8. The King Kong Remake…how does it hold up compared to the original?

Well, last week I talked about the different remakes of Alice in Wonderland, this week I’d like to tackle a different classic.  King Kong premiered in 1933 and received excellent critic reviews, as well as audiences going crazy for the “8th Wonder of the World”.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, or for the very small population that doesn’t know what it’s about, the story is about a film crew that goes to shoot their story on an exotic island where they run into issues with natives, dinosaurs, and other incredible animals, and the leading lady of the picture is sacrificed to the gigantic gorilla that sort of rules the land.  The gorilla is of course, King Kong.  Kong takes a liking to the woman, and the two begin to depend on each other in the wild.  Finally the crew rescue the woman, and she, along with Kong, are brought back to New York.  The gorilla is then put on show for the public as the 8th Wonder of the World.  However, after being treated cruelly, and driven by his desire to be reunited with Ann Darrow (the woman), he flees begins an angry rampage through New York, killing citizens, and finally finding Darrow.  To escape the crowds, and keep Darrow safe, Kong scales the Empire State Building with her.  Kong is tragically killed when he is shot down by planes, falls off of the building, and is killed in his fall.  Crazy story right?

King Kong was redone in 1976, but I want to focus on the 2005 remake because that is the only one that really rivals the original. This Peter Jackson film also did very well in regards to reviews and reception, and even won a few Oscars.  I want to examine the two films and see how the new one compares to the old one…….so I’m gonna do that now.

I want to pay attention to three different aspects:

1. The Ann Darrow:  Ann Darrow is the main character, and both films show a different type of leading lady.  In the 1933 version, Fay Wray portrays Darrow as more of the damsel in distress.  She is funny at times, kind to Kong, and you do begin to like her and root for her, but she screams A LOT.  Screaming is really her thing.  Naomi Watts gives a more modern woman type Darrow.  In may be because female characters have become more and more developed since 1933, but she really handles herself well.  There is a specific scene when Kong first takes her back to his “home” that she begins dancing and performing for him and he loves it.  He loves it so much that he begins pushing her and demanding more, but Watts’ Darrow shouts back at him that she’s done, she stands up to a massive gorilla.  She is feminine in other scenes as she does scream a few times, she goes ice skating with Kong, and of course she bawls her eyes out when he’s killed, but all around, she really stands on her own two feet.

2.  King Kong himself:  I saw the original King Kong when I was about 4, andI loved that portrayal.  He was the real deal in my opinion.  I know the original Kong looks ridiculous, as he’s clearly a toy or a giant stuffed head, but I don’t mean it in regards of looks.  The original Kong acts like an ape.  His face always looks like an animal’s face, he is clumsy in the city, and is easily confused by human behavior. I think this is what made his death so very sad, because he really could not understand what was going on.  The 2005 version of Kong has more of a human like face.  Because of CGI and modern technology, the filmmakers were able to have the new King Kong show emotion.  His brow furrows and his eyes light up at different points.  When the time comes for him to fight the airplanes, he has a game face.  He looks like he’s been ready for this fight and has a real comprehensive anger against the pilots.  This is something I could never really get into, but a lot of other people loved that.  What is amazing is how the filmmakers made themovements of the new kong seem so real and authentic.  This one is really based on a matter of preference, both are excellent characters, they’re just different.

3.  The Story as a whole:  The original King Kong is an absolute classic, but duh, it’s the original.  What I mean by that is, it tells the story in the classic way.  The filmmakers didn’t approach it with an abstract idea or artistic experimentation in mind.  The monster is revealed within the first hour, the romance is simple, and the character of Kong is simple, as I already stated.  They rely on the plot, the horror of the roaring Kong, and the skill of the actors to portray everything properly to make the film.  In regards to fear provoking, the original shows the creatures on Skull Island as full on predators.  Everything on the island is out to just kill the humans, which is sort of different from the remake.  As I already stated, these creatures are less emotional and more instinctive than those in the remake, so this can be a bit scarrier as it is clear that there’s no reasoning with them.  Repeating another point that I already raised, Kong’s death is a big more tragic in the first one, as he truly seems defenseless in the end.  The 2005 version goes more into character development and things are a bit more complicated.  The romance between Darrow and Driscoll gets more screen time, the relationship between Denham (the director) and the rest of the crew gets more screen time, and the monster isn’t shown for the first hour of the film.  In regards to fear, Skull Island is terrifying because of the natives.  The crew is attacked by the natives who are portrayed as absolute savages.  Honestly, if you haven’t seen the film, take my word for it, the natives will give you nightmares.  The creatures on the island are scary in their own right (that massive centipede was NOT ok) but they don’t do much to the crew.  Members of the crew are killed by them, but the deaths aren’t as awful as they are in the original.  Also, the emotion for Kong’s death comes out more from the reaction of Darrow to his death.  Once again, the two are excellent stories, and it’s really up for a matter of preference.  (I personally like the original)

Thanks everyone for reading my post, and hopefully you all learned something about appreciating the classics and the remakes for the different experiences they provide audiences with.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.