King Kong (1933)
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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Still one of the greatest movies of all time, this is totally enjoyable from it's opening scene to it's last. Be honest, who doesn't feel bad for Kong? What was he doing that was so terrible? The real villain in this movie is greedy Carl Denham. He couldn't be happy just shooting film of Kong, no he had to wrench the poor beast from the only home he'd ever known. The SFX, by the late, great Willis O'Brien still stand up today and this film is even decades later, still worth watching. Sheer brilliance, it should never be remade again.
This is a monumental achievement. The level they took it to back in 1933 is so impressive. And for me, it still holds up today. And Fay Wray...my goodness. One a beauty. And what a scream queen. This movie has it all: action, adventure, horror, suspense, comedy, and a tragic love story. 10/10 easy.
Although it is remembered as a classic "King Kong" has some very prominent issues that I can't overlook. First off, and most importantly the film plays so heavily into the idea that "women are helpless". The main character, Anne is very much so, a damsel in distress whose sole purpose is to be saved. Even the language in the film plays into this idea. I.e. one of the main crew members, the man who eventually falls in love with the Anne, speaks of women in the most sexist why. He says all they do is "get in the way" as well as something along the lines of "women don't belong anywhere else but inside a house". The film is very sexist and plays into the male female dynamic where women always need saving and a man to love them which is so often seen in mainstream movies now.
As i am not usually hot to see these kind of movies, only my curiosity drove me to the theater thinking to myself what sort of crap this 1933 picture must be. Boy, was i wrong! As the film goes on my eyes went from surprises to surprises how some scenes were so spectaculars in this early years of cinema. They did not have these «special effects» movie lovers enjoy to-day and that is why that «piece of crap» was really an extract of genius, a forerunner, or a film before its time, which certainly gave ideas and lead the way to develop all categories of special effects our eyes benefit to-day. Thanks to the technical genius, producers and director of King Kong 1933, who was the King of them all!Noël Charbonnier