One of the most memorable films from the early 1930's was, of course, King Kong. At the time, Monster Movies of all varieties were being produced. The originator of this trend started in Germany, with the silent era The Golem from 1915 and the Expressionist offering Nosferatu in 1922. The Americans started getting into the act by the 1930s, using the Expressionist's ideas for films like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy & The Invisible Man. Monster movies tended to focus on the misunderstood, out of place monster struggling to find a place in modern society. For many Americans, this was something easy to relate to as the march of progress left many people feeling disconnected. Another huge influence on King Kong was the growing and developing genre of jungle films, many of which featured civilized man journeying into the unknown to discover the secrets of the jungle.The most well-known element of this film was the stop-motion animation. While this was not new in film, this one featured it in a huge and prominent way that made the technique quickly become a part of film culture. The influence of this movie cannot be understated; animators and filmmakers quickly latched on to the key concepts here. Within months, Japan had their own version of King Kong, which pre-figured their own Monster Movie trend by almost 16 years. Ray Harryhausen made an entire career out of this kind of animation. King Kong himself appeared in endless re-releases, remakes and sequels, keeping him in the public consciousness for decades after the original film was released.
It's always a pleasure to watch this movie, and I am greatly saddened that I could not join you for this. Enjoy!
one of the feature of the the movie that I found intriguing was the expressions on the Kong's face. It was not simply a wild beast bent on killing everything that moved. the expressions that I noted were confusion(dumb), happy, and sad. I thought that the creators were purposely refusing to show Kong as a vicious animal to build up the attachment that the audience has with him.
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong though and i am just mixing up a genuine simple minded happiness with a more vindictive and sadistic pleasure.
do you think there was anything to the expressions? or any purpose for the three I mentioned?
I think you hit the nail right on the head.
ReplyDeleteWell, when I first saw the King Kong I was five or six. My dad loved it and I had nightmares for months. It is definitely a lot scarier when you're five, but the feeling I had at the end of the movies was exactly the same. I didn't care how many people Kong had killed I just wanted the planes to stop shooting at him. So, I guess I got exactly what the creators wanted me get out of it.
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