OLD FILMS FOR NEW
KING KONG
1933 & 2005
A movie crew, travelling to a hidden island to film a movie. They come across a giant gorilla (King Kong) which takes their actress and creates special relationship with her. Kong tries to protect her from everything. Kong is then captures and taken to New York City for public exhibition.
Financial Determinants:
The original King Kong which was released in 1933 which had a budget of $670,000 and if we compare it to the 2005 version we can see a vast difference in budget as it rises to $207,000,000. The huge comparison in the technology is the main reason for the massive budget difference. The technology we have now, for example, Special Effects, CGI and computer technology was not available back in 1933, which meant they found other ways to produce films like this. The original version was made using stop animation.
The budget for 2005 version was so high because of the cost to use and create films with professional equipment. Producers want to best equipment and actors to make their film successful. Back in the 1930’s the equipment was less expensive but had lower quality unlike what our technology can achieve now.
For example, in the 1930’s the film quality was in black and white because colour films were not developed and the picture quality was quite grainy. Whereas the 2005 version was filmed in colour, with high quality picture and the amazing use of special effects which allows us to see the texture and details of King Kong that make him look very realistic.
The budget for 2005 version was so high because of the cost to use and create films with professional equipment. Producers want to best equipment and actors to make their film successful. Back in the 1930’s the equipment was less expensive but had lower quality unlike what our technology can achieve now.
For example, in the 1930’s the film quality was in black and white because colour films were not developed and the picture quality was quite grainy. Whereas the 2005 version was filmed in colour, with high quality picture and the amazing use of special effects which allows us to see the texture and details of King Kong that make him look very realistic.
Technologies of Production:King Kong is known for being one of the first full length films to use stop motion animation. Willis O’Brien spent twenty years creating an animation in order to bring Kong to life and he took twenty-four different images of Kong in many different positions just to film about 1 second of footage. As this was a stop motion animation it took a very long time to make. Only ten frames could be made in an hour and the film itself is 2 and a half hours long. While trying to figure out how to make the puppets of creatures look bigger, Willis O’Brien came up with the idea to use a rear projection unit so they can get the actors into shot when filming scenes with the creatures. They did this by projecting a frame of recording they had already filmed of the creatures attacking. The recording only takes up a small section on the screen to make it more realistic and believable that the actors are there with King Kong and the dinosaurs. Miniature models were also created of props, scenes and actors so they were able to get long shots of scenes and high angle shots of buildings.
In the 2005 remake the locations were nearly all made up of miniature landscapes and small sets to look like locations and CGI was also used to create locations. The movements for King Kong were created by actor, Andy Sirkis wearing a special effects censor suit. This suit copied his movements and actions which were then transferred to Kong. |
Distribution and Exhibition:
From 1933 – 2005 distributing films have changed hugely over the years. When the original King Kong was released it was available to buy on 35mm film, a film device used for still photography. In the 1930’s digital photography had not been invented, so King Kong was created using only photographs.
When presenting this film to its audience, the film was screening in two of New York’s largest theatres and manged to hit the box office instantly. Now, the 2005 version can be viewed on many different platforms of media from cinema to DVDs to internet streaming. The marketing for films is starting to decrease due to the fact of people illegally downloading films for free or watching them online for free. King Kong, fortunately did not face this problem since their budget was a big $207,000,000 and they got a profit of $218,051,260.
When presenting this film to its audience, the film was screening in two of New York’s largest theatres and manged to hit the box office instantly. Now, the 2005 version can be viewed on many different platforms of media from cinema to DVDs to internet streaming. The marketing for films is starting to decrease due to the fact of people illegally downloading films for free or watching them online for free. King Kong, fortunately did not face this problem since their budget was a big $207,000,000 and they got a profit of $218,051,260.
