King Kong: The Practical Effects Wonder - Documentary
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- Опубликовано: 28 фев 2023
- In this documentary, Katie Keenan details the intricate work that went into 1933's King Kong film, including the pre-production process, practical effects work, and its overall significance for all of time. With photos and diagrams, audiences are able to understand what went into this movie and how Willis O'Brien transformed real life and miniature sets into single incredible shots, proving the timelessness of the film.
Since posting on RUclips, this documentary has garnered over 100k views and counting, sparking conversations in the comments regarding the significance of King Kong and the work put into it.
Created/Written/Edited by Katie Keenan
Created for a school documentary project.
Business email: katiekeenanfilm@gmail.com
Portfolio: www.behance.net/katiekeenan1
Instagram: @katiekeenanfilm
Read pinned comment regarding my WW1/WW2 mistake!
FAIR USE NOTICE:
The material in this video is provided for educational and informational purposes. It is believed that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
It's crazy that KING KONG wasn't nominated for any awards in 1933. No other movie from that year, nor from that entire decade came close to the cinematic innovation achieved in KONG. But beyond the groundbreaking effects, the film is multi-layered with timeless themes and that's really why it endures after 90 years.
It is indeed, considering the round breaking filmmaking on display with the mix of effects, sound effects, music, and editing. Fred Jackman and Sidney Saunders did win a technical achievement award at the 1934 Oscars for their development and effective use of the translucent cellulose screen in composite photography for R.K.O. which was first used in King Kong, for I believe the scene where Kong fights the T-Rex fight while Ann watches from atop the tree.
Its that fsacinating that this movie STILL works...i watch this maybe 6 yrs old with my big brother on TV and now i am 58, still love this movie and have that great memories, it was the "movie of my big brother and me" and we watched it the last time we were together. He died a few days later at the age of 46, very unexpected.
And i think KONG was the ignition of every special effect, it shows what is possible on screen and i am sure it makes many great names like Stan Winston etc be interested in SFX, and of course Ray Harryhausen.
I belive they didn't have a category for special effects awards until 1980 for American Werewolf in London
@@bentramer682
Then it should have been up for best picture, screenplay, editing or sound recording. The tight dialogue and pacing is flawless, and what KONG did for the relatively new technology of sound films is undeniable. Or it should have gotten a special Oscar for "Best Unique and Artistic Picture" -- the award given to SUNRISE in 1929. In any case, KONG is certainly a more worthy contender than what won 1933's best picture -- CAVALCADE. I mean seriously, what were they thinking???
The award didn't exist for the first decade or so when the academy was created, it was more so just appreciating the work that went into the effects than winning something, but King Kong was so revolutionary I believe it won an honorary Oscar.
Actually Katie, Cooper and Schoedsack met in WW I. WW II didn't begin until 1939, 6 years after King Kong was made.
She probably just misspoke
This is still the best version of King Kong. None of the remakes even come close.
KATIE’S NOTE:
Hi thank you all for watching! I never intended for so many to see it! I am a film student and I made this as a project and uploaded it to RUclips for my portfolio in hopes for an internship somewhere. It was a rushed project because I had to complete it in 2 weeks in addition to my overall workload so I definitely might have accidentally said the wrong things and never realized. For example, they definitely met in WW1 and I can’t believe I accidentally said WW2 🤯! All other errors are my mistakes as well! This was made in only a couple weeks and I am no historical expert on the matter. Just did some research and relayed it as best as I could! I am learning with film as I go so thank you for your criticism! When I tried to edit the video in YT Studio, it wouldn’t let me since it got so many views. The comments are a great resource for information as well! I do hope people learned something about my favorite movie of all time
LOL! Ditto! My most successful video was just an experiment in creating a step-by-step guide. People watch for weird reasons. I clicked on your video primarily to see the truck @4:32. But I enjoyed the entire video.
You did a great job, and it's my favorite film as well. Very nicely done.
Don't beat yourself over that WW2 issue. Remember that Game of Thrones which had millions of dollars for a budget and hundreds of production staff and highly paid producers, directors, and actors still featured a Starbucks cup in a scene. The pacing of your video was excellent, the explanations of the filming techniques clear. Should you wish to, with today's technology, you can edit that portion in the future without having to waste film.
If I was your professor, I'd still give you an A for that. Maybe even an A+.
