Product Description

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Documentaries
Other
Theatrical Trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17706 in DVD
• Brand: Turner
• Released on: 2005-11-22
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, DVD, Original recording remastered, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
"Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!" And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man." Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate. King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T. rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the 20th century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the movies' most indelible and iconic images. --Donald Liebenson

DVD features
Not surprisingly, the eighth wonder of the world’s DVD treatment is nothing short of spectacular. The newly restored, digitally mastered print of the 1933 version of King Kong is sharp, well balanced, and given that this film is seventy years old, has very few scratches or blemishes. The restoration is nothing short of amazing. What may frustrate some is the audio. Though crystal clear, it is still in 2.0 Mono. The soundtrack on Kong is such an integral part of the film you really wished they could have pulled it out to at least 2.0 Surround; but this is a minor criticism. The bulk of the commentary track is by visual effects veterans Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston joyfully discussing the special effects of the film and discussing why King Kong is such a favorite and important film to the community of visual effects artists. Spliced between their commentaries are colorful and humorous anecdotes from director from Merian C. Cooper and Fay Wray. The two documentaries on disc two run over three and half hours long. I Am Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper is an engaging documentary on the renegade, Hemingway-like director. It is fascinating to learn that Cooper was every bit the adventurer that the fictional director Carl Denham in King Kong was in the film. RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World is a two and a half hour documentary broken into 7 parts: "The Origins of King Kong," "Willis O'Brien and Creation," "Cameras Roll on Kong," "The Eighth Wonder," "A Milestone in Visual Effects," "Passion, Sound and Fury," "The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence," and "King Kong's Legacy." Also included is complete footage of the legendary "The Lost Spider Pit Sequence." Presenting the segments are various film historians and filmmakers including Rudy Behlmer, Cooper biographer Mark Cotta Vaz, the Chiodo Brothers (of Team America: World Police special effects fame), and directors John Landis and Peter Jackson. Here you will learn everything you would ever want to know about the making and importance of King Kong, including that the producer/director team of Cooper and Schoedsack played the pilots who shoot Kong off the Empire State Building. The highly anticipated, long-awaited release of King Kong will meet most viewers' expectations, and exceed everyone's else. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

WHICH WILL BE THE BEST DVD OF THE YEAR? KONG OR OZ?
Warner is without a doubt, the finest home video label in the industry. No doubt about it. Not even the commendable, but ultimately conventional Criterion label comes close.

So now, 8 years into DVD-dom, WB is finally giving us KING KONG. One of the greatest motion pictures ever made. One of the most popular. One of the most successful.

So why hasn't it been on DVD all this time?

Because Warner wanted to do it right.

Warner owns the RKO library (although the previous owner, General Tire (no I'm not kidding) sold of foreign rights for several years in various countries for various periods of time) and although the foreign labels that have rights to these films quickly released them, Warner didn't.

They knew the RKO library was in terrible shape, and with their near-perfect record of perfection on every release, they sought to find the best original film negatives and create the best extra material.

Many RKO films have finally started to be available from Warner over the last two or three years. In every instance, the Warner RKO DVDs have been heads-and-tails better than those released by the international companies who hold rights in their respective countries. I say this only because I've seen comparisons online between what WB has dome, and what was out previously overseas.

Looking at WB's track record, we can expect a magnificent Kong transfer, the 8th wonder of the world! But there is more, this "collector's tin" comes with something I have always dreamed of seeing, but never have. A reproduction of the lavish opening night souvenir program from the premiere at Grauman's Chinese back in 1933. I read about it and the cover was reproduced in Ronald Haver's great book about David O. Selznick.
Also, the tim comes with postcard sized renderings of original Kong posters, and best of all, you get a mail-in card that gets you a true theatrical-sized (27x41) reproduction of one of the original 1933 posters. Yes, these are reproductions, but considering the original Kong poster goes for I think 100K, an authorized, full-sized repro will look cool in my house.

I am also excited to see the special features I've heard about. Apparently, Peter Jackson (who has remade KONG for release at Xmas) is the original's biggest fan, and contributed to the special features. In addition, Kong's creator, Merian C. Cooper, is also given his own documentary here, and although he may not be a household name(by a longshot!), this guy not only created KING KONG, but also collaborated with John Ford on some of the greatest films ever made, and then went on to be the chief architect of Cinerama. The Cooper documentary has been made (so I've read online) by none other than Kevin Brownlow, who is, without question, the finest cinema documentarian of all time.

The wait is over. Now we just count the days. This tin is mine!

I'll also be buying the other related Cooper movies like LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, THE SON OF KONG, and the original MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (with a tounge in cheek, and a very beautiful Terry Moore).

So the ultimate question is, what will be the greatest DVD classic of 2005. This seemingly magnificent uber-KONG from Warner, or the new Ultra-Resoltion 3 Disc mega set on WIZARD OF OZ. Likely it will be a tie. Admittedly, I'm a huge fan of Warner. 3 years ago, there were very few Warner DVDs on my shelf, as they seemed to ignore their library. Since then, it's been Xmas almost every month. Those folks sure do a great job, and I'm sure their KING KONG, in that irresistable tin, will be worth the wait.

Most Innovative Movie of its Time
People that did not grow up watching this on Sunday TV matinees may not appreciate this movie as much. Anyone born in the last twenty years probably thinks Star Wars, Blade Runner, or some other SciFi is the best of the Century. I myself must vote for King Kong. My reasons are simple. I have probably seen about every SciFi movie made in the last seventy plus years, and none were so well done for their time as King Kong. This movie influenced many people in the industry to strive for their best in the genre.

Ray Harryhausen who was the best stop motion animator was greatly influenced by Willis O'Brien's work in this movie. Ask directors like Peter Jackson, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg and they will tell you it had a profound impact on them. Everything seemed to come together in this 1933 movie. The acting although a little corny has a nice appeal. The music is a nice touch of glitz in the city and foreboding danger in the jungle. It's the adventure the movie takes us on that we love most. The sets were done masterfully and the big ape himself was remarkable. The creatures truly frightened people many years after it's original release in the theater.

This set includes many extras like a theater guide, poster, documentary, et cetera. I am very pleased with the care Warner took in the reproduction of King Kong. The picture and sound quality are excellent. I have complained for many years that this movie should have been put on DVD. I am glad to see it is finally released. The last remake of King Kong was not very successful, it will be interesting to see if the Peter Jackson remake becomes a classic.

Going Ape on Turkey Day!
I agree 100% with "Ohio Guy" Eric's comments (please read them). The only other company out there doing DVDs right is Criterion. I knew when Warners was to release "King Kong" it was going to be done right. This release seems to be the definitive "Kong." I am quite happy it is coming out November 22nd as I will be able to have a "Kong" marathon Thanksgiving Day just as I remember my local TV station doing when I was a kid. Would you like a little ape with your turkey?