Film icon Faye Wraye plays Ann Darrow, an actress who accompanies an expedition crew to “Skull Island” to discover the god-like giant ape King Kong, a gigantic monstrous animal who is worshipped by tribes that inhabit the island. When Carl Denham seeks to kidnap Kong to bring him to New York to market off of his size and make money, Kong is put on display for all to see. But when he escapes from his restraints and begins wreaking havoc on the city seeking out Ann who he’s fallen in love with.
Faced with fighter jets, aggressive locals, and the Empire State Building, he wants Ann all to himself but can he manage to get a hold of her? Featuring some of the most beautiful special effects of its time with stop motion from Willis O’Brien, Kong is his last film, a film that opened the door for protégé Ray Harryhausen. Though the effects are ancient by today’s standards O’Brien’s stop motion creature models are very charming. Especially with Kong who is very animated and creepy, much more so than the Peter Jackson Kong who never quite feels realistic no matter how state of the art.
“King Kong” is much more of a love story between a woman and ape (don’t you love those?), than your run of the mill monster on a rampage horror movie. Kong is still a king who must face the concrete jungle still conscious that he’s the king of the jungle he wrecks landmarks ala a train thinking its a snake, fighter jets thinking their pterodactyls, and the famous scene of Kong climbing the Empire State building, all the while Kong fights for his love Ann. “King Kong” excels in utter excitement with some great direction from Merian C. Cooper andErnest B. Schoedsack, along with top notch editing that help bring to life many exciting sequences.
They include Kong in his environment featuring the ape throwing down with other fierce monsters in the jungle, and keeping control of the Islan through terror and dominance. In spite of the limited effects, Kong is a menacing, but confused and empathetic monster who is at first controlling his environment and then seeks to take hold of his core emotions of love and affection. King Kong is one of the greatest films ever made and still a lot of fun for fans of adventure and action cinema. It’s unrivaled in its sheer cinematic quality, and one of a kind.