920, saw "King Kong" in 1933 at the fabled Grauman's Chinese Theater. O'Brien (O.B. as he and Ken call him) was his mentor. There are also a few places in the commentary track with inserts from archival interviews with Merian C. Cooper, director and co-producer, and Fay Wray, who, of course, played Ann Darrow, the beauty to Kong's beast.At one point, Merian says that the last line in the film was one he'd had in mind for many years: "It was beauty killed the beast". And, in case you're wondering, he made up the "Old Arabian Proverb" at the beginning of the movie.Both Ken and Ray are very complimentary to Max Steiner's great score. Harry: "I can't stress [enough] how important music was to this film." Ken: "I remember hearing this, and it may be wrong, but technically, they had less ability to do a lot of levels of sound effects, and ... nuances like that. So for Steiner, he was adding a lot more musically to this. [Music] that took the place of what would now be the sound effects realm basically burying the music. This is like an opera piece, where you've got great music and visuals going through the whole piece." Harry: "And each character has their own leit motif ... It's just marvelous."I couldn't agree more. For example, it is a masterwork how Steiner's music builds the tension as the kidnapped Ann is kneeling in front of the giant gate, and then it opens and she is dragged through to the columns where she is tied. Then the music STOPS. The gong is struck. Then the music starts low, again, as you hear growling, then trees crashing, and then....But it's not just the music. I love the expert scene composition. When Kong beats his way through the giant gates, you see him from below, the torches lighting him up with his eyes blazing, while silhouettes of terrified villagers run towards you on your level. Great stuff!Ken reminds us: "When this was released, this was their 'Jurassic Park'. When this came out, Kong blew everyone out of the theater, totally took them by surprise .... It raised the bar on visual effects." Merien adds: "Willis O'Brien was a technical genius. In this picture, we had to invent 11 new processes [for visual effects]. This was the first time that rear projection was really ever used. There had been 2 or 3 [prior] tries at it."Then there was Ruth Rose's dialogue. As Ray says, "You notice the dialogue is so tight. There's no superfluous inferences.... [The script] takes you by the hand from the depression era to the most outrageous fantasy." This brings up the TV versions of "King Kong". You must view the fully restored movie if all you've seen is the TV version. It wasn't just the censorship of scenes like Kong or the lagoon dinosaur chomping on the crew. They cut out huge swaths of the beginning of the movie, where the stage is set, where the characters are filled out, where the mystery starts to build, of, just what the heck is Carl Denham up to?I could go on and on about favorite comments in the commentary, but you get the idea. I loved this original "King Kong" before, but watching it through the eyes of Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston added to my enjoyment immensely.If you're interested, you can get many CD's of Max Steiner's film work. Probably his most famous soundtrack is for 1939 "Gone With the Wind". Here's the CD of the 1933 "King Kong"King Kong: The Complete 1933 Film ScoreI love Peter Jackson's "King Kong" - Jack Black and Naomi Watts took iconic characters and made them their own - but I will always have a place in my heart for the original "King Kong".Happy Reader
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2012
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Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2012
The two introduce themselves at the beginning of the commentary, with Harryhausen saying "We're both in love with the same picture, 'King Kong'!" Ray, born in 1920, saw "King Kong" in 1933 at the fabled Grauman's Chinese Theater. O'Brien (O.B. as he and Ken call him) was his mentor. There are also a few places in the commentary track with inserts from archival interviews with Merian C. Cooper, director and co-producer, and Fay Wray, who, of course, played Ann Darrow, the beauty to Kong's beast.
At one point, Merian says that the last line in the film was one he'd had in mind for many years: "It was beauty killed the beast". And, in case you're wondering, he made up the "Old Arabian Proverb" at the beginning of the movie.
Both Ken and Ray are very complimentary to Max Steiner's great score. Harry: "I can't stress [enough] how important music was to this film." Ken: "I remember hearing this, and it may be wrong, but technically, they had less ability to do a lot of levels of sound effects, and ... nuances like that. So for Steiner, he was adding a lot more musically to this. [Music] that took the place of what would now be the sound effects realm basically burying the music. This is like an opera piece, where you've got great music and visuals going through the whole piece." Harry: "And each character has their own leit motif ... It's just marvelous."
I couldn't agree more. For example, it is a masterwork how Steiner's music builds the tension as the kidnapped Ann is kneeling in front of the giant gate, and then it opens and she is dragged through to the columns where she is tied. Then the music STOPS. The gong is struck. Then the music starts low, again, as you hear growling, then trees crashing, and then....
But it's not just the music. I love the expert scene composition. When Kong beats his way through the giant gates, you see him from below, the torches lighting him up with his eyes blazing, while silhouettes of terrified villagers run towards you on your level. Great stuff!
Ken reminds us: "When this was released, this was their 'Jurassic Park'. When this came out, Kong blew everyone out of the theater, totally took them by surprise .... It raised the bar on visual effects." Merien adds: "Willis O'Brien was a technical genius. In this picture, we had to invent 11 new processes [for visual effects]. This was the first time that rear projection was really ever used. There had been 2 or 3 [prior] tries at it."
