A greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.A greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.A greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 47 wins & 104 nominations total
David Dennis
- Taps
- (as David Denis)
Featured reviews
I was rather sad to see they had cut so many scenes on the DVD that were actually in the movie. The scream on the shore that first caught Kong's attention. The writer stopping the actress in the passage way, and saying "I have something to show you", this was one of many scenes left out. Suddenly they were in his room? My wife had not seen the original movie, she thought the movie was sort of jumpy. You can't deny the special effects, wonderful. I know that they are planning on releasing a 2nd copy within the next 6 months and calling it extra scenes for the director. It's a shame to cut such a fine film for the sake of making more money.
Don't get me wrong, I still love Jurassic Park, but the technology there is now twelve years old. Peter Jackson's KING KONG is the experience for which movies were invented. The CGI was incredible, the casting appropriate (this wasn't supposed to be an actor-driven, big-star film, after all), and the flow was satisfying. Even the somewhat slow build-up had a huge payoff once you see Kong running through the jungle with Ann in his giant hand. Is it a flawless movie? Probably not. But it Is a perfect example of why we go to movies in the first place-- to see things that we will never see in our real lives. When I walked out of the theater and was making my way through the deserted lobby, I had an odd feeling. Every poster I saw for an upcoming film kind of made me feel like all those movies were probably just going to be a waste of film next to KING KONG.
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
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
If a movie is three hours or longer, that usually means it already has two negative points against it. But even as the three hours and seven minutes passed, I didn't take my eyes off the television. If the "Rings" trilogies weren't enough to persuade you, now is the time for everyone to agree that Peter Jackson is one of the most imaginative individuals to ever hold the director's chair. This movie belongs to a unique class. Everyone who attempts to replicate "King Kong" should be imprisoned in a rubber room.
Then, you cram this classic remake with moving humanity, astounding amazing effects, and a ton of unforgettable imagery, and you do it all so flawlessly that it's bound to become a classic as well. In a word, Jackson's "King Kong" is amazing, fantastic, beautiful, and spectacular. I'm afraid I can't put it into one word.
Then, you cram this classic remake with moving humanity, astounding amazing effects, and a ton of unforgettable imagery, and you do it all so flawlessly that it's bound to become a classic as well. In a word, Jackson's "King Kong" is amazing, fantastic, beautiful, and spectacular. I'm afraid I can't put it into one word.
I agree, some scenes maybe are a bit too long. But what do you expect from a 3 hour movie? That it is short?
You know how the duration before you start watching.
I was thinking give it an eight or a nine. I chose nine. Because overall this still is a great adventure movie for sure.
The more recent Kong: Skull Island is a fun watch as well, but more like a fast paced action movie of it's time.
This Peter Jackson version has it's fair amount of action and still pretty good effects and tells a better and more complete story.
You know how the duration before you start watching.
I was thinking give it an eight or a nine. I chose nine. Because overall this still is a great adventure movie for sure.
The more recent Kong: Skull Island is a fun watch as well, but more like a fast paced action movie of it's time.
This Peter Jackson version has it's fair amount of action and still pretty good effects and tells a better and more complete story.
Did you know
- TriviaIt took 18 months to craft the CGI version of the Empire State Building. The real thing was built in 14 months.
- Goofs(at around 1h 15 minutes) At the end of the sequence where Kong carries Ann through the forest, there is a very brief scene where Ann is wearing pantyhose (not invented until 1959, twenty-six years after the story took place). However, Ann's legs and feet are bare in all other scenes on the island.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Carl Denham: It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.
- Crazy creditsThe end credits are set against an art deco backdrop rather than the traditional black screen. The backdrop is an exact replica, in Technicolor, of the same backdrop that was used for the opening credits in the 1933 version of "King Kong".
- Alternate versionsOn November 14, 2006, an extended edition DVD was released with 13 minutes of additional scenes edited back into the film. Denham's party is attacked both by a Ceratops immediately upon entering the jungle to rescue Ann and by a giant fish while on rafts on a river, after which they kill a giant bird while firing blindly into the jungle (the longest addition by far). Baxter's rescue of the party is extended and finishes with Jimmy's farewell to Hayes. Kong's pursuit of the party on Skull Island and his pursuit of Driscoll in NYC are slightly extended, and there are two brief additional encounters between Kong and the military in NYC. A complete breakdown is at http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=3550.
- ConnectionsEdited into It's All Gone King Kong (2005)
- SoundtracksI'm Sitting on Top of the World
Written by Ray Henderson, Joe Young, Sam Lewis (as Sam M. Lewis)
Performed by Al Jolson
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Peter Jackson's King Kong
- Filming locations
- Shelly Bay, Wellington, New Zealand(Skull Island)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $207,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $218,080,025
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $50,130,145
- Dec 18, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $556,907,510
- Runtime
- 3h 7m(187 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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