King Kong is Back!
The original King Kong was written and directed by Merian C. Cooper (with a bit…just a bit of help from Edgar Wallace). Stop-motion animation maestro Willis O’Brien brought the great ape to life. He defeated all comers on Skull Island – from dinosaurs to flying reptiles, only to find doom atop the Empire State Building when a civilized flying beast – a biplane, brought him down.
Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray and Bruce Cabot, made its debut in early 1933 and was an instant hit. It’s final line, “Twas beauty killed the beast,” has become one of the most famous in movie history. In preparation for this great event, the original movie will, for the first time, come out on DVD, and many books are in production and will be coming out in the coming months. Kong fans, new and old, can hardly wait.
DVDs
There are going to be three of them. Count ’em, three. (SRP means suggested retail price, by the way).
The King Kong: Two-Disc Special Edition (SRP $26.99) :
* will include the 104-minute restored and remastered B&W film on video in its original full frame, with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio and English, French and Spanish subtitles.
* Extras will include audio commentary (by Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston, with Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Ruth Rose, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong), the 2005 I’m Kong: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper documentary, a gallery of trailers for other films by director Merian C. Cooper, the new RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World documentary by Peter Jackson (featuring the following featurettes: The Origins of King Kong, Willis O’Brien and Creation, Cameras Roll on Kong, The Eighth Wonder, A Milestone in Visual Effects, Passion, Sound and Fury, The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence and King Kong’s Legacy) and Creation test footage (with commentary by Ray Harryhausen).
The King Kong: Two-Disc Collector’s Edition (SRP $39.98)
will include all of the above in limited tin packaging that also features a 20-page reproduction of the original 1933 souvenir program, King Kong original one-sheet reproduction postcards and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage theatrical poster. This is the set I recommend.
The King Kong Four-Disc Collector’s Set (SRP $39.92)
will include the King Kong: Two-Disc Special Edition along with The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young. It will NOT include the extras in the Collector’s Edition tin.
This is not a tragedy, however, for The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young will also be available separately.
The Son of Kong
will include the 70-minute restored B&W film on video in the original full frame, with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio and English, French and Spanish subtitles. Extras will include the theatrical trailer.
Mighty Joe Young
will include the 94-minute restored B&W film on video in its original full frame, with Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio and English, French and Spanish subtitles. Extras will include audio commentary (by Ray Harryhausen, Ken Ralston and Terry Moore), 2 new featurettes (*Ray Harryhausen and The Chioda Brothers and *Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young) and the film’s theatrical trailer.
Novelizations
There are two novelizations coming, based on the Peter Jackson movie.
Matt Costello has written the “Official” Prequel to the movie, The Island of the Skull, based on the story by Peter Jackson. It’s published by Pocket Star Books and is scheduled to be out in October.
Christopher Golden has written the official novelization of the Peter Jackson movie – Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World. Pocket Star Books. $7.99. This is going to be released in December.
For another prequel (and sequel), check out the already published Kong, King of Skull Island. (It came out in 2004 in hardback, the paperback version will be released in October 2005, for $19.95 and have additional material.) It’s a sequel to the movie, taking place 25 years after the death of King Kong beneath the Empire State Building, as Carl Denham’s son, a respected paleontologist, strives to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of his father, and the body of the giant ape, lo those many years ago. In so doing he learns the history of the “advanced civilization” that built the wall and worshipped Kong. It’s an oversized book, with lots of sepia and several full color illustrations that leap off the page at you.
Months before the original King Kong made its debut, a novelization was released (in late 1932, in other words). Delos W. Lovelace was the author, from the screenplay by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper. This book has long fascinated Kong fans, because it contains the famous ‘spider sequence’ which is not present in the film.
What is the spider sequence, I can hear some of you asking. While the movie crew is on Skull Island, chasing after King Kong who has abducted movie starlet Ann Darrow, some sailors attempt to cross a gorge via a gigantic log which spans the chasm. Kong lifts up the log, moves it around a bit until the sailors fall off, and then tosses the log into the gorge after them. At the bottom of the gorge are giant spiders, who proceed to dispatch the unfortunate sailors.