You did a great job. I knew King Kong was a classic and revolutionary, but never understood just how complex the effects really were. And yes, they are still effective today!
Well done, Katie! A great mini-doc packed with lots of wonderful info. I learned a lot today! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for a very fine documentary. I was born in 1953 NYC. The million Dollar Movie on channel 9 at 8:00 played the same film all week, So I saw Kong a lot as soon as I could turn on the TV. At the dinner table, my father said that I could have anything I wanted if I got straight A's in 1st grade. I did get A's and my father said 'what would you like", thinking a comic or a 10 cent balsa airplane. I said 'I want to go to the Empire State Building' 'Why" my father had the most puzzled look' 'Cause that's where King Kong was' I stated my fathers promise . . .OK . . .So one Saturday we went to my grandmas in the Bronx, dropped off my mother & brother and my father & I got on the subway and emerged at the ESB. Up we went to the observation deck . . . .Honestly and seriously, I am 70, something of an expert in films. KK is my favorite. There is real excitement and terror in the film. The soundtrack/music score is a masterpiece. It stands alone. I eventually met Fay Wray just a few years before her death and got an autograph
A movie way ahead of its time and can't be replicated with a remake. A classic I grew up watching.
That doesn't mean the 2005 film is any bad, it's well made in its own right
I absolutely agree. All that innovation is still ambient even after 90 years. Sure, sfx have come a long way as far as efficiency, but the overall 'look' is what matters in the end, and the original KONG has a gritty, primeval feel to it that is perfectly suited to the subject matter which modern digital effects just cannot replicate. I'm sure some of this is due to the film being black & white, which also lends a 'documentary' feel which is appropriate given the movie is based on the exploits of the filmmakers, it depicts the then-current Great Depression and features the newly constructed Empire State Building. All of this 'on-the-spot' energy is sensed as you watch the original KONG.😊
Cooper and Schoedsack met during world war 1 is what I think you meant. Kong was made in 1933 and if they had met during WWII they would have needed to go back in time. A relatively minor detail. King Kong must always be regarded as one of the top 10 greatest accomplishments in cinema if not the greatest. There are many great films from the past but how many of them are truly important to the craft itself like this movie was and is. Truly one of the eight wonders of Cinema. Ray Harryhausen would go on to perfect stop action film. His masterpiece in my opinion is Jason and the Argonauts. This is only worth a mention because it is a tribute to how King Kong innovated this type of film.
good catch, Hoover!
Yo, she made a nice correction in the description! She also said people will refer to this movie techniques "till the end of time"; which is unlikely, haha
@@THRASHMETALFUNRIFFS
Yo....
Did not see that.
The end of time can be construed many ways. This magnificent cinematic feat WILL not be forgotten until there is a time when there is nothing to remember. I do believe she was using a figure of speech.
Have you ever heard the riff in the middle of My Sharona? Pretty good I think.
@@hoover2501 Whoa, are we talking about the riff change at 2:40 with the ripping solo?! I don't believe I remember this video or even heard the whole song but I definitely had the Weird Al - Dare to Be Stupid cassette version of My Bologna. This bassist has an awesome Rickenbacker like Cliff Burton from Metallica and the guitarist shredding on that cool Les Paul!
If it wasn't for the stop motion techniques used in this movie, we would never have had the AT-AT scenes at the beginning of George Lucas' Empire Strikes Back.
To me, this is the perfect movie. It has something for everyone. There's action, romance, adventure, and giant monsters! Who could ask for anything more?
KING KONG (1933) - JAWS (1975) - ALIEN (1979) are perfect films.
Unfortunately, I wanted to see a movie about action, romance, adventure, giant monsters and flesh eating robots. So, no thank you.
@@cyrusq5999 I will exchange The Wolf-Man (1941) for Jaws, and decree your list correct! :)
@Bennett Theissen lol go back to sleep FFS 🥴🥴🥴🙄🙄🙄🥴🥴🥴
Well, although was made more in the vein of comedic satire, the other classic movie that your comment also fits with, is Caveman!! Freakin’ loved that movie ever since first seeing it IN THEATER back in ‘81! That one, was what caused me to appreciate early cinema special effects, alongside enjoying countless hours of cartoon show, Gumby… I don’t think I watched this original Kong until either late Jr High or early HS @ 1990; incredible amount of work/talent!
