King Kong 1933
Directed by Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
- Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
- 100 min
Beauty conquered the beast!
Adventurous filmmaker Carl Denham sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to be displayed on Broadway as King Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.
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Character
Earnest, classical in form, epic and plot-driven.
- earnestironic
- classical in formformally daring
- intimateepic
- character-ledplot-driven
- gravecomic
Who loves it, who doesn't
25 profiled raters. Loved most by The Archivists; disliked most by The Thrill Chasers.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is Ann Darrow the real protagonist?”
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“Is it too big for its own story?”
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“Is it actually scary?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- GenerationofSwineon TMDB · Jan 202310/10
So this is the bar, and this is the reason that people don't like any of the remakes... except the 2005 remake, people don't like that because it stinks. But this shot for the moon. It promised the audience a giant ape, it gave the audience a giant ape... and a sort of love story that was really cute and relatable that brought it all together. It reached for the stars visually, it grabbed one, and it told an amazing story along with it. It was a win on every front. So, now, when people watch King Kong remakes, they look at them and they don't live up to the effort that this movie put into itself. They all look better, but they don't feel as well crafted as the original, because they aren't. They are all a little lazy in comparison because it's easier to do it now. In 11 years its going to be 100 years old and people are still going to marvel at the work put into it.
Read the whole review on TMDB - tmdb27219454on TMDB · Aug 201910/10
In watching this movie, and I'm talking about actually scrutinizing it intently, I was shocked at the amount and the extremity of the violence that was in the picture. Natives were being bitten, swallowed and purposely stepped upon by Kong. The sailors were chased, trampled and eaten by the dinosaurs and then we have all the New York City violence on top of it all where Kong tosses a woman to her death and bites on a bystander. Also, for it being an 85+ year old movie, the special effects STILL stand up rather well and STILL look convincingly realistic. In fact, I believe these FX are of a better quality than the 1976 remake and even comes close to the 2005 CGI version. If you've never seen this classic, mostly because "who would want to watch that old-style claymation" or you can't watch anything not "in Living Color," you really need to give this one a try. For those of you that have seen it, let me urge you to rewatch it, possibly with some newly-opened eyes.
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20228/10
Shown recently by the BBC and wow, how fantastically this has stood the test of time. I can see why there have been so many remakes of this iconic tale of ambition, power and true love but none that shine a candle to this - even after over 80 years. Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray do their bit as the producer and the starlet, but the true stars are lighting, photography and special effects which are masterful as we visit this ancient island divided by a great wall (how on earth did the natives ever manage to build it?) that keeps the prehistoric monsters at bay. This is adventure cinema at it's absolute best; and even the writing is reasonable. If you don't feel sympathy for Kong at the end then where is your heart?
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Cast
- Robert ArmstrongCarl Denham
- Fay WrayAnn Darrow
- Bruce CabotJack Driscoll
- Frank ReicherCaptain Englehorn
- Victor WongShip's Cook Charlie
- James FlavinMate Briggs
- Sam HardyCharles Weston
- Noble JohnsonSkull Island Native Chief
- Steve ClementeSkull Island Witch Doctor
- Roscoe AtesPress Photographer (uncredited)
Crew
- Merian C. CooperDirector
- Ernest B. SchoedsackDirector
- Ruth RoseScreenplay
- James Ashmore CreelmanScreenplay
- Vernon L. WalkerDirector of Photography
- J.O. TaylorDirector of Photography
- Edward LindenDirector of Photography
- Max SteinerOriginal Music Composer
- Ted CheesmanEditor
- Ernest B. SchoedsackProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
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Vikings 201380% alikeTelevision · Both earnest, classical in form, epic.
Black Sails 201478% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, earnest, grave.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Tastebuds
