King Kong: Eighth Wonder of the World

Cuts the mustard quite nicely. Less yellows. Less yells.

Authenic appeal. Both in screenplay and screen gamma.

Peter Jackson's King Kong is way too long and some of the CGI feels rushed and corny. This edit fixes both problems beautifully. It's still probably a bit too long, but the narrative flows more consistently now and there is very little drag. The new opening pulls you right into the film and the cut directly to Ann and Carl bypasses much of the sluggishness of the original opening sequence. Belgarath has left in just the right amount of action and CGI on the island while excising most of the less convincing effects and chase sequences.

I watched the B&W version, which is glorious to look at and seems appropriate given Jackson's choice to set the story during the 1930s. I will be adding the color version to my collection, too, as this cut will be my go-to from now on and I prefer my Naomi Watts in color!

Highly recommended, especially for fans of the original.

The new structure is excellent!

NARRATIVE

Starting with Denham in the theatre, then flashing back to Ann's story...It's a remarkable way to get the story moving and keep interest. When you start with Ann's perspective you realize so much of the setup just isn't that important (Denham's movie woes, Driscoll getting stuck on the ship). We lose a little bit without seeing more of Ann's life, but the stolen apple and dinner with Denham quickly establishes her character.

There was a moment early on where I was wondering why Driscoll was down in the hold looking for a room, and just at that moment the captain appears and apologizes for not having a cabin for him. That's really enough to sell it. Jack was always supposed to come with them. Somebody just screwed up and didn't count the heads/rooms properly.

I was happy to see most of the ship voyage kept intact. It's still nearly an hour before we reach the island, and that may be a lot for some viewers, but I think that section is really important for establishing Ann and Jack's relationship.

In terms of negatives, I do think it was odd the way some characters simply disappeared (Herb, Lumpy). We don't see them die, and nobody seems to notice. Baxter turns into a hero for reasons unknown...All of these are easy to overlook, though. This is a movie about Kong, Ann, and Denham. The other characters are bit players (including Jack, in my opinion; he's more of a device than a character).


VISUAL EDITING

Great for the most part, though there were some visual cuts that seemed a bit odd. There's a moment when Ann is in the log and is about to be touched by a huge bug, and it cuts to her running out. In the original, this section is more drawn out and her quick departure makes more sense. Another cut during the water attack seemed a touch off.

The flashback transition was effective, but I think it might have worked better with a really long cross fade rather than a fade to black.

UPDATE: I should note: I believe I watched the technicolor version. While the presentation was great, it didn't seem particularly different from the original. It was good, but not noticed.


AUDIO EDITING

Some of the audio cuts weren't perfectly seamless, and I noticed some music bleed during the transition to Ann's flashback. Additionally, something seemed a little off with the T-Rex fight. That's a stand out section for me, music-wise, and the same music was present, but I think the beats might have been a touch out of alignment. It just didn't seem to gel with the video like the original. This may just be my imagination, however.


ENJOYMENT

Most of the enjoyment (for me) lies in those quiet moments between Ann and Kong, and those moments were retained here. Getting to them a bit sooner was a welcome bonus.