King Kong (2005)

Yeah but no but right back. I don't understand what you mean. Some of the greatest stories ever told are utterly ridiculous if you look at it like that. Little girl gets eaten by a talking wolf dressed up as her grandmother (I'm starting the theme from infancy....)? Slaves, witches and spirits performing spells on some strange island (GCSE English)?

I had loaRAB more examples (a virgin birth and rising from dead was a good one) but I forgo as I think I've probably missed your point entirely.....!

The other thing I don't understand is the popularity issue. It's very often the case, isn't it, that ground-breaking works, whether films, books, music, art, struggle to find a producer /publisher because nobody wants to risk money on something they don't quite understand or are not sure that the public is ready for. I'm just not quite sure where that fits into the discussion?

A film-maker, eh? Well, hellooo :cool:
 
Absolutely brilliant film, another piece of magic by Jackson - the man is a genius!

I like the slow build up at the start and I thought Jack Black was excellent in his role, giving the character a different style.
 
You make (as ever!) good points, classic fairy tales and myths are pretty silly if deconstructed. It's all about the suspension of disbelief, and I'm the first to admit that this is different for everyone.

Suppose on Skull Island, they discovered a T-Rex that also had helicopter propellors that came out of his head, and he flew around the island killing people with flames of napalm that came from his mouth in an homage to Apocalypse Now. Then he sings the Star Spangled Banner. Most people would, at this point, laugh and / or walk out (me though, I'd lap it up).

It's all to do with the world you create, and the parameters of that world. Now, I think there are 2 issues here with King Kong. The first is that the tone of the film (for me, anyway) does not sit quite right with the evident level of silliness in the story. You could have the above sequence in a Kong movie if it was a Pythonesque surreal comedy, but not if it were a deep King Lear allegory. Setting the tone of a movie is a very tricky thing, and for me the silliest aspects of the film didn't sit right with the most serious.

The second issue is to do with expectations before people even walk through the door. I think many people hear the worRAB "King Kong" and immediately think "silly monkey / dino movie", and pigeonhole it as not for them. Also I think even when people who have seen then try to convince the doubters that "no, really, honest, it's really good", they can't get that initial strong reaction from their heaRAB enough to actually pay eight quid to see the thing. The comparison with Titanic is that, contrary to expectation, people really did want to see it in the first place.



All too true. Some films' budgets are so big - Kong being one of them - that there has to be a belief in the film not just doing well, but being a phenomenon in order to break even. I believe Kong will have to make about half a billion worldwide, which is a pretty sizeable hit. I think it will do this, actually, so by no means is Kong a flop. But neither is it the phenomenon that perhaps they were hoping for - each LOTR film got around a billion, which (at a lesser original budget) got each film into massive profit.

Your points do definitely relate to my own film however! It is unusual - unique even - and (blush) award nominated. At the moment I am told by many that they love the film, but are worried about its marketability, the cold hard reality of getting bums on seats in the first place. If you are curious, here is the IMDb link, and you can follow to the film's home site from there.
 
I know - I didn't quote very smartly - what I meant was that you brought up Monica and Bill to start with. And I'm still puzzling over that one...... !
 
Saw it yesterday :D

Very good film, really enjoyed it. Although the first 45 mins did slightly drag, but in the long run I was glad it was there.
 
King Kong is a legend. Some people like the film, some don't. I never understand why people debate the likeability of a film as we all have different tastes. Many of the great films of the past hundred years have a certain 'suspension of belief' faCtor.

I happened to love King Kong (all three versions actually).
 
I have also seen it, and certainly one of the best films this year, though its been quite a stellar year IMO.

I know most of the action takes place in the last two hours, and once seen perhaps the exposition on the first 45 mins might not be needed. But the begining was great Jackson work. Desperation, fate, idealism and basis for characters. Very much enjoyed it :D
 
I want to see it 'cos it looks good and has got a big monkey in it. I also like how the Dinosaurs look in it but not the big bugs 'cos I don't like bugs. What I'd actually like is a brand new Vauxhall Vectra (metallic silver) to replace my incredibly unreliable 1998 Rover 400 with. Maybe if I wish hard enough, Santa might bring me one for Christmas. I haven't got a chimney for him to climb down though, but I do have a garage if that's any good to him?
 
So true! And what made it even worse and noticeable was the constant close-ups of her face! By the end I was ready to yell "YES WE'VE SEEN HER FACE, ALRIGHT?!!" I still liked her in this though.



We went to see it with a pretty noisy audience (not talking, just going 'urrrgh' over the bugs and 'aaaargh!' over those weird worm things that I couldn't actually watch), and there were lots of times when people actually laughed out loud e.g. when King Kong breaks the dinosaur's jaw and opens and closes it.

Or are you talking about the characters? :confused:
 
go and see it again magwitch it's the only way..when i saw
titanic for the first time i was overwhelmed by the special
effects and didn't think much of the story..when i saw it
again the following week i was overcome with emulsion..

you might feel the same way..
 
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