I met Linwood Dunn and Cecil Love in the mid 1970’s and worked with them at Film Effects of Hollywood for a short time. It was an honor to work with such brilliant people.
I had seen Mr. Dunn give a presentation at FILMEX which was accompanied by footage from many great films and later Cecil Love told me that he also worked on Kong.
One of the greatest motion pictures ever made. This is filmmaking. Long live the imagination.
We don't need imagination anymore, AI imagines for us 🤮
@@proto-geek248 You couldn't be more wrong. Not being mean or anything but today it's a lost art. No heart n soul goes into movie making anymore. Just "time is money" bs. Computer animation "cgi" is lazy garbage in comparison to practical effects imo. This movie was made in 1933 and was never duplicated since. Enjoy the masterpieces from the past. You will not get anything remotely close today. ✌
Another innovation with King Kong was the film’s score which was made to fit each scene. Today all movies are made this way but in 1933 it was groundbreaking.
I think you could argue that this was the first time that a musical score was used to its full potential in a motion picture.
Max Steiner composed the film score.
Production cost of the film was $513,242.02. RKO could not afford any more money for a score. Merian C. Cooper refused to use stock library tracks so laid out about $50,000 of his own money for a custom musical score.
@@IraRabinowitz Cooper is an amazing man. His biography, "Living Dangerously," describe all of the incredible things he accomplished in his lifetime.
Yes! Max Steiner's "King Kong" is one of my top ten film scores, along with Howard Shore's 'Middle Earth' Musics, Basil Poledouris' "Conan", Michael Giacchino's "Speed Racer", and Hans J. Salter's "The Wolf-Man". I guess John Williams could have a place on the list as well, but that's more of an "over-all achievement". (Too many good along with some 'meh' to pinpoint for me.)
I remember crying my eyes out as a kid In response to witnessing King kongs brutal ending on the empire state building ,...to this day , though I'm now in my 50s, I still feel sadness at the ending,. Its such a powerful and thought provoking movie,.....the film remains a classic , ...and the amount of painstaking detail and work that went into its production,...makes me just realise how incredibly talented and revolutionary the whole production team were.....in producing movie magic
Same here
Same here bro Im 23 now but in 2005 I was like 6-7 i cried when kong was falling off in slow mo... shit was crazy
Wait until you see the ENDING of Son of Kong...now that's SAD...😢
@@vernonsmith6176 son of kong ? lol
Yes, I think it came out a year or two later. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Like Kong, son of Kong has a sad ending.
One thing critics miss was how incredibly rapid-paced the movie was. After the slow beginning, once Kong is shown, all the action on Skull Island and NYC takes place basically just over an hour. Nothing like this occurred until the second Indian Jones movie.
Which would explain why I love both movies so much! (Temple of Doom is my favorite Indiana Jones movie and one of my favorite movies of all time.)
As a film composer, I am a huge film buff. Thru the time I was a kid to today, King Kong remains one of my favorite movies of all time. It amazed myself and my friends for years, trying to figure out how they created what we saw. We all had a version of what we thought in the way of how they created the special effects. We probably had about 30% of it right. After all these years, you and others have now answered all my questions about the making of this film.
The funny thing is....with all the background knowledge I now have about its technology in creating the movie.....it doesn't take away from the movie magic it created to myself and the viewer.
Regardless of its age.... it will remain through history, one of the greatest films of all time.
P.S. Lets not forget the brilliant ( and first complete ) film score composed by Max Steiner. The Jedi master composer.....
I absolutely concur. No matter how often I read or hear about the making of this film, it never ceases to fascinate me. Every time I watch the original KING KONG I am captivated by its enduring magic.
You will rarely see an older movie shown on regular tv. This one really stands the test of time.
I loved King Kong when I first saw it on TV in the late 1950's. I saw it again about a decade later on the big screen and it held up. It still holds up. Many of these scenes are more impressive than the CGI effects that we have now. These jungle scenes are more beautiful than the ones in "Avatar."
I am a huge fan of the 33 Kong and had a bad meaning when i heard about a New Kong by Jackson (bec the 76 Movie is THAT garbage). But, its great too, by a completely different kind. I like it, too.
