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Just as this
has become the decade of Peter Jackson,
I had no doubt that 2005-2006 would become
the era of "King Kong." After
all, 2005 gave us not only Jackson's major
motion picture remake of "King Kong",
but also a highly anticipated video game
based on the movie and an unprecedented
look into the inner workings of creating
the film.
I still have problems wrapping my head around
the fact that when I first saw the work
of Peter Jackson, it was with the rental
of a videotape (yes…videotape) of
one of his first films, "Bad Taste."
I was working at a Dallas area haunted attraction
and the owner and I were sitting around
watching Gorgon video, which was a video
magazine aimed at horror fans. There was
a short feature on "Bad Taste",
and with those few moments of footage we
were convinced that this was a movie to
see. It was a low budget comedy alien movie
in which the villains were interested in
farming humans for food. But there to stop
them were a trio of special agents, ill-fitted
to stop anything.
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This was also the first time we saw director
Peter Jackson in action as an actor… he
plays Derek, perhaps the most inept of all. He
falls off a cliff and splits open the back of
his head. Fortunately he has the wherewithal to
tie his tie around his head to keep the 'flap'
of skull closed so he can think… clearly.
He also doubles as one of the aliens, and is seen
several times in this role throughout the film.
Though the film was inherently 'bad' (in a so
bad it’s good kind of way), you can tell
that Jackson has a keen eye for camera work, much
in the way that Sam Raimi's early films shows
off his style in a somewhat limited fashion. I
then followed Jackson's career through the zombie
epic "Dead Alive" and his take on the
Muppets, "Meet the Feebles." Both films
were extremely silly and over the top, but still
quite enjoyable. I figured Jackson had set himself
up as a great 'niche' director. But then I went
to see "Heavenly Creatures" when it
was released in American theatres and was floored
to find a film that was decidedly not what I expected.
Instead of a silly comedy, "Heavenly Creatures"
was based on the true story of New Zealand's Juliet
Hume and Pauline Parker, who as young girls in
the 1950's shared an intense love of literature.
They became extremely close friends and conspired
to murder Pauline's mother when she believed that
the friendship was destructive and had to end.
It was a heartbreaking and thought provoking film,
and the only hint that it was directed by Jackson
came in the form of a fantasy dream sequence that
was every bit his style. This film also granted
Jackson the attention of Universal Studios who
wanted to work with him. His dream was to remake
the 1933 classic "King Kong", because
it was the film that made him want to grow up
and become a filmmaker. It looked like he was
going to get his chance, but first he directed
"The Frighteners" for Universal and
though I still think it was an extremely creative
and enjoyable film, it was a box-office flop.
This made Universal rethink its position and the
opportunity to remake "King Kong" disappeared.
Undaunted, Jackson moved ahead and began work
on the most ambitious work of his career (as it
would have been of anyone's career), "The
Lord of the Rings." Needless to say I don’t
have to tell you what happened there. The Trilogy
became a well-deserved worldwide phenomenon and
firmly cemented Jackson as THE director to work
with. To this day, when I watch "Bad Taste",
I still can't believe the same director went on
to make the most incredible film series of all
time.
But for Jackson, what this feat did was re-open
the door to creating his dream project, "King
Kong." This he attacked with gusto and delivered
a finished product to theatres in what seemed
to be record time. But this was not to be just
any remake, oh no. It would be a massive undertaking
and one that would tell the story in just a little
over three hours. Ever the visionary, Jackson
decided to let fans in to see the inner workings
of the making of a movie. When work started on
"King Kong" and a website was designed
to follow the progress, he decided to film a 'diary'
of sorts that would be placed on the website for
visitors to see. Every few days over the shoot,
we would be introduced to a video that would allow
us to watch the production in action. Loose interviews
with the cast and crew were arranged, special
effects were discussed, and sometimes we would
get a glimpse of a scene being shot. It was perfect
for anyone interested in the craft of making movies.
(These production diaries were also released at
the same time as the film came out in theatres
in an awesome 2-disc gift set.)
Initially however, the remake of "King Kong"
was not entirely met with open arms by the public.
A perfect example came in the form of a reviewer
colleague and friend of mine, who immediately
dismissed the idea of a remake (as he normally
does for most remakes). And in this case, it was
an even stronger feeling of disdain because the
original 1933 version was one of his all-time
favorite movies. Well, he and I attended an early
screening of the film last year and for the first
time in my memory, his opinion totally changed.
He walked out of the theatre completely blown
away by Jackson's vision. And, not that I needed
as much convincing, I was as well.
In my humble opinion, "King Kong" was
one of the best films of 2005 even though it wasn't
seen as such by the Academy Awards. Granted, it
took some of the major effects awards (deservedly
so), but it deserved to sit on the list of nominees
for Best Picture. Jackson and company took the
story and elevated to epic proportions. The characterizations
and interactions between those characters were
picture perfect. His recreation of the time period
is one of the best I've ever seen. Those few opening
moments of the film conveyed more of a sense of
the Great Depression than I have witnessed in
any other whole film.
Some of the performances went so far as to completely
surprise me. First and foremost being Jack Black,
who played the overzealous filmmaker, Carl Denham.
