King Kong (2005)

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay),

Stars:

Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody

Won 3 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 48 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Naomi Watts	...	Ann Darrow
Jack Black	...	Carl Denham
Adrien Brody	...	Jack Driscoll
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Captain Englehorn
Colin Hanks	...	Preston
Andy Serkis	...	Kong / Lumpy
Evan Parke	...	Hayes
Jamie Bell	...	Jimmy
Lobo Chan	...	Choy
John Sumner	...	Herb
Craig Hall	...	Mike
Kyle Chandler	...	Bruce Baxter
William Johnson	...	Manny
Mark Hadlow	...	Harry
Geraldine Brophy	...	Maude

Storyline

Carl Denham needs to finish his movie and has the perfect location; Skull Island. But he still needs to find a leading lady. This 'soon-to-be-unfortunate' soul is Ann Darrow. No one knows what they will encounter on this island and why it is so mysterious, but once they reach it, they will soon find out. Living on this hidden island is a giant gorilla and this beast now has Ann is its grasps. Carl and Ann's new love, Jack Driscoll must travel through the jungle looking for Kong and Ann, whilst avoiding all sorts of creatures and beasts. But Carl has another plan in mind.

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Plot Keywords:

island | jungle | gorilla | 1930s | film director | 

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Taglines:

The eighth wonder of the world.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [uk]

Country:

New Zealand USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Peter Jackson's King Kong

Filming Locations:

Beach Road, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$207,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$213,679 (South Africa) (6 January 2006)

Gross:

$218,051,260 (USA) (31 March 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, WingNut Films, Big Primate Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

187 min 201 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the beginning of the film there is a shot of a restaurant in New York called "BG's Sandwiches." It is a nod to BG Hacker, who organized and catered the New York premiere parties for Peter Jackson's production people on all three "Lord of the Rings" films.

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Goofs

The on screen camera and sound recording gear depicted in the film bear no resemblance to the mass of equipment; mixers, recorders, lead-acid batteries, heavy cables, generators, and tens of thousand of feet of film (ten minutes worth weights 5 pounds) required for a location sound production (even a documentary) in the period the film is supposedly set. Sound cameras were never hand-cranked but instead, electrically driven from the same generator that connected to the sound recorder in order for them to stay in sync. And the sound recorder, then called a sound camera employed a photographic rather than magnetic recording process, which didn't come in to common use until after WWII.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Manny: [practicing sneezes] That's a funny one. Isn't that funnier?

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits: "This film is dedicated with love and respect to the original adventurers of Skull Island: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Willis H. O'Brien, Max Steiner, Robert Armstrong and ... the incomparable Fay Wray. They continue to inspire all those who follow in their footsteps."

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Connections

References Footlight Parade (1933)

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Soundtracks

"Aboriginal Sacrifice Dance"
from the underscore of the King Kong
Written by Max Steiner

User Reviews

Truly A Masterpiece!

Let me just say that with all of the remakes that have been coming out, King Kong may have been the most deserving and the most in need of being remade. I could not think of a better director for this type of film than Peter Jackson.

King Kong stays pretty true to the original. Naomi Watts plays Fay Wray's Ann Darrow perfectly. Right down to her emotional connection with Kong, which is helped by the fact that Kong is pretty darn lovable when he is not ripping apart dinosaurs.

Adrien Brody plays a great Jack Driscoll as well. Brody is truly a gifted actor and plays a good hero.

Even Jack Black did a good job as the rebellious director Carl Denham. Usually I am annoyed by Black's performances, even though they are mostly in comedies. Surprisingly, Black kept his character serious and the movie is better for it. I though for sure he would be the one to ruin this movie for me but, again, I stand corrected. The comedy seemed to be reserved for Kong, himself, and did a wonderful job.

I can not express how much more I enjoyed this movie without the "guy in the suit" special effects. Kong was very appealing visually, as well as the other dinosaurs. I do not say this too much in reviews. In fact, I doubt I have ever said it but King Kong has turned out to be a masterpiece which will raise the bar for many years to come. 10/10