But what i DONT want is a colorized version of the 33 one, it works that well on black/white
@@drhkleinert8241 I agree with you about the 1976 version. Unbelievable how bad that one is. I haven't seen the Naomi Watts version, but the trailer looked promising. Then again, when compared to the 1976 abomination, just about anything looks promising.
Fun fact: I was working for Jet Courier in LA in the seventies and picked up some cargo in a small warehouse south of LAX. Along one wall of the warehouse was the ARM of KING KONG from the movie!!!!
This just blew me away.
What a professional analysis of the creation of one of cinema's greatest achievements.
Jurassic Park is based on a MAYA Demo, SGi script, we all seen these walking Dino demo's
SGi was too Fancy, MAYA on PC triggers all studio's do do it digital now.
Stop Motion Animation, the France pioneers ! More of a painting then a real movie it was...
@@lucasRem-ku6eb - Actually the demo that got Jurassic Park done with CGI rather than stop motion was generated with Lightwave on a Video Toaster. Maya didn't exist at the time.
@@almag6872 Lightwave was MAYA back then,
SGi on intel changed the industry. SGI was to fancy to build system.
@@lucasRem-ku6eb Sorry, Maya was Autodesk 3D studio back then, later to become 3DMax. Lightwave, at the time, was part of the video toaster system by Newtek which was a completely different company. I used to work at ILM so I'm pretty familiar with what was being used, including the entire room of Macintoshes that fixed all the SGI screwups that they never made public. . . and as for SGI on Intel, there's no such thing. SGI is a hardware system that has nothing to do with Intel. What changed the industry was that Intel chips finally became faster than SGI, so they no longer held onto any edge in the market. When we were working on Johnny Mnemonic at Sony, the pre-vis guys on Windows systems were churning out shots that the fancy SGI machines couldn't match, and eventually other companies made the same discovery. SGI went bankrupt in 2009
@@almag6872 Alias Wavefront was bought by Autodesk, great move. Autodesk, both MAYA and Auto Cat in one studio !
Thank you, Katie Keenan. This is a wonderful video for fans of the genre and film fans and historians. I hear people say King Kong was an amazing film for its time but no King Kong is an amazing film for all time. Genius doesn't even begin to describe it.
The fascinating thing about early movie technology and camera techniques - going all the way back to 1899 - is that special photographic effects came before almost everything else. Even simple dolly shots! Mainly sprung up from George Melies, merging tricks inspired by magicians' stage acts and immediate understanding of how film emulsions worked.
The film that won best picture for 1933 was "Cavalcade." No one remembers it. But everyone remembers "King Kong!"
GREAT POINT!!!!!
Nice job Katie. I had a chance to meet Fay Wray at the George Eastman House in Rochester NY. She was 93 yrs old. She said that Kong was her biggest co-star. Still a great film with tons of emotion. When I saw the film many years ago it was filled with dust and scratches. When we saw it with Fay Wray it was a super clean film print from the George Eastman House. It was so clean you could see the projection effects and film mattes clearly where the scratched one hid all that.
Almost a hundred years !!!
Movie is magic!
Man, the scene where they run across the log still looks so good even now. With a more detailed model, i might even say it looks better than digital compositing
There is so much heart and innovation in this masterpiece of a movie - it belittles lots of today's blockbuster vehicles. You'd be hard pressed to find another example where they broke ground the way the creators did for King King did in 1933.
This movie was ahead of its time!
Ms . Katie Keenan thank you so much for your work on this great film. You did answer all of the questions regarding the making of king kong brief and straight to the point and entertaining.
This movie still mesmerizes me when I watch it for what it achieved in its day. The cinematography as well was breathtaking.
Finally for 55 years of my life I wondered how did they make this cult classic that was ahead of its time thanks for posting this excellent video
Great narration and insight into the film. The brilliance of Kong is how they created a deep character for their monster that you never forgot. Too bad so many monster movies never learned this lesson and used it.
I saw this movie many times but never realized how much work went into it.These people were genius's.
Katie, you did a great job with this. I had the pleasure working at Chasen's restaurant in the '90's till it's closing, I was fan of King Kong and watched it many times over the years. Fay Wray would come in Chasen's every Friday for years. I was able to talk to her many times because she would always come in early and wait for her Doctor husband to get off work. You did a great job with this, and imagine you have a great future.