At one of the previews for the movie, audience reaction was so negative to this scene that Merian C. Cooper says he himself cut it out of the film. Now it’s one of the most sought after pieces! (And it is supposed to be ‘re-enacted’ for the Peter Jackson documentary which will accompany the 1933 King Kong DVD releases, also in December.)
Two versions of this are being released – Modern Library Classics is re-releasing it on August 16, 2005, with a preface by Mark Cotta Vaz and an introduction by Greg Baer. 192 pages. $8.76 Underwood Books is also releasing it, with a scheduled date of Sept 9, 2005. 160 pages. $9.95. It is illustrated in full color.
And last but not least, there’s Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong, a new adaptation of the original screenplay, written by Joe DeVito and Brad Strickland, authorized by the Merian C. Cooper estate. (They’re also the authors of Kong: King of Skull Island). This is scheduled to come out in October, with a painted cover and several b&w interior illustrations.
According to Joe DeVito: It “will retain the original 1930s time frame, characters, and storyline. It will also add four new chapters and bring the paleontology up to date while making the story far more accessible. While the plot line and characters are unchanged, there are some very interesting additions to the original novel. These further nuance the storyline with which all Kong fans are so familiar. Brad and I hope it will be a worthy contribution to the overall Kong lore.”
Books about the Film
If you haven’t been introduced to the Kong phenomena before, you can get a seminal book right now: Kong: The Spawn of Skull Island. It is an updated version of the book first published in 1975 as The Making of King Kong: The Story Behind a Film Classic, by Orville Goldner and George Turner. Turner worked steadily on material with which to update the book, but died in 1999. Luminary Press has updated the work with chapters on dinosaur and Kong films since 1975, and added introductions from Ray Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury. It’s a gem.
Scheduled for November 15, 2005 release is King Kong : The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson (Paperback) by Ray Morton. Applause Books. 320 pages. “It is the first book to chronicle the making of all seven feature films in which the character of Kong has appeared, including the hotly anticipated Peter Jackson film opening in December 2005. It is generously illustrated with photographs, production art, and promotional materials from the author’s extensive private collection. Morton has interviewed the surviving members of each major film. A colorful overview of the tremendous amount of collectible Kong merchandise is also on view for all the fans of Kongdom to devour.”
King Kong Cometh, edited by Paul A. Woods. $19.95. $13.57 from Amazon. July 10, 2005. Plexus Press. This “pays homage to the colossal gorilla who has wreaked havoc on the silver screen since 1933. This vividly illustrated compendium traces the evolution of King Kong, from his predecessors in the jungle-movie travelogues of the 1920s and 1930s to B-movies and American and Japanese spin-offs of the legendary motion picture.
Highlights include the infamous faked “mondo movie” Ingagi, the influence of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, Edgar Wallace’s original story, Kong animator Ray Harryhausen, scream queen Fay Wray, the impact of Kong on monster mags of the fifties, sixties, and seventies, Dino de Laurentis’s remake of King Kong in 1976, and finally, the cinematic event of 2005 – Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson’s multimillion dollar remake of King Kong. Offering the best new and vintage writings on King Kong, his forebears, and his descendants, King Kong Cometh provides monster coverage to satiate the avid King Kong fan. Includes 100 black-and-white photos.”
Other titles to come include World of King Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island. By Pocket Books. To be released in December 2005, The Making of King Kong, by Jenny Wake. 192 pages. Pocket Books. December, 2005, and King Kong Is Back! : An Unauthorized Look at One Humongous Ape! (Smart Pop series) (Paperback) edited by David Brin (240 pages, Benbella Books, with a scheduled release date of Nov 28, 2005.
Apparently not to be re-released is The Girl in the Hairy Paw: King Kong as myth, movie and monster. A Flare Book. 233 pages. 1976. A pity, because I really love that title.
