Cooper's fascination with gorillas began with his boyhood reading of Paul Du Chaillu's Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa (1861) and was furthered in 1929 by studying a tribe of baboons in Africa while filming The Four Feathers.
The film was an immediate hit, and by some estimates, it was one of the highest-grossing films of the 1930s at over $4 million.
Wallace conferred with Cooper and O'Brien (who contributed, among other things, the "Ann's dress" scene) and began work on January 1, 1932.
He completed a rough draft called The Beast on January 5, 1932.
Cooper thought the draft needed considerable work but Wallace died on February 10, 1932, just after beginning revisions.
She estimated she worked for ten weeks on Kong over its eight-month production. In May and June 1932, Cooper directed the first live-action Kong scenes on the jungle set built for The Most Dangerous Game.
The last scene shot was that of Driscoll and Ann racing through the jungle to safety following their escape from Kong's lair. In July 1932, the native village was readied while Schoedsack and his crew filmed establishing shots in the harbor of New York City.
Views of New York City were filmed from the Empire State Building for backgrounds in the final scenes and architectural plans for the mooring mast were secured from the building's owners for a mock-up to be constructed on the Hollywood sound stage. In August 1932, the island landing party scene and the gas bomb scene were filmed south of Los Angeles on a beach at San Pedro, California.
When filming was completed, a break was scheduled to finish construction of the interior sets and to allow screenwriter Ruth Rose time to finish the script. In September–October 1932, Schoedsack returned to the sound stage after completing the native village shoots in Culver City.
Principal photography wrapped at the end of October 1932 with the filming of the climax wherein Driscoll and Ann reunite at the top of the Empire State Building.
Schoedsack's work was completed and he headed to Syria to film outdoor scenes for Arabia, a project that was never completed. In December 1932 – January 1933, the actors were called back to film a number of optical effects shots which were mostly rear-screen projections.
King Kong is a 1933 American pre-Code monster adventure romance film directed and produced by Merian C.
It features stop-motion animation by Willis O'Brien and a music score by Max Steiner. King Kong opened in New York City on March 2, 1933, to rave reviews, and has since been ranked by Rotten Tomatoes as the greatest [film] of all time and the fifty-sixth greatest film of all time.
The film's romantic angle (rather than its jungle or animal angle) was played up after animal films fared poorly at the box office in the early months of 1933.
Schoedsack's work was completed and he headed to Syria to film outdoor scenes for Arabia, a project that was never completed. In December 1932 – January 1933, the actors were called back to film a number of optical effects shots which were mostly rear-screen projections.
Over the years, Steiner's score was recorded by multiple record labels and the original motion picture soundtrack has been issued on a compact disc. ==Release== ===Theatrical=== King Kong opened at the 6,200-seat Radio City Music Hall in New York City and the 3,700-seat RKO Roxy across the street on Thursday, March 2, 1933.
Over the four-day period, the film grossed $89,931. The film had its official world premiere on March 23, 1933 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The film opened nationwide on April 10, 1933, and worldwide on Easter Day in London, England.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
It was Beauty killed the Beast." – #84 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #13 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #41 AFI's 10 Top 10 – #4 Fantasy film ==Sequel and franchise== The 1933 King Kong film and character-inspired imitations and installments.
The Son of Kong, a direct sequel to the 1933 film was released nine months after the first film's release.
These films are mostly unrelated to the original and follow a very different style. In 1976, Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis released his version of King Kong, a modern remake of the 1933 film, following the same basic plot, but moving the setting to the present day and changing many details.
This was based on a 1942 release print, with missing censor cuts taken from a 1937 print, which "contained heavy vertical scratches from projection." An original release print located in the UK in the 1980s was found to contain the cut scenes in better quality.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
Such a category did not exist at the time and would not exist until 1938.
The wall and gate were destroyed in 1939 for Gone With the Wind's burning of Atlanta sequence.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
This was based on a 1942 release print, with missing censor cuts taken from a 1937 print, which "contained heavy vertical scratches from projection." An original release print located in the UK in the 1980s was found to contain the cut scenes in better quality.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
Prior to the 1952 re-release, the film is reported to have worldwide rentals of $2,847,000 including $1,070,000 from the United States and Canada and profits of $1,310,000.
After the 1952 re-release, Variety estimated the film had made an additional $1.6 million in the United States and Canada taking its total to $3.9 million in cumulative domestic (United States and Canada) rentals.
Profits from the 1952 re-release were estimated by the studio at $2.5 million. ===Critical response=== On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on , with an average rating of 9/10.
It was re-released in 1938, 1942, 1946, 1952 and 1956, the latter following a successful telecast on WOR-TV. ===Censorship and restorations=== The Production Code's stricter decency rules had been put into effect in Hollywood after its 1933 premiere and it was progressively censored further, with several scenes being either trimmed or excised altogether.
After the 1956 re-release, the film was sold to television (first being broadcast March 5, 1956). RKO did not preserve copies of the film's negative or release prints with the excised footage, and the cut scenes were considered lost for many years.
In the early 1960s, RKO had licensed the King Kong character to Japanese studio Toho and produced two King Kong films, King Kong vs.
