I took my Sunday and wallowed in the glory of King Kong. I've recently read the novel and the comic book adaptations and I was bristling to get to this classic once more. I've seen Kong dozens of times, but I wanted to watch it as much as possible this time with a fresh eye, keen to see new things as much as I could.
The first thing I did was immerse myself in this dvd's extensive documentary section. There's a ton of stuff on Merian C. Cooper, an outlandish character for sure. And there's a great deal about Willis O'Brien too. After drinking the history and background, I at last watched the movie, carefully. It's a wonderful movie, filled with great characters doing great and small things. The acting is up to snuff and the pacing is superb. That's the thing about Kong that has always impressed me, the way the story builds, then launches constantly building momentum. By the time Kong meets his maker atop the Empire State Building, you are exhausted having followed the story across a prehistoric jungle and the cityscape of New York.
I've always been curious about the details of Kong's creation by O'Brien, but I care more about this story and the way it moves you to a different world, a world akin to the humdrum one we know but not quite the same. The details of how the minatures were done is interesting, but the lure of excitement as Driscoll pursues the giant beast into his lair is compelling. Sometimes when folks talk about King Kong they get lost in a miasma of petty details of technique. I love sci-fi movies, but this tendency to focus on the techniques of creation as opposed to the essence of the story sometimes annoys me. It's almost like tech-porn for nerds, an obsessive compulsion for inane details of moviemaking. I find it the same with Star Wars folks too, overcome with the minutiae of creating as opposed sometimes to the glory of the creation itself. This time, I found a neat balance in the background stuff. There was lust to know the background, but the story was king.
I followed up my viewing of King Kong with the maligned sequel Son of Kong. I've always found this lighter flick a lot of fun. Carl Denham is a feisty character and watching him and Englehorn deal with the aftermath of Kong's demise is interesting in itself. The sequel is more clever than folks give it credit for being. Ruth Rose who concocted the screenplay knew not to attempt to recreate the glory of Kong, so she made a lighter sidebar story. I like how Denham finds a much more humble monkey show than his in Dakang and how excited he is by the very notion of a show. The girl if not as compelling as Ann Darrow is more capable really. The notion of introducing the mysterious captain who gave Denham the Skull Island map was inspired. And Hellstrom is a greasy villain all the way through.
There is the odd bit in this one about the mutiny and its decidedly Red quality. Cooper loathed Communism and it shows in this sequence where the "workers", the mutinous crew are shown as revolutionaries but not very noble ones. The notion of the American dream of working hard and "sticking to a plan" as Denham says once is clearly the theme of this show.
It's a pity that more was not done though with Skull Island. The ending of the movie is so abrupt that it undermines what has been set up. Clearly they ran out of time to do it right, but more needed to be developed about the culture they unearth, the source of the treasure and the great wall that defines the island. I suspect, though it's never stated, that Denham's unearthing the treasure is what destroys the island, but we never get to know this. It's a pity.
Both King Kong and its sequel Son of Kong are gems. The first shines most brightly, but its incomplete in its setting without the second.
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