Then there was Ruth Rose's dialogue. As Ray says, "You notice the dialogue is so tight. There's no superfluous inferences.... [The script] takes you by the hand from the depression era to the most outrageous fantasy." This brings up the TV versions of "King Kong". You must view the fully restored movie if all you've seen is the TV version. It wasn't just the censorship of scenes like Kong or the lagoon dinosaur chomping on the crew. They cut out huge swaths of the beginning of the movie, where the stage is set, where the characters are filled out, where the mystery starts to build, of, just what the heck is Carl Denham up to?
I could go on and on about favorite comments in the commentary, but you get the idea. I loved this original "King Kong" before, but watching it through the eyes of Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston added to my enjoyment immensely.
If you're interested, you can get many CD's of Max Steiner's film work. Probably his most famous soundtrack is for 1939 "Gone With the Wind". Here's the CD of the 1933 "King Kong"
[[ASIN:B0007ACVK0 King Kong: The Complete 1933 Film Score]]
I love Peter Jackson's "King Kong" - Jack Black and Naomi Watts took iconic characters and made them their own - but I will always have a place in my heart for the original "King Kong".
Happy Reader
FABULOUS Commentary Track to the 2006 DVD - with Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston!
By Happy Reader on December 4, 2012
The Commentary Track is on the 2006 1-disc DVD issue of the original 1933 "King Kong". The commentary was recorded while Peter Jackson's 2005 remake was in production, and the remake is mentioned a couple of times. Commentators are Ken Ralston and Ray Harryhausen. Ralston was one of the founders of Industrial Light & Magic and has won 5 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects. Ray Harryhausen is the father of stop motion animation. He calls Willis O'Brien, the "Chief Technician" of "King Kong", the grandfather of stop motion.By Happy Reader on December 4, 2012
The two introduce themselves at the beginning of the commentary, with Harryhausen saying "We're both in love with the same picture, 'King Kong'!" Ray, born in 1920, saw "King Kong" in 1933 at the fabled Grauman's Chinese Theater. O'Brien (O.B. as he and Ken call him) was his mentor. There are also a few places in the commentary track with inserts from archival interviews with Merian C. Cooper, director and co-producer, and Fay Wray, who, of course, played Ann Darrow, the beauty to Kong's beast.
At one point, Merian says that the last line in the film was one he'd had in mind for many years: "It was beauty killed the beast". And, in case you're wondering, he made up the "Old Arabian Proverb" at the beginning of the movie.
Both Ken and Ray are very complimentary to Max Steiner's great score. Harry: "I can't stress [enough] how important music was to this film." Ken: "I remember hearing this, and it may be wrong, but technically, they had less ability to do a lot of levels of sound effects, and ... nuances like that. So for Steiner, he was adding a lot more musically to this. [Music] that took the place of what would now be the sound effects realm basically burying the music. This is like an opera piece, where you've got great music and visuals going through the whole piece." Harry: "And each character has their own leit motif ... It's just marvelous."
I couldn't agree more. For example, it is a masterwork how Steiner's music builds the tension as the kidnapped Ann is kneeling in front of the giant gate, and then it opens and she is dragged through to the columns where she is tied. Then the music STOPS. The gong is struck. Then the music starts low, again, as you hear growling, then trees crashing, and then....
But it's not just the music. I love the expert scene composition. When Kong beats his way through the giant gates, you see him from below, the torches lighting him up with his eyes blazing, while silhouettes of terrified villagers run towards you on your level. Great stuff!
Ken reminds us: "When this was released, this was their 'Jurassic Park'. When this came out, Kong blew everyone out of the theater, totally took them by surprise .... It raised the bar on visual effects." Merien adds: "Willis O'Brien was a technical genius. In this picture, we had to invent 11 new processes [for visual effects]. This was the first time that rear projection was really ever used. There had been 2 or 3 [prior] tries at it."
Then there was Ruth Rose's dialogue. As Ray says, "You notice the dialogue is so tight. There's no superfluous inferences.... [The script] takes you by the hand from the depression era to the most outrageous fantasy." This brings up the TV versions of "King Kong". You must view the fully restored movie if all you've seen is the TV version. It wasn't just the censorship of scenes like Kong or the lagoon dinosaur chomping on the crew. They cut out huge swaths of the beginning of the movie, where the stage is set, where the characters are filled out, where the mystery starts to build, of, just what the heck is Carl Denham up to?
I could go on and on about favorite comments in the commentary, but you get the idea. I loved this original "King Kong" before, but watching it through the eyes of Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston added to my enjoyment immensely.
If you're interested, you can get many CD's of Max Steiner's film work. Probably his most famous soundtrack is for 1939 "Gone With the Wind". Here's the CD of the 1933 "King Kong"
[[ASIN:B0007ACVK0 King Kong: The Complete 1933 Film Score]]
I love Peter Jackson's "King Kong" - Jack Black and Naomi Watts took iconic characters and made them their own - but I will always have a place in my heart for the original "King Kong".
Happy Reader
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2022
How the Blu Ray was
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There was nothing I disliked. I liked the Blu Ray of King Kong.
By Amazon Customer on July 19, 2022
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