RKO Production 601: The Making of 'Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World'

RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong (2005)

*** (out of 4)

Impressive documentary about the making of KING KONG, the 1933 monster movie that changed history and created one of the most legendary icons of the century. Rudy Behlmer, Ray Harryhausen, Peter Jackson, Rick Baker, John Landis, Fay Wray, Bob Burns and Frank Darabont are among the people interviewed here and it's clear that they all have a strong passion for the giant ape. The documentary starts off talking about Merian C. Cooper and how his various adventures help create the story of Kong. Mix his story in with the silent film THE LOST WORLD as well as the abandoned RKO picture CREATION and you've got what eventually became KING KONG. The documentary runs just under 90-minutes and it really gives you a great idea of all the trouble that the filmmakers had to put up with to get the final product on the screen. There's talk about the various issues with the special effects, the budget concerns and we even get to hear about the studio forcing some of the actors into doing THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME so that they could get another film out of it. There's stories about the huge hit that the film became and we also get to hear about the 1938 release that caused countless cuts the violence and sexuality in the film and we hear about all the scenes that are still missing. This here leads to a discussion on the lost spider pit sequence and this takes us to a rather large portion where Peter Jackson and his team recreate the sequence and we see this in full. I think the film would have been better had it just stayed focused on the KONG story. The stuff with the spider pit probably would have been best with its own film and we even get a very long sequence where the script to CREATION (1931) is read. I think both of these could have been done in their own documentary but still, there's no question that fans are going to enjoy this documentary because of the wealth of information there is in regards to that 1933 classic.

The special edition DVD of King Kong is a must have for any fan of this movie or of classic films in general.

The best part of that DVD (save for the movie itself) is the lengthy making of documentary that goes into considerable depth on every aspect of the making of the film from the conception and writing to the special effects and exhibition and everything in-between. A standout sequence is where Peter Jackson and an effects crew recreate for demonstration purposes some of the film's animation and special effects and even restore a lost sequence to the film. A must see for any stop-motion buff.

There are equally in depth segments on casting, music, writing and direction. This film is the best look the average person will ever get of the process of creating an epic film in the 1930's.

Wow, this is great. If you are a fan of the original 1933 King Kong, this is a must-see. It contains lots of footage, pictures, and in depth interviews with people like Peter Jackson, Rick Baker, Joe Dante, Ray Harryhausen, and even Harry Knowles of "Ain't It Cool News".

This isn't just about the film, it gets into the history of the filmmakers (Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack), their past films, and the history of RKO.

They talk about the story, the history, the special effects, the music, the sound effects, everything that made King Kong great. The highlight, personally for me, is the whole segment on the "Lost Spider Pit Sequence", which, if you don't know, is one of the greatest mysteries in the history of cinema. I just love seeing Peter Jackson and his crew rebuild it using vintage, original equipment, just like in the '30's.

Overall, this is an excellent documentary, and they did an excellent job given the limited information they had.

10/10!

I enjoy breaking this documentary out every year or so. It's crazy detailed about the making of KING KONG, leaving no stone unturned. My favorite part is actually about the aborted project CREATION. While I would not trade KING KONG for anything, it is intriguing to think about how that movie might have turned out.