By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Grand daddy of all monsters, the mighty king of the jungle is back. Despite his age of 72, he is as triumphant and as thrilling on the silver screen as ever! Born on 2 March 1933, he has since become a legend, verging on the realm of reality in the inner soul of all who were awed by his stunning grandeur and solemn majesty. The name of this king, is -- Kong -- and just as he did then, he does now! King Kong sits on top of box-office receipts worldwide, the only appropriate place befitting a king. For its time this tragic iconic tale of Beauty and the Beast, was an amazingly ambitious feat for a very young industry. The spectacle of the gigantic ape atop the Empire State Building, is one of those poignant moments in motion picture history, that became a major cultural event as well as a great technical achievement. It dazzled all who saw and wondered, yet it was realised with the simplest technology of rough multiple exposures, glass- shots and processed miniatures. The film launched a great tradition of special effects, science-fiction, and blockbusters of "cataclysmic destruction and non-stop shocks" that keep getting bigger and better. Now a grey- bearded centenarian, the film industry has come a long way since its early youth of rudimentary beginnings and primitive camera tricks. After seven- decades of inspiration to moviegoers, here comes a new version of this fascinating tale of romance and adventure, that is sure to reign supreme for another seven decades, and more. Today's advanced computerised visual effects wizardry, has not only given the king a noble, more resplendent, more imperial demeanour, but has ensured another iconic classic that is breaking records in gross revenues everywhere. The story of the monstrous gorilla was originally called The Beast, then The Eighth Wonder, but by the time it opened to the public in 1933, it had fortunately been renamed King Kong -- a name that has become immortal in film history. Considered the greatest film adventure of all time, this gigantic epic was the creation of Merian C Cooper, pilot, adventurer, WWI veteran, and filmmaker, who dreamed of making a "gorilla picture with the strength of a hundred men." One cold winter afternoon in Manhattan, he came upon the idea that his beast would run loose in New York, and climb a skyscraper and be killed by airplanes. The result was the captivating tale we all know and love so well. The present version remains faithful to the original story. Carl Denham, a veteran filmmaker, gets his crew aboard a rusty old freighter SS Ventura, and heads for an uncharted island in the Pacific, in hopes of completing an action film on the mysterious "Skull Island". They sail towards a destiny that none aboard could possibly foresee. Accompanying him is an unemployed blonde actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray 1933, Naomi Watts 2005), Driscoll a film writer, and Chandler, the leading man. The old freighter finds the fog-shrouded Skull Island almost by accident, nearly crashing into the rocks surrounding it. The crew is greeted by zombie-like local natives that capture Ann and offer her as a sacrifice to their monster god -- Kong. Rather than destroy her, Kong cherishes his proud possession. Though presumed dead, Denham and his crew still set out to search for Ann in the heart of the jungle. That is when the real fun begins. A vertigo of enormity follows from a menacing dinosaur stampede to a frightening struggle between Kong and a trio of Tyrannosaurus Rexes. Spasms of terror arise as giant man-eating insects devour several members of the film crew, sending shudders up and down our spines. Ann is eventually rescued, Kong is knocked unconscious with gas bombs, captured and brought back in chains to New York city, where he is put on exhibit as a theatrical attraction. Kong escapes, finds his beloved Ann, climbs the Empire State Building, and from there battles warplanes that eventually down the giant ape. The king of the jungle meets his end atop the tallest building of the new and civilised world. Remaking a classic of such stature and historic significance is a big risk, especially by a triple Oscar winner whose Lord of the Rings enchanted us and dominated the screen for three consecutive years. But New Zealand's Peter Jackson had no hesitation when he announced following his Oscar triumph, that his next project would be King Kong : "I'm making movies today because I saw the film when I was nine years old. It has been my sustained dream to re-interpret this classic story for a new age." He did and with a great masterly stroke, which is now establishing Jackson himself as a classic filmmaker of the first degree. Jackson respectfully pays homage to the 1933 classic by deviating little from the original story, only to embellish, enlarge, and improve on every technical and visual aspect, making the remake considerably better and relevantly modern. This is not the first time that filmmakers have brought back the myth of the ape king to the big screen. An inspiration for countless versions, several have been made, including the famed Japanese concept of King Kong versus Godzilla. This however, is the first serious remake costing a staggering $207 million and the labour of love of a gifted director worthy of the king himself. While Jackson re-establishes Kong as the undisputed king of the jungle, Kong re-establishes Jackson as king of the Hollywood blockbuster. The film runs for over three hours, a total of 187 minutes, so viewers do get their money's worth, and never more rewardingly. If the movie is a tad too long, critic Roger Ebert writes: "it is so well done, that we are complaining, really, about too much of a good thing. This is one of the great modern epics." If you have seen Lord of the Rings, it is unlikely that you do not remember the most evil of all characters, Golum, artfully played by Andy Serkis. Once more Jackson called on Serkis to become Kong, and Serkis obliged. He spent three weeks at a gorilla reserve in Rwanda studying gorillas in their natural habitat. Serkis gently places a throbbing heart and a tender humanity inside the digital body of Kong. Predictions are that the film will reach Titanic proportions before it is over. Like Titanic, we know how the story will end, and again, like Titanic, it is the romance, the emotion, that pulls at our heart strings, stirring relentlessly until our eyes swell with tears. Classic films are re-made often, primarily because of the arrogance of some filmmakers, who think they can improve on perfection. Sometimes greed drives them to seek a piece of a sure thing, but more often than not, they end up destroying the thing they love, as Ann Darrow destroyed her beloved beast King Kong. There are exceptions however, and this is one of them. When a filmmaker of the calibre of Peter Jackson dreams for 30 years of retelling the story that inspired his life career, when this very dreamer adapts JR R Tolkien's great classic making three films in one or one film in three, Lord of the Rings, amassing 11 Oscars, three for him personally, you can be sure that in tackling a classic worth remaking he will create another classic worth watching. Why does the story of an ape connect so strongly with generations of viewers? It is an everlasting appeal for the fall of the mighty, a palpable eternity, a bitter and perpetual sarcasm of the fragility and brevity of life. Who does not shed a tear or two when Beauty kills the Beast! "Oh no its was not the airplanes It was Beauty that killed the Beast." -- James Creelman and Ruth Rose Final words King Kong, 1933
