King Kong Essay, Research Paper

King Kong

A classic adventure-fantasy film in the earlier talking films is King Kong (1933). King

Kong was conceived by director/producer Merian C. Cooper. Cooper tells the story of an

attractive blonde woman and a frightening gigantic ape-monster who are immersed in a Beauty

and the Beast type tale. A major section of the film is the struggle on Skull Island between the

filmmakers, the islanders, and the other resident of the island. The other resident being a mutant

creature who must also fight civilization when it is brought to New York City for display. From

the beginning of the movie, its screenplay by James Creelman and Ruth Rose foretells the

coming terror. The film included many revolutionary technical innovations for its time, and

some of the best stop-action animation ever sequences and special effects (by Willis O’Brien)

ever captured.

King Kong was a film with many wonderful sound and cinematic techniques. The filmed

contained a dramatic musical score, which helped set the mood of the film. The sound effects

were also unusual for films of its time. The director used different animal?s sounds to create

Kong?s voice. The narrative of the story was one that was of interest of movie goes. In King

Kong the story unfolds pretty directly in front of you so there is not a lot of confusion. To me

the film is a montage not mise-en-scene. The story is told in a straightforward manner that

doesn?t show a lot of things through the shot itself. In this film the use of stop-motion

photography was used unlike ever before to bring life to the beast. The film industry was

changed quiet a bit from this motion picture.

The acting and directing of the film King Kong was magnificent. In the film there are no

particular weak performances. Everyone gives a rather enjoyable performance during the movie.

In watching the movie I found that as it went on I just could not wait to see what would happen

next, which shows the wonderful pace of the film. The director presents the beast in a way that

is tragic. Towards the end of the picture you start to sympathize with

the beast that is trapped upon the top of the building being fired upon by planes from above. As

a director, having the skill to pull these emotions over a beast from an audience is astonishing.

The people who assembled this movie did a wonderful job.

There was a great amount of thought put into the production of this film. The

composition of the picture is one that should be remembered by filmmakers of today. The

scenes on the ship and on the island look as if they really take place there and not on a sound

stage or on the back lot. The motion picture tells a tale which is believable because it is one of a

man going to a strange island to shot a movie to gain wealth in America. Having hired the help

of a beautiful young woman, he runs upon trouble while switching from one interesting scene to

another. In the picture the beautiful Fay Ray is as stunning today as she was when the picture

was first released. Many of the members of the tribe on Skull Island are represented as being

true islanders unhappy of the white man?s arrival on their island, just as a real tribe would be

upset. While enjoying the tribal costumes I personally felt the filmmakers outfits to be a bit

much. The pre- and post-production work put into this movie made it the classic that it still is today.

King Kong has stood as an American classic for 6 decades and is one that will be

considered to be one for 60 more. The fact that this movie?s still considered a classic is due to

the techniques used during filming, the acting/directing, and the hard work that went into the

production.