Beautiful assemblage of shots and images with great informative commentary. There truly is a magic to King Kong. Seeing the work put into creating that magic only makes it more amazing. Great job!
Thank you Katie Keenan, this was truly a pleasure to watch. You managed to capture both the spirit of the film and gave the viewer a fine picture of the technologies behind it. A groundbreaking masterpiece says I. And it pretty much saved the studio from financial collapse at the time.
My favorite film of all time…
Well done
@Katie Keenan That was excellent Katie, enjoyed watching and learnt so much about Kong 33, thanks.
Best of luck for your future film endeavors!.
Great detailed explanations. of the Stop Motion special effects techniques in King Kong. I don't believe that there were any other videos more detailed than yours. Thank you!😇♥
This film still stands the test of time. Better than some films out there. Wonder if they can release it in HD.
That was great! King Kong has always been one my favorite movies. Thanks for giving all involved props.
Doing it old school with their technology of the time, total respect for their craft. First time I watched this as a kid back in the 70's I was in awe. Still the best version to watch. Thanks for the cool video, so much neat information.
Six years later the big Kong amphitheater set was burned in the first footage shot for another extraordinary Selznick feature - the burning of Atlanta in 'Gone With the Wind'. In its day King Kong was a huge a leap in visual effects as would be Star Wars 44 years later. Many of the same techniques like miniature rear projection, bluescreen (a full colour version of the B+W Dunning-Pomeroy process), large scale props matte paintings, miniatures and optical effects printing were used. The really amazing thing was that Kong could not have been made without the art and technical skills of one man, Willis O'brien.
Great video - thanks Katie.
In fact KONG shows what is possible to show and of course all other fx interested guys in Hollywood want to learn how they did it. Thats why these back pro, mirrors, stop motion etc were used in many movies after KONG, and it gave the inspirations for other, young fx makers. Stop Motion is still in use and i think Willis and Ray would be very happy and proud about this fact.
No KONG, No Joe, no Sinbad, no whereever. Even in Terminator 1984 they use the same tricks like in KONG.
Katie's narration is brilliant. I totally enjoyed this documentary.
If they met during WW2, did they travel back in time to make King King?
I thought the same thing . Must of meant ww1
It's a huge mistake!
She misspoke... it's not a "huge" mistake.
@@tomr7901 While we're busy correcting mistakes, it's "must have" not "must of." People hear the contraction "must've" spoken out loud and apparently think the component words are "must of."
What I really appreciate about this movie no matter how often I've seen it, is its tight pacing. There isn't one superfluous word of dialogue or wasted frame of film in its total 100-minute running time. We get basically the whole story explained in the first 20 minutes after which it picks up speed and doesn't let up all the way to the final fadeout. A brilliant example of narrative and editing without an ounce of padding -- everything we see and hear is absolutely relevant to the story.
I've seen thousands of movies and I still consider this one of my favorite films of all time, I'm a huge Godzilla and King Kong fan
Terrific job Katie, I really enjoyed this. King Kong is timeless. Thank you so much! 🦍
You have a very bright future ahead of you Katie, this was a wonderful production, thank you.
My family and I watched "King Kong" when a local TV station aired it over one particular Thanksgiving weekend. My younger brother said, "Look at Kong's fur -- it's moving like the wind is blowing it." I told him, "It's where the guys who moved the model had their fingers -- they blotted out the fingers." I was a dino kid even before I watched "King Kong" for the first time. My first encounter with stop-motion dinos was the 1953 Warner Bros film, "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms." Thanks, Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen! Thanks, Katie Keenan!
This will always be the holy grail of movie special effects.
I saw this film as a boy in about 1976. I still think it is amazing. Beautifully directed and great pacing. Still utterly thrilling and moving. A good, solid adventure film with an epic feel.
Ever see the King Kong 1976 movie?
@@289cobra9 Yes. I went to see it when it was released. It wasn't good. Rick Baker (?) in a gorilla suit. Not good.
@@douglasfreeman3229
It wasn't a good movie. Nothing beats the original.
This movie always brings tears to my eyes.
Me too. For the story, for the nostalgia & for the hard work.
This is a very nicely put together mini documentary. I've always loved the classic King Kong but I have a new appreciation for it now. Thanks!
One of the best docs on this classic movie I've seen. Nice narration: easy to follow and pleasant to listen to.
