Despite TCM’s exhaustive notes, I can’t figure out if the version being broadcast tonight is the new print. Anybody?
This newly mastered print of King Kong should help restore the movie to its rightful place in film history. Even in a scratchy third-generation television print, we responded to Kong as a believable character. With the remastered print, we can clearly see his surroundings. The jungle looks as though it might have leaped from a Gustave Doré illustration. The intricate multi-plane compositions enhance the dramatic tension as the hero and heroine flee for their lives.
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Both DVD editions have the movie on one disc and the special features on a second disc. The special features include two first-rate documentaries: I’m King Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper [ME: THIS IS A GREAT DOCUMENTARY], as well as RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World. If you buy the DVD, try advancing the Kong action scenes one frame at a time. There are places throughout the film where you can see a metal stand or measuring apparatus positioned next to Kong — but only for a single frame.
