King Kong

If one must have a new King Kong, the modern Beauty and the Beast story par excellence, how fortunate that it should be this grandiose version from Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), as his love of the 1933 classic is evident in every frame. Of course Jackson's King Kong is hipper, more tongue-in-cheek, and takes advantage of the enormous progress in special effects (the big ape is a far more realistic, supple figure), but even while pumping things up visually, the director stays true to the original narrative arc—following a film director (Jack Black), writer (Adrien Brody), and ingénue (Naomi Watts) to the uncharted Skull Island, home of Kong. The result is a film that's often wondrous to behold, enormously exciting, and—amazingly—even occasionally moving (thanks to the performances of Watts as the woman who “tames” the beast and Andy Serkis, who expressively limned Kong's movements for the computer artists), but also one that's way too long (at three-hours-plus) and often exhaustingly elaborate. Recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, or a two-disc widescreen version, DVD extras on the “2-Disc Special Edition” include an introduction by filmmaker Peter Jackson, the 152-minute “Post Production Diaries” behind-the-scenes documentary, a 29-minute “Kong's New York, 1933” featurette (on vaudeville, the skyscraper boom, and more), “Skull Island: A Natural History” on the fictional location (17 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for 2005's most impressive-looking creature feature.] (F. Swietek)[DVD Review—Nov. 28, 2006—Universal, 3 discs, 201 min., not rated, $34.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2005's King Kong (Deluxe Extended Edition) sports a great transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. DVD extras include an additional 13 minutes of extended footage incorporated into the film, audio commentary by writer-director Peter Jackson and writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens, a 187-minute “Recreating the Eighth Wonder” behind-the-scenes documentary, 16 deleted scenes with intros by Jackson (47 min.), a “Conceptual Design Video Galleries” montage of artwork and video clips (42 min.), four “Pre-Visualization Animatics” (30 min.), “The Eighth Blunder of the World” blooper reel (19 min.), “A Night in Vaudeville” extended performances (12 min.), “King Kong Homage” scene comparisons with the original film (10 min.), the short film “The Present” made by the cast for Jackson's birthday (10 min.), “The Missing Production Diary” (8 min.), a “Weta Collectibles” featurette on King Kong figurines (5 min.), and a DVD-ROM printable copy of the 1996 and 2005 scripts. Bottom line: an excellent extras package for a visually eye-opening if overlong film.][Blu-ray Review—Jan. 20, 2009—Universal, 188 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's King Kong features a great transfer and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include both the theatrical and extended versions of the film, audio commentary on the extended version by director/co-writer Peter Jackson and co-writer/co-producer Philippa Boyens, a picture-in-picture track with behind-the-scenes footage and cast and crew interviews, an art gallery, and the BD Live function. Bottom line: although not as extras-packed as the 3-disc DVD set, this is still a fine single-disc Blu-ray release of Jackson's remake.]