I remember watching it as a very young kid in the mid 70's. I was terrified by some of the scenes yet mesmerized. Probably where my love for stop motion started. Strange feeling to watch those same scene today. The emotion they trigger.
I also remember the hype when the 1976 one came to television. It was all about the animatronics... Finally failed short to the emotion from the original one
Special effects are not just about realism or perfection. They need to bring the emotion first. If they're good enough to suspend your disbelief. That's all you need.
The emotion was brought big time. Throughout the entire movie. We saw it on Million Dollar Movie each night for a week when it came to NY in the 50’s. Our parents were excited to have us see what they experienced in the 30’s. We were all crazy in love with the picture.
What an EXCELLENT breakdown!
This is a loving and beautifully produced documentary. Thank you.
You did an excellent job on this video. It will make me think about all the work that really went into King Kong, when I see it again. Thank you.
Thank you Katie! Some 40 years ago, I would have done ANYTHING to get hold of the information you've just collated and shared so brilliantly!
Now, after 40 years in movie Special effects (currently at Weta Workshop), I still want to say a massive thank you!♥
For more on Kong, the special 2-disc edition DVD has an amazing commentary & several informative documentaries on the creation of the film. Way recommended 🦍
I first saw this movie in 1977 and had watched many times over. I think for a 1933 movie with special effects, you got to hand it to them, they did a stellar job. when i watched as as kid, back then it looked realistic. Great movie guys, you done a marvelous job.
Thank you for putting this project out for the public - King Kong is one of my all-time favorite films and it was very interesting to see how it was made
Love anything dealing with the original King Kong. Great job Katie!
Thank you Katie for an excellent documentary. Very entertaining and informative. I've loved King Kong since I was a little boy and always will. One of the greatest gems of all film history and you did it justice in your short film. If this is the quality you can produce on your own please make more!
Those techniques of the era just made the movie more interesting and really caused a kids imagination to work…awesome stuff..
Informational video like this keep me alive I swear 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
They met during World War II got into a Time Machine and made a movie in 1933!! That is an incredible story
Thought I was the only one that noticed that,😂.
@@pologawd6178 No, it was noticed elsewhere too!🤣
I came to the comments to check who else noticed this :)
12:38 - The image of the 'Brontosaurus' coming out of the mist and up the hill totally inspired the first "eyewitness" account of the Loch Ness Monster. When you read the account of the creature crossing the road in front of the witness and realize that King Kong had just been released in the UK before the Loch Ness event, it is plain to see that Willis H. O'Brien, Merian C. Cooper, and Ernest B. Schoedsack were not only responsible for "Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World", but also for "Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster". How COOL is THAT!!
King Kong is more real than the Loch Ness Monster.
My all time favorite film...Great job on the documentary Katie!
Thank you, Katie. Your video, showing the effects that made King King, is the perfect companion piece to the 1933 film.
Thank you for this video. I remember being very young watching tv alone at night, switching channels and seeing the native ceremony at the giant gate. I had no idea what was about to happen and was equally excited and terrified as the ‘monster ‘ approached. I’d never heard of King Kong so it was an unforgettable experience.
That's awesome & very rare for something like that to happen. I'm a little envious. It's sort of akin to when you get to experience a really great twist in a plot that you didn't know was coming.
Still one of my favorite films of all time. No matter how often they try to remake this, it's the original that always hits the hardest. Gotta give credit to the great Max Steiner though, for the powerful music that infused the energy of this motion picture, and for virtually inventing the film score.
The first place the remakes fail is Ann. 1933 Ann was spunky whitty and optimistic despite being down and out, she was an American depression era "princess "and the audience fell in love with her right off the bat. The movie doesn't work otherwise
I love those vintage old stop motion movies! I rather watch those than any recent films 🎥 amazing stuff!
A well made documentary! Thanks for such a cool vid Ms Keenan!
This and The Wizard of Oz are two movies of the 1930s that had to be way more incredible to see at the time than anything made today. The 4 movies that were groundbreaking for my time were Toy Story, Beowulf, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Jurassic Park. Today, aside from improving CGI, It seems that we have reached a plateau in what can be done with the big screen.
The giant curved screen that they now use for rear screen is a new development.
