King Kong

1933.

#43 / #41

Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) will do anything for a good picture, including dragging his crew to the feared Skull Island in search of a beast known as Kong.

Sarah: This movie should not be on the AFI list. It's awful. It was made to show off the special effects of the time, which were crazy for 1933. But the effects aren't used to enhance a great story. Instead, the story is sacrificed, like so many a native-virgin, to show off Kong and put on a spectacle (as evidenced by the half-hour, clay-monsters fighting sequence).

The acting is terrible. Robert Armstrong spits out his dialogue as if he is doing a half-hearted cold read. The movie is racist in its depiction of the natives of Skull Island, as well as the Asian cook aboard the ship. Speaking of the ship, the crew dynamic is just absurd. Everyone has a captain's hat on. (My guess: The studio had a bunch of extra hats lying around after some musical). And despite the fact that there is only one woman on deck, no one can seem to remember her name, and say things like, "We have to go back to save that lady."

I thought I'd feel bad for Kong, with the whole "beauty killed the beast" motif, but this seemed forced and totally inorganic. I'm sorry. I just can't watch Kong drag Ann (Fay Wray) around, peel off her clothes, and think, "Awww, that's amore."

However, this movie is unintentionally hilarious.

Eddie: Sarah doesn't understand a good special effects spectacle when she sees one. If she came down off her high horse, she might be able to enjoy KING KONG, especially because it's got a lot of classic, entertaining moments. Is the movie too long, melodramatic, and racist? Sure. Are the performances utterly ridiculous? Sure. Is it fun as hell to watch a giant monkey wrestle prehistoric creatures and stuff his face with human-snacks? You better believe it is. This movie isn't great. Sarah's probably right in that it doesn't deserve to be on the AFI list. But it's got what too many movies lack - fun.

Why You Should see it: King Kong vs. the T-Rex!