DVD Review HTF REVIEW: King Kong - Two Disc Collector's Edition (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). (1 Viewer)

[Steve Christou]

For me personally having Ray Harryhausen on a King Kong commentary track is worth far more than some film snoot droning on about this and that, the 100min documentary on disc 2 pretty much covers all we need to know about the making of Kong, and more besides.

 

[Darrell S.]

I love it! British humor rules!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Gee, there's already a previous post mentioning that the Criterian commentary covers information not included in the doc.

I wasn't really knocking Ray, so much, as the all to often lamentable attitude towards a commentary, being "let's get together and talk". I don't think there are many that can do that well.

 

[Darrell S.]

What's the point of having a commentary AND documentary if the commentary is just a couple of film snoots talking and saying, "Oh, I really love this scene!" Then just have the documentary and use the extra audio track for music only or another language or higher bit rate? I do, however think Ray Harryhausen is a national treasure and does add a lot to any discussion. And he is the greatest stop-motion animator of all time.

 

[Steve Christou]

Really? I've just gotta get my hands on a copy somehow, that info could be dynamite! Just thinking about what could be on there that wasn't covered on this sets docs and commentary will give me many a sleepless night. Btw did I mention I'm a huge fan of Ray Harryhausen's, and a lesser fan of your average Kong historian.*



* more of that British humour.

 

[Darrell S.]

Keep it up, Steve Christou!

 

[JayHM]

I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of print blemishes still present in this restoration. For example, examine the scene in the diner, or the scene of the Venture piercing the fog. I don't mind the grain in those scenes AT ALL. What I do mind are the countless bits of dirt and actual scratches on the film that weren't cleaned up. This was touted as a state-of-the-art digital restoration, but I can't really say it comes anywhere close to the quality of digital restorations like Casablanca or North by Northwest, where you'll be hard-pressed to find a single scratch or piece of dirt in the entire film.

That said, the documentary on disc 2 is excellent.

 

[MattHR]

I normally can't stand others tampering with someone else's film (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD?), but...

I loved the recreation of the spider pit sequence! Jackson and Co. went to great lengths to create this scene, one that will probably not be seen by that many people. Jackson was VERY clear that this project was in no way meant to infringe on the original filmmakers' intent. It was just a fun little adventure by a bunch of hard-core fans who were always wondering, "What if...". What a true labor of love by all involved.

I totally understand them not wanting the viewer to have the option to "insert" the scene via branching. The actual KONG footage that bookends the scene is enough. This way, no one can accuse them of "tampering" with the film. What a gas to be able to finally "see" that footage! Probably as close to the real thing as we'll ever get.

Great job, Jackson and Co.!

 

[Damin J Toell]

Well, it would be interesting find out if Warners "could not" use it, or "chose not to" use it. They may have never even attempted to contact Criterion about it. Criterion has been licensing out commentaries to various studios and labels for quite a while now. I also seem to recall an interview with Peter Becker years back where he said that they were typically never contacted by studios requesting to license their extras such that they ever had the opportunity to refuse.

Anyway, the point is that we shouldn't jump to blame either party here (not that you've done so, either, but discussions about Criterion's vaunted stinginess in this area often go there).

Further, I can completely understand if it turns out that Warners decided that they weren't interested in licensing the commentary, anyway, if they did so because they wanted this set to be entirely their own. Also, the late Mr. Haver's commentary track may be a bit off-putting to many DVD viewers, as he is clearly reading from a script (as I recall from the last time I gave my CAV set a spin - anyone should correct me if I'm getting it wrong). While this type of expert-reading-from-a-script commentary pops up now and then in the modern DVD era (and perhaps we can forgive Mr. Haver for using this technique, as it was merely the first ever commentary recorded for home video distribution), I can also understand if Warners felt that it would have been out of place on their new release.

DJ

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

I spun up this disc this afternoon for the first time. I had not seen the film in many years. It was fantastic! It just proves that great moviemaking can transcend time and advancements in technology.

 

[rich_d]

It was great movie making.

To me it is Max Steiner's score and amazing sound effects that set it apart. For 1933 ... amazing. I'd love to take the 'wayback' machine and see the first-run crowd watching that film.

My guess is that it might have been like when I went to see Jaws on first release. Different generations but perhaps a similar effect.

Sure some of the action in King Kong looks pretty hokey but the sounds ... simply terrific.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I'm sure there was much, much, much more damage in the film prior to the restoration. Honestly, when the worst damage in a 1933 film with no surviving negative is just minor dirt and scratches, it's a blessing.

I am impressed, though, how sharp the image is under the grain. Similar to the new Rear Window disc, there's a veil of grain, but loads of fine detail with it.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm sorry you're disappointed, but I think this dvd presentation is great.






Crawdaddy

 

[Colin Jacobson]

So you prefer listening to Ray go "ooh - ouch!" for 100 minutes to actually learning something about the film?

I'm shocked there's not more upset about this commentary. The Cooper parts are great, but there're too few of them. Wray barely makes a cameo. And the Harryhausen/Ralston moments - which make up the vast majority of the track - are nearly useless.

Doesn't a classic like Kong deserve better than this? I think so, but apparently I'm on my own. This commentary stinks...

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thanks, Darrell S.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thanks Mark Z.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

My goodness...such vitriol...

I listened to about half an hour of the commentary, and found it most enjoyable, if not especially informative. But, I'm a huge Harryhausen fan as well as a Kong fan, so perhaps I'm biased. He was a childhood hero of mine. It's great to hear him gushing about the film that inspired him to put his own stamp on fantastic cinema.

The documentary has tons of behind-the-scenes info, so I don't feel robbed at all. On the contrary, I feel blessed. What an absolutely wonderful release.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

A quote from the interview Robert Harris did with George Feltenstein on the restoration at thedigitalbits.com.
The best elements found were used. However, this was a "film in, film out" restoration. Not my dream of a complete digital restoration. Hence the sprocket jitter.
From third generation, at best, elements we would never get North by Northwest, Wizard of Oz, Snow White, or Casablanca PQ. I did envision a line, speck, scratch, hair free picture (at least there are no reel change marks!!!). So like The Godfather & Goodfellas, I am disappointed.
I would rate the PQ a C. Anyone rating the DVD transfer higher has no problem with me. To me it's the source, not the transfer.
On a high note I find the audio quality to be a B. The lack of all the pops that dominated every cut & scene change are gone. Even though the overture is heavily vailed and the soundtrack a bit brittle, with it's low hiss, it's the most I've ever enjoyed listening to Kong. Super 1933 soundtrack!
Just can't say it's that much better than watching Kong on TMC.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Forgot to say;
The 'Birds' look GREAT!!! (As does Fay!)
The Birds looked like scratches on the film before, now have that painted on look. And without missing frames their 'flight' is much more realistic as well.
Just so no one thinks I don't appreciate anything about this WB R1 release. I like the 'back sheet', enjoy the tin, think the program is cute (the reason I brought the tin) & love the lobby cards.

Anyone taken out the security tab???

 

[Damin J Toell]

I don't know what your "dream of a complete digital restoration" would be, but unless you know what the elements looked like and what work they did, the fact that your "dream" wasn't fulfilled isn't necessarily a problem.

DJ