Need to add Gone with the Wind Also
@@jhphillips18 Gone with the Wind is just a regular movie. It wouldn't be notable for innovative special effects.
@@chaseme9860 They burned down the wall from' King Kong' for the burning of Atlanta scene in 'Gone With the Wind'.
@@chaseme9860
It may not be so obvious as with 'King Kong', but both 'GWTW' and 'TWOO' were amongst the first movies, where many of the same optical special effects techniques - like matte paintings and the optical printer- were used as in 'King Kong'.
And it was even a more complex task since all this was done in technicolor, a very complicated color process.
'GWTW' actually contains hundreds of such process shots.
That they don't become very obvious is a proof of the high quality work done by the FX people and that they did groundbreaking work as well.
For instance that shot where we see the carriage of Rhett and Scarlett in silhouette passing the grumbling burning King Kong gate: this was a process shot done within the optical printer, where the footage of the burning and grumbling gate and the footage of the carriage with the horse passing seemingly in front of it were put together.
The illusion was perfect !
Looking back, this was not only an iconic film but also an important one for the industry
It is remarkable that objects from this 90-year-old film can still be found today
Both stop motion Kongs armatures still exist, Peter Jackson has one, believe Bob Burns has the other
This is my favorite movie of all time, its magical, mysterious, entertaining, very different
One of the best documentaries I've seen on 1933s King Kong! Bravo! Okay - I lied. This is THE best documentary I've seen on the subject.
Ray Harryhausen called it the most outrageous fantasy ever committed to film, and Ray Bradbury commented that one kept coming back to it, as with a fire, to warm one's hands. Try to find an old copy of "The Making of King Kong" (1977) by Orville Goldner and George E. Turner-it is the best source of inside information imaginable (Orville Goldner was a technician on the production) and dispels a lot of the sort of misinformation that's been propagated by Peter Jackson and others. For example, the often-reported size of Delgado's Kong puppets-all three were only eighteen inches in height, with the *sets* being scaled differently to make Kong appear larger in the city. The musculature of Kong was created with foam rubber, despite Jackson's insistence to the contrary: Marcel Delgado is quoted unambiguously to this effect in the book. Thank you for casting a light upon this timeless spectacle. Though it has been superceded technologically many times over, its aesthetic and emotional impact has never been surpassed.
Katie, thank you so much for unearthing this information. The annual airing of my favorite film as a kid in the 70s was something I centered my world around. I had absolutely no idea how complex the never-been-done processes were. Can you imagine how difficult it must've been even getting people on board with the investment of time, money, and sheer effort? That alone is miraculous. I'm going to go watch it again simply because of your video.
And we must not forget:
this was still the time of the deepest depression and investors were very shy to loose their money.
They were truly shooting from the hip.
Truly a great cinematic achievement. I had the Famous Monsters of Filmland (RIP, Forry) with Kong and must have re-read it about a MILLION times.
One of the most brilliant films ever, didn't even get ONE Academy award?
The light in the forest distance during the tyranasaurous fight is so beautiful...Gustav Dore inspired. I don't know if that was a painting or pencil illustration in the rear, but it's sublime. What gets me about Kong is the sheer gaul of the story. These guys were out to blow people's minds. And did. The giant hand reaching into the bedroom must have hit people right in their subconscious.
Well put.
KINGKONG was the blueprint for all adventure films we watch today. Kong is the OG, inspired all filmmakers including Eiji Tsuburaya who made Gojira in 1954. KINGKONG was made to climb the Empire State Building because of the promotional opportunity for the actual building itself. The Empire State Building wasn’t actually totally built and it was pretty much vacant. KINGKONG was a huge success $10M in 1933 was insane also helping the Empire State Building with immediate success. To this day Kong is still a big $$$ , his film Kong(Skull Island) is the biggest $$$ maker out of the most recent Giant Monster films with $566.7M, 😂
And remember that 1933 there was the big economy crisis when people dont have great money, so think about how many people bought tickets for a MOVIE that hard time.
I have seen the original movie countless times - and I cry at the end EACH time. After seeing it, many times when I was a kid, as an adult - I finally realized this film is a love story.
Excellent documentary, Katie. Thank you for sharing it for everyone to enjoy. Best of luck to you in your coming great career!
To me, king kong, the wizard of oz and Casablanca are 3 of the top movies of the first half of the 20th century. I'd also throw city light in there as well. I hope you can cover the other two movies.