Trends:Following the 1933 Original, there were many productions that had a similar storyline or use similar characteristics. A recent example of this is in The Simpsons, because of this show being a comedy they created a spoof of the Empire State Building scene. The film also inspired game characters like Donkey Kong, in the Nintendo video games in 1981. The game involved the hero rescuing his girlfriend from the massive ape, which is the story line of King Kong.
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Genres:In the 1933 film the genres were Adventure, Horror and Sci – Fi. An example for horror is the rampage scene and Kong vs T-Rex. These scenes can be described as horror because younger viewers may be frightened when watching, especially with in the Kong vs T-Rex scene as it is quite violent and loud. We can also hear Ann Darrow screaming in distress which could make viewers feel uncomfortable and on edge.
The most obvious genre for both films is Sci – Fi because in reality we wouldn’t see a giant ape fighting a T-Rex and then later on carry a woman up the Empire State building. This is just purely fiction and for the audience’s entertainment. The 2005 remake has the genres, Action, Adventure, Drama and Sci-Fi. An example of action in this film is the scene where Kong chases Jack in the taxi, we can see Kong running at full speed behind the taxi and Jack inside the taxi driving, causing car crashes and Kong destroying buildings while chasing the taxi. This is described as action because of the number of things going on, on scene. An example of Drama in this remake is the central park scene, when Kong sees Ann he calms down and walks towards her carefully. She placed her hand on his, he gently picks her up and carries her to safety. When they get to the frozen lake Kong starts slipping around until he is spinning in circles with Ann in his hand. In this scene, we can see it goes from drama to romantic. |
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Stars:
A popular actor will often appear in the remakes of films, this helps give the film more mass appeal and credibility which increases interest and box office takings. Jack Black appeared in the 2005 remake of King Kong and with his appearance the films popularity rose and increased people’s interest in the film.
Social:
Political and Regulatory Issues:
The original King Kong was rated PG, which is understandable because of the main themes are considered violent, alcoholism, drug taking and some scenes of profanity, sexual/nudity and frightening scene. The violence relates to the frightening scenes with dinosaurs and shooting scenes but don’t contain too much graphical content. I feel this is a suitable age rating for this film as its not disturbing and can be for all ages.
The 2005 version is rated 12a, which is an appropriate rating for this film as the themes are more dramatized compared to the original. The special effects and graphics in this film are outstanding and makes the fighting scenes with the dinosaurs realistic and graphical, some shots of blood and gore might upset younger viewers so a 12a rating is ideal for this version.
The 2005 version is rated 12a, which is an appropriate rating for this film as the themes are more dramatized compared to the original. The special effects and graphics in this film are outstanding and makes the fighting scenes with the dinosaurs realistic and graphical, some shots of blood and gore might upset younger viewers so a 12a rating is ideal for this version.
Synergies between films:
In the 2005 version, they kept the use of some of the music in the original film soundtrack. For example, during the theatre scene at the end of the film, the same song was used from the original. This gives credit to the producers of the original King Kong. The story lines have changed a little from the original but some scene and stories were kept quite similar.
Overall the two films are different comparing the picture quality and special effects. The graphics in 2005 look more realistic compared to the original but as we know this is due to technology development. The remake also managed to put more emotion and feeling across so the audience which allows the audience to relate to the characters and enables them to understand more of what is going on. On the country, the original is still seen as an amazing film renowned for its full length stop motion animation and the amount of time and effort put into the making of the film, which lead to King Kong being a great success.
Overall the two films are different comparing the picture quality and special effects. The graphics in 2005 look more realistic compared to the original but as we know this is due to technology development. The remake also managed to put more emotion and feeling across so the audience which allows the audience to relate to the characters and enables them to understand more of what is going on. On the country, the original is still seen as an amazing film renowned for its full length stop motion animation and the amount of time and effort put into the making of the film, which lead to King Kong being a great success.
References:
https://prezi.com/xlemp-hslccn/unit-26-film-studies/
https://www.slideshare.net/danhops888/unit-26-45289885
https://www.slideshare.net/danhops888/unit-26-45289885