Looks like I'll have to plunk down some of my own cash for this! (they don't like us much in the PR agency that handles Warner titles).

KING KONG

Two-Disc Special Edition &

Two-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD


Special Features Include New Documentary on Legendary Kong Creator Merian C. Cooper and
New Seven-Part Documentary on the Making of Kong, including
The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence


Also Available: Four-Disc Collector’s Set Featuring King Kong and New-to-DVD Titles The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young Also Available: DVD of Cooper/Schoedsack’s The Last Days of Pompeii

Burbank, Calif. August 8, 2005 – On November 22, Warner Home Video’s most requested title, the original 1933 RKO classic King Kong, will debut in a Two-Disc Special Edition and a Two-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD. Now newly restored from rare nitrate film elements and digitally mastered in glorious black and white, King Kong features extensive bonus content, including an insightful seven-part documentary with Oscar®-winning director Peter Jackson (King Kong (2005), The Lord of the Rings trilogy); commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston with Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Ruth Rose, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong; and a feature length documentary on Kong creator Merian C. Cooper, directed by renowned filmmaker Kevin Brownlow. The Collector’s Edition DVD will be released in a collectible keepsake tin with a 20-page reproduction of the original 1933 souvenir program, King Kong original one-sheet reproduction postcards and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage theatrical poster.



The King Kong Two-Disc Special Edition DVD will be available for $26.99 SRP/$19.95 MAP and the Collector’s Edition will sell for $39.98 SRP.



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The King Kong Collection, featuring two more new-to-DVD titles – The Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young – along with the King Kong Two-Disc Special Edition DVD – will also be available for $39.92 SRP. RKO collaboration from Kong directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, The Last Days of Pompeii, will be released simultaneously. These three additional titles will each be sold individually for $19.97 SRP/$14.95 MAP.



About King Kong



With equal parts adventure, horror and old-fashioned romance, King Kong is a milestone of movie-making that has endured for more than seven decades. Recently named as one of the 100 Best Films of All Time by Time Magazine, King Kong premiered in New York City in 1933. The film was an instant success, breaking box-office records to become one of the top moneymakers of the 1930s. King Kong’s state-of-the-art visual effects, entertaining story and touching conclusion captivated audiences and started a worldwide love affair with the giant ape.



A film ahead of its time, King Kong defied the technological limitations of the ‘30s. Special effects pioneer Willis O’Brien’s revolutionary stop-motion animation was not only technically brilliant but also highly imaginative and continues to impress even in today’s era of computer-generated wizardry. Directed and produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, with a rousing score by Max Steiner,King Kong stars Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot and Fay Wray, whose memorable performance as damsel in distress Ann Darrow cemented her place in pop culture and earned her the nickname “The Queen of Scream.”



DVD Details

King Kong (1933)

Robert Armstrong stars as movie producer Carl Denham who travels to a mysterious, uncharted island in search of material for his next film. Also aboard are unemployed actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and adventurer Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot).

Once the crew reaches Skull Island they discover it is home to prehistoric beasts including Kong, a giant ape who becomes obsessed with the crew’s blonde starlet.
King Kong teems with memorable moments, from the audience’s first glance at the giant ape to his last stand atop the Empire State Building.


DVD Special Features Include:

Disc 1: The Movie

* Original 1933 Film classic in Glorious Black and White, Newly Restored and Digitally Mastered
* Commentary by Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston, with Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Ruth Rose, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong
* I’m Kong: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper -- 2005 documentary
* Merian C. Cooper Movies Trailer Gallery
* Subtitles: English, French and Spanish (Feature Film Only)



Disc 2: King-Sized Special Features

* RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World

o The Origins of “King Kong”

o Willis O’Brien and “Creation”

o Cameras Roll on Kong, The Eighth Wonder

o A Milestone in Visual Effects

o Passion, Sound and Fury

o The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence

o King Kong’s Legacy

* Creation Test Footage with Commentary by Ray Harryhausen



The Son of Kong (1933)

The filmmakers who created King Kong kept the excitement going with this sequel released the same year as the original. Robert Armstrong reprises his role as Denham, paired with a new damsel in distress, played by Helen Mack. After the two rescue Kong Jr. from a quicksand pit, they are rewarded with his devotion and protection when he defends them from a variety of prehistoric monsters. Composer Max Steiner and special effects expert Willis O’Brien return to provide the film’s score and stunning stop-motion animation.