I'm so used to Black coming across as little more
than a clown that I had doubted he could pull
off such a meaty role. But watching him fulfill
the role of the character so perfectly impressed
me beyond words. Occasionally, with the slip of
a line, he would remind me that he was Jack Black,
but for 99% of his onscreen time, he WAS Carl
Denham. Adrian Brody and Naomi Watts also performed
their roles as the romantic leads with a quiet
dignity that surpassed most that you ever see
onscreen. And even the way Jackson filmed Watts'
scenes gave her an air of breathtaking beauty
that makes one believe how she might have calmed
the beast.
Then, of course… there is Kong. The special
effects artist so believably rendered him that
there wasn't a single moment that I was not convinced
that he was real. Everything from the technical
aspects that include weight distribution, motion,
and the wind moving through his fur, to the more
subtle expressions that were captured in his eyes.
His overall performance has to be attributed to
Andy Serkis (who did a similar acting job as Golem
in "LOTR"). It's a shame that more people
don’t realize how much of his performance
was translated by the computer programmers. He
deserved a Best Actor nomination here every bit
as much as he did for his work on "LOTR."
Thankfully, Serkis was allowed to show his face
onscreen, playing the role of 'Lumpy' the ship's
cook.
What I loved the most about Peter Jackson's remake
of "King Kong" was that you could tell
by every single frame that it was a labor of love.
I used the term breathtaking earlier to describe
Naomi Watts as she appeared in the film, but in
reality the entire movie is breathtaking to behold.
Considering the 3 hour run time, there isn’t
a single wasted moment. I'll admit that a few
scenes went a little over the top, such has the
'bug scene', and there were a few times that Jackson
cut to some jittery camera jump cuts, but those
would be my only two nitpicks about the movie.
The rest of it was perfect.
I'll throw in a mention or two about some 'complaints'
that I felt were unwarranted. The first referred
to a scene in Central Park were Kong and Ann Darrow
are sliding around on the iced over lake. Many
people said it was stupid… but I say those
people are the stupid and unappreciative ones.
The sequence was extremely beautiful both in its
physical and emotional execution. It is a moment
of peace and tranquility within the eye of the
storm called 'mankind' that eventually leads to
Kong's demise.
There were also a few comments thrown in about
one of the final scenes where Ann and Jack Driscoll
are reunited on the top of the Empire State Building.
I mean… the VERY top of the building. Some
people, including myself, thought it seemed a
little silly. Especially since the top spot is
extremely narrow and neither of them seem to notice
the sheer drop that surrounds them. But in retrospect,
after everything that these two people had survived
on Skull Island and again in New York… standing
on top of the Empire State Building had to be
cake.
I was thrilled when I received the original DVD
release that Universal sent out for me to take
a look at. As you might already have guessed,
I loved the film and have to say that while that
2-Disc release absolutely delivered everything
I though I could ever want out of a DVD, I was
humbled at the sight of the new 3-disc set Universal
is releasing this month. First and foremost was
the knowledge that this would be an 'Extended'
version, much like the later releases of each
of the "LOTR" films. There isn't quite
as much added footage-wise, in this case it only
amounts to about 13 minutes… but still.
Some of these minutes include a charging Ceratops
and an underwater creature attack.
But where this new release really hits the mark
is in all of the additional extra features that
are included. The extras on the original set were
few, but here there are over 6 hours of added
bonuses. First and foremost is a feature commentary
by Jackson, who is joined by co-writer and co-producer
Philippa Boyens, which runs over both the theatrical
and extended versions of the film (which are available
in this one set). It's always fun to listen to
Jackson, but here you can feel the love he has
for the subject coming across in everything he
has to say. There is also 38 minutes worth of
deleted scenes. Generally I skip over deleted
scenes, since after all... they were usually deleted
for a reason. In the case of this film however,
I knew even scenes that ended up no the cutting
room floor had to have some merit, and I was right.
There are several featurettes, including a tribute
to the character of Kong, a look at the creation
of Skull Island, a little but of history of vaudeville
and even a previously unreleased production diary.
You'll also find several conceptual design video
galleries, some pre-visualization animatics of
a few of the action sequences, and a lengthy "Making
of" documentary that features an overall
look at the production. Now in case you feel like
you haven't had enough, you can also check out
the short film that was made by the cast of the
film, a look at some of the Weta Collectibles
and best of all… a hilarious blooper reel.
Then if you're up to doing a little reading, you
can pop the disc into your computer and peruse
the original 1996 script and compare it to the
2005 version.
This new edition of 'King Kong" is the version
that should have been released last time, but
I imagine it took a little while to produce it.
The original release was kind of an appetizer
to get you ready for one of the few double dips
that was entirely worth it.
When the original DVD release of "King Kong"
came out, it broke all sales records for Universal
during its first few days. I definitely think
it deserved it and I hope this new set does almost
as well. If you haven’t already picked up
a copy of either… what’s wrong with
you?
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Starring: Adrian Brody, Naomi Watts, Jack Black,
Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis
Extras: 38 Minutes of Deleted Scenes, Feature
Commentary with Peter Jackson, "The Eight
Blunder of the World" - Outtake and Gag Reel,
The Making of King Kong, "Return to Skull
Island", "The Present" - an Original
Short Film Made by the Cast of King Kong, Original
Computer Animated Storyboards, The Video Galleries,
DVD-Rom Scripts for both the 1996 and 2005 versions
of King Kong
Specifications: Widescreen (2.35:1), Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Sound
Studio: Universal
Release Date: 11/14/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
We'll give King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition
an A.
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