In 1969, a 16mm print, including the censored footage, was found in Philadelphia.
This version was re-released to art houses by Janus Films in 1970.
In 1975, Kong was named one of the 50 best American films by the American Film Institute.
A sequel, titled Son of Kong, was fast-tracked and released the same year, with several more films made in the following decades, including two remakes which were made in 1976 and 2005 respectively, and a reboot in 2017. ==Plot== In New York Harbor, filmmaker Carl Denham, known for wildlife films in remote and exotic locations, charters Captain Englehorn's ship, the Venture, for his new project.
These films are mostly unrelated to the original and follow a very different style. In 1976, Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis released his version of King Kong, a modern remake of the 1933 film, following the same basic plot, but moving the setting to the present day and changing many details.
This was based on a 1942 release print, with missing censor cuts taken from a 1937 print, which "contained heavy vertical scratches from projection." An original release print located in the UK in the 1980s was found to contain the cut scenes in better quality.
King Kong was also, somewhat controversially, colorized in the late 1980s for television. ===Home media=== In 1984, King Kong was one of the first films to be released on LaserDisc by the Criterion Collection, and was the very first movie to have an audio commentary track included.
In 1981, a video game titled Donkey Kong, starring a character with similarities to Kong, was released.
On the film's 50th anniversary in 1983, one New York theater held a Fay Wray scream-alike contest in its lobby, and on August 10, 2004, two days after Wray died, the lights of the Empire State Building were dimmed for 15 minutes in her memory. Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham: Michigan native and veteran Broadway and silent film character actor Robert Armstrong played Wray's alcoholic brother in The Most Dangerous Game and, during filming, became a member of the Cooper-Schoedsack inner circle.
King Kong was also, somewhat controversially, colorized in the late 1980s for television. ===Home media=== In 1984, King Kong was one of the first films to be released on LaserDisc by the Criterion Collection, and was the very first movie to have an audio commentary track included.
Criterion's audio commentary was by film historian Ron Haver; in 1985 Image Entertainment released another LaserDisc, this time with a commentary by film historian and soundtrack producer Paul Mandell.
The remake was followed by a sequel in 1986 titled King Kong Lives.
In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Those included a Turner 60th-anniversary edition in 1993 featuring a front cover that had the sound effect of Kong roaring when his chest was pressed.
In 1998, the film also saw a loosely-adapted direct-to-video animated remake, The Mighty Kong, directed by Art Scott and scored by the Sherman Brothers.
Classics label in 1999. In 2005 Warner Bros released their digital restoration of King Kong in a US 2-disc Special Edition DVD, coinciding with the theatrical release of Peter Jackson's remake.
On the film's 50th anniversary in 1983, one New York theater held a Fay Wray scream-alike contest in its lobby, and on August 10, 2004, two days after Wray died, the lights of the Empire State Building were dimmed for 15 minutes in her memory. Robert Armstrong as Carl Denham: Michigan native and veteran Broadway and silent film character actor Robert Armstrong played Wray's alcoholic brother in The Most Dangerous Game and, during filming, became a member of the Cooper-Schoedsack inner circle.
A sequel, titled Son of Kong, was fast-tracked and released the same year, with several more films made in the following decades, including two remakes which were made in 1976 and 2005 respectively, and a reboot in 2017. ==Plot== In New York Harbor, filmmaker Carl Denham, known for wildlife films in remote and exotic locations, charters Captain Englehorn's ship, the Venture, for his new project.
Classics label in 1999. In 2005 Warner Bros released their digital restoration of King Kong in a US 2-disc Special Edition DVD, coinciding with the theatrical release of Peter Jackson's remake.
In 2005, Universal Pictures released another remake of King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson.
Warners issued identical DVDs in 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, followed by a US digibook-packaged Blu-ray in 2010.
In 2009, one sold for £121,000 ($200,000) at Christie's in London. Kong's torso was streamlined to eliminate the comical appearance of the real-world gorilla's prominent belly and buttocks.
Warners issued identical DVDs in 2006 in Australia and New Zealand, followed by a US digibook-packaged Blu-ray in 2010.
In 2014 the Blu-ray was repackaged with three unrelated films in a 4 Film Favorites: Colossal Monster Collection.
A sequel, titled Son of Kong, was fast-tracked and released the same year, with several more films made in the following decades, including two remakes which were made in 1976 and 2005 respectively, and a reboot in 2017. ==Plot== In New York Harbor, filmmaker Carl Denham, known for wildlife films in remote and exotic locations, charters Captain Englehorn's ship, the Venture, for his new project.
released a Kong reboot film titled Skull Island in 2017 which was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and is the second installment of Legendary's MonsterVerse, with a sequel Godzilla vs.
Kong directed by Adam Wingard released in 2021, marking the second time Kong fights Godzilla. ==See also== List of films featuring giant monsters List of stop motion films 1933 in film List of highest-grossing films Skull Island Mighty Joe Young (1949) The Lost World (1925) Ingagi (1930) Stark Mad (1929) ==References== ===Bibliography=== Annette, Kuhn.
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