DVD Special Features Include:

* Theatrical Trailer
* Subtitles: English, French and Spanish (Feature Film Only)



Mighty Joe Young (1949)

Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper re-team with King Kong veteran Robert Armstrong for this touching film about a young girl and her pet gorilla. Featuring state-of-the art special effects, Mighty Joe Young seamlessly combined stop-motion animation with live action sequences to capture the 1949 Academy Award® for Special Effects. Supervised by the legendary Willis O’Brien, the film’s technical staff also included a young Ray Harryhausen working on his first full-length feature film.



DVD Special Features Include:

* Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Moore and Ken Ralston
* New Featurette A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and the Chiodo Brothers
* New Featurette Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young
* Theatrical Trailer
* Subtitles: English, French and Spanish (Feature Film Only)





The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)

The grandeur of an era and the terror of nature at its deadliest come to the screen in this classic starring Preston Foster, Basil Rathbone, Alan Hale and Louis Calhern. Foster plays a simple blacksmith, Marcus, who rises to glory and riches and crosses paths with Jesus and Pontius Pilate. However, Marcus’s wealth means nothing when Mt. Vesuvius awakes and releases its fury on the doomed Roman city.



King Kong Collection

Street Date: November 22, 2005

Four-Disc Collector’s Set

Pricing $39.92 SRP

King Kong Two-Disc Special Edition $26.99 SRP/ $19.95 MAP

King Kong Two-Disc Collector’s Edition $39.98 SRP

Additional Individual titles $19.97 SRP/ $14.95 MAP

I'm buying the KING KONG set- this plus BEN-HUR 4 disc special edition set and a LOONEY TUNES vol 3 and it's shaping up to be one heck of a Christmas!!

I think I need a bit of clarification. The four DVD set contains the other movies as well as all of the Kong material that would be just on the two DVD set?

Eric Paddon wrote:I think I need a bit of clarification. The four DVD set contains the other movies as well as all of the Kong material that would be just on the two DVD set?

The 4-DVD set is exactly that -- all the Kong related flicks in one package. The 2-disc KING KONG Special Edition is the same as the one in the box set.

I picked up the four DVD set today at Best Buy and first thing I watched was this reconstruction of the lost spider pit sequence. I am impressed! Their reconstruction blended seamlessly with the original Kong footage that you never would have known this was done recently. This sort of thing should never be cut into the film itself but as a way of finally getting a sense of what this sequence might have looked like in 1933, they came up a winner.

I ordered the King Kong Collection thru Amazon (back when it was $20), and I agree wholeheartedly with you Eric: the spider-pit sequence is AMAZINGLY done.

Only downside: that Overture music didn't sound "right" to me -- turns out it's bogus as someone on the FSM board figured out -- but otherwise it's a nice set. MIGHTY JOE YOUNG is great, too! (can't say the same for SON OF KONG but it's alright).

Yeah, that "Overture" had me scratching my head too. Also, I have to give a thumbs down to the commentary track because (1) it's misleading in that Fay Wray is only heard twice for a sum total of about 20 seconds just to say it was a great experience doing the film and (2) Harryhausen and Ralston just spend most of the time going "Gee whiz, that's a great shot". This is a case where a film historian commentary like Ronald Haver's from the original Criterion Laser Disc would have been called for, because since Harryhausen and Ralston are FX guys with no connection to the original project (it's ironic that this is the first time we ever get a Harryhausen commentary on a film and it's not even one of his own!) that means the history of the film, and information on the actors get way too much short shrift.

So who composed the Overture music? Was it Carl Davis (who did the Cooper documentary on the second disc)? I was glad I read this thread before watching the film or else I woudl have thought there was an overture to the actual film when it was released in '33.

mkaroly wrote:So who composed the Overture music? Was it Carl Davis (who did the Cooper documentary on the second disc)? I was glad I read this thread before watching the film or else I woudl have thought there was an overture to the actual film when it was released in '33.

I believe it's a cut-and-paste of Steiner's actual score. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound right...

I just went through both discs from KING KONG- I don't know, but after seeing that 2.5 hr documentary on the making of KONG I'm getting a little more excited about Jackson's movie. I don't think it will be a run-of-the-mill action story- I think his team is going to put a lot of depth into the story given all the love they have for the original.

I really like this film and am glad they have released this special edition. The commentary tracks might be weak because the documentary is so thorough. I am still amazed at how touching the end of the film is (especially when Kong picks up Ann for the last time)....even after seeing it plenty of times in the past! I felt my eyes start to water a little bit- very effective filmmaking and this film holds up even after nearly 75 years of existence.

I watched the "making-of" documentary last night and you're right -- it's obvious that PJ has nothing but love and respect for the original.

Mark