kongisking
Active member
Stoo said:The concept alone is camp! Who was it that defined camp as "tragically ludicrous or ludicrously tragic"? That's what Kong is, a ridiculous concept so I wasn't talking about the acting in the '33 film. Speaking of that, it seems hammy because it is hammy. There are plenty of early '30s films with stellar performances and "King Kong" is not one of them. It's essentially a B movie with utterly amazing technical effects.
I like Jack Black a lot but his portrayal of Denham in the '05 film is goofy, over-the-top and not serious at all. That's camp.
Despite what you think, the '76 film was not meant to be intentionally cheesy. De Laurentiis even said things like, "Intellectuals gonna love this new Kong movie" and "When the shark in 'Jaws' died, nobody cry. When da big-a monkey dies, everybody gonna cry". This take was an attempt to give the story a more serious treatment & more emotional depth than the original.
Maybe you don't know but Women's Lib was still going strong in the mid-'70s and "male chauvinist pig" was a common term so Dwan's line was very fitting. If you can overlook certain aspects of the '33 film for being of it's time, then you should be able to do the same for the '76.
By the way, what do you mean by Dwan "flipping her sheet"?
Also, I'm not saying that the '76 movie is the greatest version, I said that it has become better with age. It has some dodgy effects here & there but most of the film is done well?and it was a HUGE success back then! It also has a message that the other 2 versions don't (which is even more relevant today than it was before).
There's an extended cut available? I'd heard of such a thing once existing but didn't know it was still around. Should look into that indeed.
And don't misread my tone, I am absolutely not a hater of '76 Kong or trying to slam you liking it. I admit I have such huge respect for the original film, that I don't really like some of the creative decisions '76 made, but that just means its not my favorite take on this magical story. I do need to see it more as you say, since that's probably why its so vague in my mind compared to the other versions which I've seen much more often. I don't expect to suddenly adore it with all my soul, but I got no beef with you liking this Kong.
I can believe De Laurentiis was attempting more seriousness, but I personally think it came across as even more cheesy somehow (maybe because the more modern dialogue used is more jarring than 30's style writing, where you just more easily take it with the (to modern eyes like mine) weird, special style of pictures made back then?), but as you say, this is a fundamentally overblown concept.
But I think Jackson's Kong more or less succeeded at making a serious and more mature version...and I think Jack Black gave a strong performance too! He was perfectly chosen for this version of Denham which was a more reckless, egotistical, desperate-for-fame-and-glory director with a manic energy and boundless passion. Nobody can ever beat Robert Armstrong, of course, but Black's take on Denham is excellent too.
In the end, I just need to rewatch the darned thing. Its just so vague in my memory that I need a refresher. Thanks for the motivation, Stoo!
And the 'flipping her sheet' was me trying to basically say 'flipping her ****' (its an expression meaning basically 'to throw a fit') but I wanted to get around the profanity filter. Oh well, fail.