In 1933, two bold and visionary directors dared to make a film that eclipsed everything that had gone before. When King Kong was released, the Hollywood film was celebrated as an artistic and technical revolution and became the first myth created by the young art form of cinema.
An American triumph of 1933, King Kong established itself as a milestone in film history. This is the story of the making of a mythical film, born from the imagination of a visionary trio.
It may be the very first myth created by cinema. Just as the medium was entering its adolescence with the advent of sound, King Kong premiered in 1933, amid the Great Depression in the United States, and instantly stood out as a monumental and extraordinary work. Behind this wildly successful fiction were two explorer-filmmakers: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Enthralled by adventure novels and the works of Joseph Conrad, these World War I veterans, scarred by combat, joined forces in the 1920s to shoot wild, improbable films on location in Abyssinia, Iran, and Siam. Their motto: "Keep it distant, difficult, and dangerous."
Back in Hollywood, these daredevils envisioned a grand spectacle centred on a giant ape, refusing to hold back on any extravagance. They enlisted the talents of special effects virtuoso Willis O'Brien, who brought King Kong to life through stop-motion animation-a major technical challenge at the time. The result was terrifying for audiences and for the film's young heroine (played by star Fay Wray), whose screams became legendary. The screenplay was fine-tuned by Ruth Rose, Schoedsack's wife-a modern woman who infused the film with its social edge, critical tone, and erotic tension. In a word, she gave King Kong its wild modernity.
Nature Under Siege
How did the images of King Kong-the creature atop the Empire State Building, or delicately stripping leaves from a tiny woman held in his hand-come to be, and how did they etch themselves into our collective imagination? This archive-rich documentary retraces the film's origins by delving into the unusual careers of its creators and explores the reasons behind the enduring success of this cinematic icon, which continues to inspire reinterpretations today. The tale of the ape, torn from his island and turned into a sideshow attraction, now reads as an allegory of nature violated by mankind, with no choice but to fight back.
