Product Description

Experience King Kong as never before in this exclusive 2-Disc Special Edition! See the larger-than-life film plus watch three-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson take you behind the scenes of this epic adventure. Thrilling in-depth featurettes reveal the genius behind the creation of this timeless story.System Requirements:Running Time: 188 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025193167927 Manufacturer No: 31679

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14472 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
• Released on: 2006-11-14
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .40 pounds
• Running time: 201 minutes

Amazon.com
The extended version of Peter Jackson's King Kong adds 13 minutes to the running time--fortunately those 13 minutes include two dynamic action scenes and no material has been added to the movie's belabored set-up, which tries to give depth to these quintessentially b-movie characters with a clumsy patchwork of melodrama and in-jokes. But once movie-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black, School of Rock) and his crew finally arrive at Skull Island, the movie kicks into gear with spectacular action, technical wizardry, and genuine feeling. Though Kong seems crafted to dazzle the eye on the giant screen, the overlong structure improves when you can take an intermission at will. At home, each scene can be approached on its own terms, be it the insanely choreographed battle between Kong and three T. Rexes or the subtle and multi-layered interplay between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) and Kong (played, through motion-capture technology, by Andy Serkis, who previously played the similarly animated Gollum in Jackson's Lord of the Rings). The addition of a rampaging ceratops and an underwater race with what the movie's crew dubbed a "piranhadon" not only add more eye candy, but provide some valuable moments of character development. But in the end, that's frosting on the cake; when the movie's weaknesses and strengths are weighed, the emotional power of the fantastical relationship between a woman and a giant ape is a real cinematic achievement. --Bret Fetzer

On the DVD
Much like the movie itself, the abundance of extra features on the Deluxe Extended Version of Peter Jackson's King Kong mix dazzling skill (the very in-depth "making of" documentary reveals the staggering amount of work that went into animating Kong) and woeful bloat (do we need to know this much about the friends who made cameos as biplane pilots?). As usual, there are mildly interesting but expendable deleted scenes, goof-ups and hijinks (some charming, some cloying), trailers, and outright advertisements (a plug for fans to buy collectible models--annoying until you learn from the doc how much obsessive labor the designers put into these things). But the most intriguing material provides a good long look into the filmmakers' creative processes, both technical (among other things, "pre-viz" animation shows how in some cases the action sequences were conceived before the script) and human (endearing glimpses of Jackson's stop-motion attempt to recreate Kong when he was 12 years old). Jackson and his engaging design team (who are much more interesting to listen to than the actors) clearly revere the original film, and frequent excerpts from it reveal why--but also demonstrate this movie's greatest weakness: "More realistic" doesn't equal "more evocative." --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Another Peter Jackson Masterpiece!
Peter Jackson's Tribute Remake To The Classic 1933 Movie King Kong is Incredible. Peter Jackson proves that his success from The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy was no fluke. Peter was able to recreate New York in the 1930's and some elements of the time like people who were suffering from The Great Depression and the battle between the humans and the giant bugs on Skull Island. Thanks to This Remake, King Kong is popular once again.

King Kong Rocks
The 2005 version of King Kong is unmistakeably better than the 1933 original. Awesome special effects and acting. Jack Black was sensational and I really liked the bug sequence. Good picture, sound and everything else.

MPAA Rating= frightning adventure violence and disturbing images.

Mixed feelings, but closer to a miss than a hit (*SPOILERS*),
I'm a big fan of the original King Kong, but I never go into re-makes expecting it to compare to the originals, for better or worse.

The bottom line for me is that this film was too long (for no reason) and had too many sequences that defied physics and plausibility to the point of diminishing an otherwise visually stunning adventure film. More is rarely truly more.

Many of the action sequences reminded me of how someone who lived it would TELL the story, not how it actually happened (exaggeration for effect):

Specifically, the idea of Kong Repeatedly falling down cliffs, fighting off T-Rex's, etc. all the while holding an unscathed Ann in one-hand seems a bit absurd. If it happened for only a moment, it might have some punch (like a close call.) But instead is happens for several minutes, yet she is never harmed, no backlash, nothing. Imagine getting into a car crash for 2-3 minutes and escaping unharmed. That's the same physics for these scenes.

Another scene features the crew trying to escape a stampede of Brontosaurus', but the scene is so jam-packed with the creatures in such a small space, it looks more cartoon-ish than believable.

Another incredulous scene features a young man who the filmmakers go out of their way to tell you has no experience with guns. Later, in the heat of battling giant inspects and larvae, he loads a Tommy gun and shoots giant crickets off his comrade, some 6-10 feet away. Not once does he ever hit his friend. Even in the hands of the most trained marksman this scene is a stretch beyond stretches.

When Kong escapes into the streets of New York, all is pure chaos and non-stop madness. But the second he finds Ann (or rather, she finds him), the streets are suddenly dead quiet with no sign of destruction. Huh? I also had a very hard time believing that the crew could effortlessly track Kong on such a vast, incredibly dangerous-terrain island.

There are many other scenes that defy logic and physics that really took away from them, when they should have been highlights of the film.

As far as the length of the film - there were many scenes and sub-stories that seemed completely unnecessary or were totally unfulfilled. The story between Mr. Hayes and Jimmy escapes me entirely. It was interesting until one of them is killed, the other one cries and then you never see or hear of either again. Yet, we've spent approx. 10-20 minutes focused solely on them and their history. Why? It takes literally an hour to REACH the island. At 2 hours and 20 minutes, we finally reach New York. Don't get me wrong, once the action starts, it's pretty relentless. But you can't tell me in a story as simple as King Kong that there's any reason not to get this film down to closer to 2 hours, instead of breaking the 3-hour mark. I think I would be more forgiving if we were left with any sort of solace or payoff at the end, but it ends rather flatly (no pun intended.) I realize it's a re-make, but if Jackson is going to take liberties to build up characters and make us sit through 3-hours, there better well be a good reason. I never found one.

Despite all the above mentioned, there were many aspects I did like. The realism of Kong having true gorilla mannerisms was great and it really lends to the viewer's sympathy for him as a wild animal, simply following trying to his instincts. For that same reason, I found the ending to be gut-wrenching, as well as his captivity scene. The action and visual effects are stunning and once they start, they don't let up. I really felt like I had been somewhere extraordinary when it was over.

I thought all of it was very well acted, but unfortunately, there wasn't much of a reason to be. It's all action and the only emotion most people will feel is between Ann and Kong. I felt very little nothing for Ann and Jack's romance, which is too bad.

In the end, I would recommend this film as a visual stunner and to true fans of King Kong, or fans of fast-paced action and adventure films (after the first hour, anyway.) If you've never seen the original, or aren't interested in the concept, there should be no problem in skipping it.

Lastly, I would NOT recommend it for kids. It has some scary moments and the theme is too mature for most kids to understand anyway.