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King Kong - Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Peter Jackson

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Set in the 1930s, this is the story of a group of explorers and filmmakers who travel to the mysterious Skull Island (near Sumatra) to investigate legends of a giant gorilla named Kong. Once there, they discover that Kong is a real creature, living in a massive jungle where creatures from prehistoric times have been protected and hidden for millions of years. As the explorers search for the great ape, their quest puts them up against both Kong and his dinosaur enemies. Ultimately, it is the attention of a beautiful human woman that soothes Kong long enough for him to be subdued by the explorers and shipped back to New York, where his bleak future involves being put on display in front of humans... but how long can even the mightiest shackles of man hold back an ape 8 metres tall?

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Monster adventure thriller giant gorilla New York Indonesia dinosaur action Skull Island native sacrifice

Persons of interest

Naomi Watts .... Ann Darrow
Jamie Bell .... Jimmy
Jack Black .... Carl Denham
Adrien Brody .... Jack Driscoll
Kyle Chandler .... Bruce Baxter
Thomas Kretschmann .... Captain Englehorn
Evan Parke .... First Mate
Andy Serkis .... King Kong, Lumpy the Cook
John Sumner .... Herb
Lobo Chan .... Choy
Evan Parke .... Hayes
Craig Hall .... Mike
Colin Hanks .... Preston
Merian C Cooper .... Storywriter
Edgar Wallace .... Storywriter
Frances Walsh .... Screenwriter
Philippa Boyens .... Screenwriter
Peter Jackson .... Screenwriter
Peter Jackson .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

King Kong official movie sites:

Fan
Movie

King Kong movie trailers:

QuickTime

Awards and film festivals:

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS - Oscars) 2005: Won: Achievement in sound editing (Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn), Achievement in sound mixing (Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, Hammond Peek), Achievement in visual effects (Joe Letteri, Brian Van't Hul, Christian Rivers, Richard Taylor); Nominated: Achievement in art direction (Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Simon Bright)
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Awards 2006: Won: Best Actress (Naomi Watts), Best Direction (Peter Jackson), Best Special Effects (Joe Letteri, Richard Taylor, Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul); Nominated: Best Fantasy Film, Best Writing (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson), Best Costume (Terry Ryan), Best Make-Up (Richard Taylor, Gino Acevedo, Dominie Till, Peter Swords-King)
American Film Institute (AFI) 2005: Movie of the year - Official selection
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) 2005: Won: Achievement in special visual effects (Joe Letteri, Christian Rivers, Brian Van't Hul, Richard Taylor); Nominated: Production design (Grant Major), Sound (Hammond Peek, Christopher Boyes, Mike Hopkins, Ethan Van der Ryn)
Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2005: Won: Best sequel, prequel or remake; Nominated: Best actor - Non-human (Kong)
Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) 2005: Nominated: Director (Peter Jackson), Original Score (James Newton Howard)
MTV Movie Awards 2006: Nominated: Best movie, Best fight (Kong vs the planes)
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Nominated: Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best actress (Naomi Watts), Best musical score (James Newton Howard)
Visual Effects Society Awards 2005: Nominated: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture (Eileen Moran, Joe Letteri, Christian Rivers, Eric Saindon), Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture (Kong - Andy Serkis, Atsushi Sato, Guy Williams, Eric Saindon), Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture (New York Dawn Attack - Dan Lemmon, R Christopher White, Matt Aitken, Charles Tait), Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture (T-Rex Fight - Erik Winquist, Michaell Pangrazio, Steve Cronin, Suzanne Jandu)

Studios and distributors:

Universal Pictures * United International Pictures

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

I remember the 1933 Fay Wray classic from numerous screenings on TV. I think I even saw the 1976 Dino DeLaurentiis remake (I was too young to have good taste); Thank heavens I never heard of the sequel (King Kong lives). Now that Peter Jackson has added his take on the subject I feel that the circle is complete. King Kong is almost the movie that Merian C Cooper and Ernest B Schoedsack were trying to make 70 years ago.

If you can put aside the problem that you already know the story (Beauty kills the Beast) - that Peter Jackson hasn't changed it to any significant degree - then this version of King Kong is a great action/adventure flick with great special effects, interesting characterisation and lots of thrills and spills: it's a hoot. If you remember anything from the original then you'll (maybe) enjoy seeing all the old familiar faces in all the old familiar places. If you watch the first version beforehand you'll get three hours of wandering through some cool special effects and a bit more dirt (ie grit).

Three hours is too long for this film - it should be cut down to a 2 hour, 50 minute movie - as it has a tendency to drag, even through the exciting action bits. However, King Kong is still a great theme park ride, and afterThe lord of the rings we can forgive Peter Jackson just about anything. Have fun.