Prince Valiant
12-19-2005, 01:20 AM
**NO spoilers please**need to preserve the movie for those that haven't seen it**
I can only imagine the thrill it must have been to see the original "King Kong" in the theater's during the early 1930's. It was a time in which there was still the very real possibility that moderately large land masses had yet been discovered and explored. And surely these unexplored islands could certainly contain large wild beast such as dinosaurs. Heck, even though the lowland gorilla's had been known for about 80 years at that point, it was still only recent prior to the original "King Kong" that the mountain gorilla was discovered. To most at the time, the probability that a 30 foot tall gorilla existed, seemed very tangible.
This sets the stage for the original "King Kong". And while the viewer could clearly tell that the sets, the dinosaurs, and King Kong himself were absolutely not real, their imagination could fill in the gaps of what we didn't know or understand at the time and make it seem very real. Viewers at the time must have walked out thinking of the "what if's" and dreaming of adventures that could land them in a similar predicament. This is, in my opinion, is what helped to make the original "King Kong" such a blockbuster in it's time.
Of course, times are different now. We have the "Discovery Channel", "Animal Planet", and "National Geographic" to disseminate seemingly everything there is to know about gorillas and their habits. With time and modern technology, there are very few (if any) uncharted regions of the world. Bigfoot, Nessie, and a host of other legends notwithstanding, we can also be pretty sure there are no such large beast left on this planet such as dinosaurs and 30 foot tall gorilla's. This makes pulling of a modern rendition of "King Kong" very difficult to pull off with the same magic that made the original so special, but Peter Jackson does it.
Even if I was as eloquent as some are with words, I do not think I could even begin to describe the sense of wonderment that I left the theater with. While the original "King Kong" played on the first viewers in the 1930's lack of knowledge and let their imagination give them their sense of adventure, Peter Jackson creates a world that is all to easy to believe is actually real. The vision and attention to detail is nothing short of amazing. At times, King Kong looks as real as anything I've seen on any nature channel.
And special mention is accorded to Andy Serkis, who "plays" King Kong in the movie. He seemed to capture most, if not all, the little nuanced behaviors of a real gorilla. His movement, his mannerisms, his temper, and his humor made King Kong far deeper, and more real of a character than any movie I can think of that cam out in 2005. He truly deserves an Oscar for his role as King Kong. If you see this movie, pay attention to Kong's eyes. I promise, it will add another dimension of appreciation for this movie.
Get out and see this movie! While it's still showing on the premium screens with premium sound! It'll tug more heartstrings than "ol' yeller" ever did :goof
I can only imagine the thrill it must have been to see the original "King Kong" in the theater's during the early 1930's. It was a time in which there was still the very real possibility that moderately large land masses had yet been discovered and explored. And surely these unexplored islands could certainly contain large wild beast such as dinosaurs. Heck, even though the lowland gorilla's had been known for about 80 years at that point, it was still only recent prior to the original "King Kong" that the mountain gorilla was discovered. To most at the time, the probability that a 30 foot tall gorilla existed, seemed very tangible.
This sets the stage for the original "King Kong". And while the viewer could clearly tell that the sets, the dinosaurs, and King Kong himself were absolutely not real, their imagination could fill in the gaps of what we didn't know or understand at the time and make it seem very real. Viewers at the time must have walked out thinking of the "what if's" and dreaming of adventures that could land them in a similar predicament. This is, in my opinion, is what helped to make the original "King Kong" such a blockbuster in it's time.
Of course, times are different now. We have the "Discovery Channel", "Animal Planet", and "National Geographic" to disseminate seemingly everything there is to know about gorillas and their habits. With time and modern technology, there are very few (if any) uncharted regions of the world. Bigfoot, Nessie, and a host of other legends notwithstanding, we can also be pretty sure there are no such large beast left on this planet such as dinosaurs and 30 foot tall gorilla's. This makes pulling of a modern rendition of "King Kong" very difficult to pull off with the same magic that made the original so special, but Peter Jackson does it.
Even if I was as eloquent as some are with words, I do not think I could even begin to describe the sense of wonderment that I left the theater with. While the original "King Kong" played on the first viewers in the 1930's lack of knowledge and let their imagination give them their sense of adventure, Peter Jackson creates a world that is all to easy to believe is actually real. The vision and attention to detail is nothing short of amazing. At times, King Kong looks as real as anything I've seen on any nature channel.
And special mention is accorded to Andy Serkis, who "plays" King Kong in the movie. He seemed to capture most, if not all, the little nuanced behaviors of a real gorilla. His movement, his mannerisms, his temper, and his humor made King Kong far deeper, and more real of a character than any movie I can think of that cam out in 2005. He truly deserves an Oscar for his role as King Kong. If you see this movie, pay attention to Kong's eyes. I promise, it will add another dimension of appreciation for this movie.
Get out and see this movie! While it's still showing on the premium screens with premium sound! It'll tug more heartstrings than "ol' yeller" ever did :goof