You did an amazing job on this one.
I'm gonna have to throw in
The Shaggy D.A. for good measure.
@@proto-geek248 🤣
@@LymanPhillips 😏
I explain to my kids about all of this. How they did all of this amazing stuff without computers, no CGI, and how awesome it is. They just come back with, "But it looks so cheesy." LoL! I agree. according to todays standards, it is quite cheesy. However, when you know the background of the how to's, it's still very amazing. Ultraman was ahead of it's time. I still enjoy all of the old Godzilla movies. Zipper and all.
CGI is what looks cheesey. And lazy. What King Kong looks like is professional hard work, innovation & unparalleled imagination.
@@proto-geek248 I will disagree with your first comment but only for more recent years. CGI has come a long way from what it was just 10 years ago. When done properly you can't even tell the difference. Of course, there are several times that I know it's CGI and I'm impressed at how good it looks. However, there is still plenty of poorly done CGI out there. I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with the second part of your comment. I am still more impressed with the Puppet work/Stop motion of the past. That was definitely professional hard work and innovation. I can't imagine everything that had to go into that to make it look seamless. Yes, CGI is faster, and up until recently, not as clean.
This is absolutely amazing!
The amount of invention, geniality and commitment on making this movie is amazing. I wonder how the people at that time feel when they saw those incredible special effects. If i had to compre it to something "new" that i saw it would be the now classic "Welcome to Jurassic Park" scene.
Was just thinking of how the heritage of King Kong came right into Jurassic Park ( original)
This is my favourite film of all time. But, there is something that bugs me about it now that I didn't notice when I saw it originally as a kid. As the narrator says, Kong shows his love for Ann, but at no point does Ann reciprocate this love. This is something they changed in later films, which felt right.
Maybe its bec the 33 Kong is a "stupid and aggro big animal", not a kind of smart and humanlike big silverback like the Jackson Kong.
Fay Wray should have stopped screaming naar the end,i agree.
But that's exactly what is so tragic about Kong, that his affection for Ann is never reciprocate.
If Ann had shown any affection for Kong, his tragedy wouldn't have been half as moving.
It's simply great story telling !
I love your spotlight on the all time classic ; King Kong ! Subscribed, and I look forward to your future endeavors...!
I ve got the whole collection and every King Kong movie on Bluray. This one here is a great documentary for every fan!
Very happy to see a good video from a small channel get this much attention. Subscribed!
Really great, well made video. King Kong really is such a great film, even now. The technical mastery on display in it is incredible, not to mention the great story and writing.
This film is still actually scary to young kids as it scared both my now grown up daughters and my grandchildren the first time they saw it. It’s still under appreciated for the technical masterpiece it is including Milestones in set design, special f/x, sound, music, editing……No other film perhaps other than Star Wars had the influence on cinema as much as King Kong
King Kong is not & never will be underappreciated.
@@proto-geek248 Yeah it is. It’s not given the credit it should. The movie changed cinema as few films have. Movies like The Wizard of Oz get more credit.
@@ltyler01 ok, but disagree.
Amazing video. Thank you so much for showing us just how this was done. I remember watching it as a child, and being spellbound.
Well done stop-motion is always extremely impressive to me. I loved Cosgrove Hall's "Wind in the Willows" stop-motion movie and TV series of the 1980s... Apparently on that show they only created _8 seconds of footage per day._ And that's still considered very fast production even now (modern stop-motion averages 30 minutes to an hour for every 1 second of usable footage with current tech). Plus that was working entirely in a closed studio with the sets and figures all at scale -- no real world stuff or live action at all.
So doing much more complicated live action integration with the stop-motion in "King Kong", besides the primitive clunky tech of the 1930s, is just incredible.
This is as good as anything here on a similar topic. And what a topic - the ingenuity of these effects and the atmosphere they created is still amazing.
This is really well done. Thank you for sharing your project.
I Loved your content Katie!🎬
Fantastic video. Thank you for this. This is a wonderful tribute and reminder for how groundbreaking this movie was. And it is a movie that deserves eternal appreciation for its innovation and craft.
This is an excellent documentary. Thank you for creating and posting it. I learned a great deal. It's a great film too, in its way. It has a psychological depth that modern CGI superhero epics lack.