King Kong
(2005) HD-DVD + 3-DVD Deluxe Extended Edition
Picture: B+/B- Sound: B+/B Extras: D/B Film: B
Before
MGM’s The Wizard Of Oz (1939) became
the most quoted Fantasy film ever made and Disney’s Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (1938) made the animated feature
a permanent artform and Disney a legend, the RKO Studios proved a Fantasy epic
could be a huge blockbuster in 1933 with the original King Kong. It was a few
decades ahead of the giant monster cycle and set standards for visual effects
hat were not surpassed until Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and all of its imitators.
Unlike
the other classics, the film inspired true obsessions by thousands of teenaged
boys to want more and even inspired some to go into the film business and
create visual effects. Kong resurfaced
in a pair of 1960s Toho films, including an early pairing with Godzilla, but
Paramount dared to remake the film in 1976 and John Guillermin’s King Kong became the last big
blockbuster hit (released Christmas of that year) before Star Wars changed and
raised the expectations of such films forever.
Dino DeLaurentiis and the studio were very lucky they did not open late
May of the next year.
As the
years went by, the 1976 version lost some of its luster, but is not bad. However, the 1933 version continued to grow
in importance and once again, became the subject of a remake. DeLaurentiis did a terrible sequel belatedly
in 1986 called King Kong Lives
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), but I died at the box office. Visual effects continued to improve, give or
take issues with digital animation, as the film used a combination of early
animatronics puppets, models and an amazing human body suit by Rick Baker.
Enter
Peter Jackson, just coming off of the mega-blockbuster Lord Of The Rings films, who it turns out holds the 1933 film as
his favorite film. Having worked at
Universal Pictures before with cult favorite The Frighteners (also reviewed on this site), the studio
greenlighted the production, which would be made at his homeland of New
Zealand. The massive sets were matched
by complex animatics and electronic storyboards among other things, then
production began, which is well documented in a DVD box set of Jackson’s Production Diaries you can
read about at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3112/King+Kong+–+Peter+Jackson’s+Production+Diaries+(Limited+Box+Set)
However,
many wondered if it was a good idea to remake the film again. What could he possibly do with the
story? Instead of setting it in the year
shoot like the 1976 version, he would set it in 1933. Was this a good idea? Jack Black as the obsessed filmmaker was considered
an almost pandering move at the time to assure youth box office, while casting
barely-known Naomi Watts in Fay Wray’s legendary lead role was considered
possibly a negative for the box office since many better-known leads existed at
the time. Underrated Oscar-winner Adrien
Brody, Colin Hanks perfect as a 1930s guy and Jamie Bell rounded out the major
supporting cast and the film was on its way.
When the
film was coming closer to its release date, it was getting bashed and even
written off as some kind of bomb for no good reason except that too many people
have too much time on their hands.
Though the film did not set all-time records at first, it was a huge hit
in the U.S. and did equally strong business overseas, making a profit and going
on to DVD and HD sales worldwide as a box office champ. Much of that were fans going to see it more
than once, but did the film justify its 188 minutes length?
For the
most part, yes. Watts is charming as the
actress suffering through the Great Depression, Black gives a contained comic
performance that is mixed with more intense obsession than he might be given
credit for and Brody also holds his own nicely.
Of course, Kong is the biggest star and bringing him to life is not
easy. Fortunately, the rendering and
detail is nothing short of impressive and Jackson’s own obsession to bring life
to the character is a home run. The
battle scenes with deadly natives and other monsters deliver, but Jackson’s
expansion of the classic using the screenplay he co-authored with Fran Walsh
and Philippa Boyens is so well-rounded in how all aspects of the narrative are
resolved that it is a genre achievement to pull off what they did.
As a
matter of fact, I believe this is Jackson’s best film. Not as quirky as his early work, not as
carried-away-fantasy of his Tolkien adaptation, Jackson finds himself on a new
level of artistry here no one could have ever expected. Whether this will carry over into his next
projects remains to be seen, but even if his career does not live up to this
film, nobody will ever be able to take this King Kong away from him. In
a few years, with some time and distance from its release now as a hot
state-of-the-art title, the achievement will be more obvious and generations of
fans to come will be able to enjoy one of the strongest commercial films of the
early 21st Century.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image looks really, really good on the HD-DVD,
where the anamorphically enhanced standard DVD version has detail and even
color limits for a film using a muted color palette to emulate its era and
offers at least shades of the 1933 film’s memorable black and white
cinematography. There are tons of
digital effects and animation throughout, but what is remarkable is the extent
of how good the detail and style is on all of them. Yes, they can have a rubbery form that makes
believability a problem, but even that is in line with the animation style of
the great Fleischer Studios of the 1930s.
The Fleischers were so big that Disney considered them a threat.
The DVD
has a good picture, but the HD-DVD really offers an image that can compete with
the 35mm film print since so much here is digital. That is in part because the 35mm film shows
more limits to that digital work. With
that said, the cinematography of Andrew Lesnie, A.C.S., A.S.C., is very often
impressive. The jungle sequences may not
always seem naturalistic, but they are surreal in a way that works for the
film, even when they go on longer than one might like. However, the most impressive work happens
when they are in 1930s New York, which has not looked so good in any such genre
film since Russell Mulcahy’s always-interesting The Shadow (1994). Even the
digital there is far above most of the on-arrival-garbage we see all the time,
so much hard work was put into this film’s visuals.
The Dolby
Digital Plus 5.1 mix is better on the HD-DVD than the standard Dolby Digital
5.1 on the regular DVD, though that is one of the best regular Dolby mixes we
have heard on DVD-Video to date. However,
the sonics here are obviously so superior and intricate, that this film needs
both a Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD version to do this sound justice. With the whole film on one disc, there was
likely not enough room. However, the
demand for a singe-disc version is there and the performance will satisfy all
for now. Also, James Newton Howard’s
score is very good.
The DVD
edition splits the film over two DVDs and all three DVDs have extras. The extras for the HD-DVD are very limited,
all centered on the U-Control function of the new format with a bunch of still
galleries and audio/video clips (behind the scenes, interviews) snippets that
barely fit on the 30GB disc. Terrific extras
from the 3-DVD set include full length audio commentary by director Peter
Jackson and co-writer Philippa Boyens, new extended edition with 13 minutes of
added footage, 38 minutes of deleted scenes, "Re-Creating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong" - an
eight-part documentary on the film, A Night in Vaudeville, King Kong Homage, Weta
Collectibles, "The Present"
featurette, Pre-Visualization Animatics, DVD-ROM of the 1996 & 2005
versions of the script, outtake & gag reel and conceptual Design Video
Galleries. This includes many extras
never seen before, so fans will enjoy the three disc set.
As for
home theater and film aficionados, the HD-DVD is one of the best titles in the
format to date and will be a favorite for a while to come for good reason. Good thing the film works so well.
- Nicholas Sheffo
