>>REVIEW
KING KONG: THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON
Ray Morton
Applause, 350 pp.
Ray Morton’s first book is a splendid non-fiction account of everything King Kong-related, up to (but not really including) the new Peter Jackson-directed remake. Released to cash in on the popularity of the Big Ape in the wake of the new film, the chief flaw in King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon is the obvious fact that it is almost immediately outdated. The final chapter serves to acknowledge and introduce Jackson’s film, but only in the briefest and most general sense, as the new movie was still forthcoming when the book hit the shelves. Still, Kong fanatics will find it easy to gather info on Kong ’05 from other sources anyway, and this book is an enjoyable, well-researched and perhaps definitive resource on this iconic character’s history prior to 2005.
A King Kong fan since the age of eight, Morton begins his book with a personal account of his own reaction to the original 1933 film, before quickly settling down to the somewhat more serious (but hardly dry) meat of the story. All of the material here is impressively thorough and insightful, covering a lot of ground while remaining pleasantly readable.
Full synopses and production histories are given for the original film; its sequel, The Son of Kong (1933); the wacky Japanese kaiju spinoffs King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and King Kong Escapes (1967); the big-budget 1976 remake and its goofy followup, King Kong Lives (1986). There’s even a chapter outlining a number of never-completed movie projects, and another chapter dealing with such ridiculous flicks as the tongue-in-cheek Queen Kong (1976), the 3-D fiasco A*P*E* (a.k.a. Attack of the Giant Horny Gorilla) (1976), the wild Hong Kong oddity The Mighty Peking Man (a.k.a. Goliathon) (1977), and even the made-for-video kiddie cartoon The Mighty Kong (1998), a non-violent musical version of the story, featuring a happy ending!
The films that get the most ink are naturally the ones that attracted the largest audiences, so the 1933 and the 1976 King Kongs each get thorough histories, including detailed information on the notorious deleted "spider" scene from the original, and a fascinating account of Oscar-winner Rick Baker’s struggle to design the gorilla suit of his dreams for the ’76 remake. In fact, the latter film supplies some of the juiciest stories, with the much-publicized giant mechanical ape (which didn’t function properly), the ape-suited Baker, and the sudden and surprising fan backlash against the film a few years later, even though it was a critical and financial success during its run.
It may not be exactly current, but King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon delivers on the promise of its title. This is a must-purchase for anyone who’s ever bought a piece of Kong merchandise or memorabilia. |
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