King Kong Movie Comparison
The King of Kong
The movies King Kong (1976) and King Kong (2005) based on the 1933 film are some of the most captivating films that offer to the audience memorable characters, resonating emotions, thrilling actions and archetypal narratives. Bierman indicates that the heart-stopping and jaw-dropping King Kong films have been made to expand visual languages mostly expressed by motion pictures to capture the core appeal which many classic movies have (57). As this paper examines, the 1976 King Kong movie and its 2005 re-make display certain similarities and differences in terms of art, style and technological wonder as well as poignant character development. These are indicative of the evolution of the Hollywood style. Besides, as movies of high polysemy quality, their audience draw attention to aspects like overt sexism, misogyny, cultural portrayal of women as fault makers and victims, fears of miscegenation, racist ideologies and capitalist fables. It is against this front that this paper holistically examines the two King Kong movies and concludes by exploring the American culture, society and politics at the time when both films were made. The movie King Kong made in 1976 was produced by Dino De Laurentis alongside John Guillermin as the director. Being an American monster movie, King Kong (1976) remarkably reflected the 1933 King Kong classic film (Farber 104). This movie stars Jessica Lange, Charles Grodin and Jessica bridges. According to credible sources, the King Kong 1976 movie whose cost of making is estimated to have been $24 million was done by the universal studio and distributed by Paramount Pictures. While the 1976 movie has been considered by critics to bear a lot of fun, one would agree with the common wisdom which contends that in comparison to the classic 1933 film and the 2005 re-make, the 1976 King Kong movie was considerably below the expected standards. According to Stymeist, this was reflected in its lack of original magic as it
The movies King Kong (1976) and King Kong (2005) based on the 1933 film are some of the most captivating films that offer to the audience memorable characters, resonating emotions, thrilling actions and archetypal narratives. Bierman indicates that the heart-stopping and jaw-dropping King Kong films have been made to expand visual languages mostly expressed by motion pictures to capture the core appeal which many classic movies have (57). As this paper examines, the 1976 King Kong movie and its 2005 re-make display certain similarities and differences in terms of art, style and technological wonder as well as poignant character development. These are indicative of the evolution of the Hollywood style. Besides, as movies of high polysemy quality, their audience draw attention to aspects like overt sexism, misogyny, cultural portrayal of women as fault makers and victims, fears of miscegenation, racist ideologies and capitalist fables. It is against this front that this paper holistically examines the two King Kong movies and concludes by exploring the American culture, society and politics at the time when both films were made. The movie King Kong made in 1976 was produced by Dino De Laurentis alongside John Guillermin as the director. Being an American monster movie, King Kong (1976) remarkably reflected the 1933 King Kong classic film (Farber 104). This movie stars Jessica Lange, Charles Grodin and Jessica bridges. According to credible sources, the King Kong 1976 movie whose cost of making is estimated to have been $24 million was done by the universal studio and distributed by Paramount Pictures. While the 1976 movie has been considered by critics to bear a lot of fun, one would agree with the common wisdom which contends that in comparison to the classic 1933 film and the 2005 re-make, the 1976 King Kong movie was considerably below the expected standards. According to Stymeist, this was reflected in its lack of original magic as it
Cited: Belton, John. American cinema/American culture. Rockefeller, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Bierman, Joseph. "Cinema at the periphery”. Journal of Film and Video 63.2 (2011): 56- 58. Print. Farber, Helmut. "King Kong: One more interpretation, or, what cinema tells about itself.” Discourse 22.2 (2000): 104-127. Print. Loxton, Daniel. "Skull Island, Canada.” Skeptic 14.1 (2008): 12-14. Print. Prime, Rebecca. "Living dangerously: the adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong. Film Quarterly 60.2 (2006): 63-64. Print. Schleier, Merrill. "The empire state building, working-class masculinity, and King Kong.” Mosaic: a Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 41.2 (2008): 29- 54. Print. Sexton, Jared. "The ruse of engagement: black masculinity and the cinema of policing.” American Quarterly 61.1 (2009): 39-64. Print. Stymeist, David. "Myth and the monster cinema.” Anthropologica 51.2 (2009): 395-406. Print. King Kong (2005). Movie. Universal Pictures. WingNut Films. King Kong (1976). Movie. Dino De Laurentiis Company.