First of all, let's correct the comment of one "user" above, that Kong's creator was Ray Harryhausen! Mr. Harryhausen must be stunned to read that. The creator of Kong (as well as the entire "Lost World" [1925]) was the great Willis O'Brien.
The more I see Kong the more astonished I am at the SUCCESS of some of those special effects, and the cleverness of them. For example, it took me years to comprehend the two (!) miniature rear projections representing Driscoll (Cabot) and Darrow (Wray) screen right and left while Kong, center, battles that water-lizard-snake thing in his cave. And the blending of the miniature rear projection of Darrow in the giant mechanical hand, almost matching the animated model in front of it, seeming to peel off her clothes (and sniff them!). Endlessly fascinating.
And the musical score--derivative it may be, but at least not of other movie soundtracks, since there had been none to speak of. No, Steiner's sources are loftier: Wagner and Strauss, et al., and the whole is put together with dramatic precision and passion.
Murray Spivak's inventive, beautifully modulated sound effects are an aural accomplishment that stands alone in movie history, a do-it-yourself, seat-of-the-pants triumph at a time when technical capabilities were rudimentary (parts of the monstrous roars and screeches are Spivak's own voice which he monkeyed with, you should pardon the expression).
King Kong is what I call a "pure" film in that it is totally unbelievable, illogical, over-the-top and mesmerizing, like a dream. Pure film carries us along like a dream; it has its own mad logic of imagery and action. King Kong may be the first studio masterpiece of the sound era.
The more I see Kong the more astonished I am at the SUCCESS of some of those special effects, and the cleverness of them. For example, it took me years to comprehend the two (!) miniature rear projections representing Driscoll (Cabot) and Darrow (Wray) screen right and left while Kong, center, battles that water-lizard-snake thing in his cave. And the blending of the miniature rear projection of Darrow in the giant mechanical hand, almost matching the animated model in front of it, seeming to peel off her clothes (and sniff them!). Endlessly fascinating.
And the musical score--derivative it may be, but at least not of other movie soundtracks, since there had been none to speak of. No, Steiner's sources are loftier: Wagner and Strauss, et al., and the whole is put together with dramatic precision and passion.
Murray Spivak's inventive, beautifully modulated sound effects are an aural accomplishment that stands alone in movie history, a do-it-yourself, seat-of-the-pants triumph at a time when technical capabilities were rudimentary (parts of the monstrous roars and screeches are Spivak's own voice which he monkeyed with, you should pardon the expression).
King Kong is what I call a "pure" film in that it is totally unbelievable, illogical, over-the-top and mesmerizing, like a dream. Pure film carries us along like a dream; it has its own mad logic of imagery and action. King Kong may be the first studio masterpiece of the sound era.