She could do a revised version that covers Kong Skull Island....and after that she's obliged to cover Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and last but not least, The King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla.
I unironically love the 2005 Peej version. Maybe it's just because it's set in the depression era instead of trying to modernize the story, but if I'm being honest I think it's because the thing is so damn beautifully flawed. It is totally unashamed to be what it is: a pure, sprawling, overwrought Hollywood epic. Honesty and purity of purpose can make up for a LOT of sins.
I also love it for the same reasons. _King Kong (2005)_ always reminded me of the way De Quincey famously described his early experiences with laudanum: "the opium-eater feels that the diviner part of his nature is paramount, that is, the moral affections are in a state of cloudless serenity, and over all is the great light of the majestic intellect." Of course there is no "majestic intellect" in _King Kong (2005),_ but if you substitute "intellect" for "1933 version," I think that quote sums it up. It's up there with movies like _Bram Stoker's Dracula_ and _Moulin Rouge!_ in the running for the most indulgent movie ever made. It's a thing of beauty, even if its obsession with beauty and romance ultimately dooms it.
It's rare to see a movie that is enthusiastically what it wants to be, and almost unheard-of to see a movie like that with budget and billing of that scale. As a result - though it's bloated and warty - it's really enjoyable and easy to get swept up in its enthusiasm.
In 2011, I made a cut of the 2005 Kong film which was just the Kong scenes as a Christmas gift for a friend. He was a huge fan of Andy Serkus and had talked about wanting a cut that was only the scenes with his motion capture. I taught myself how to edit movies to do this. I may have had a bit of a crush. A lot of a crush. ...You know you really like someone when you spend hours learning how to put together a custom monkey movie based off what was probably a passing whim.
The 2005 version is one of my fave films, it's goofy but dark, funny but tragic, anatomically accurate but zoologically ridiculous! As a student of palaeontology, WETAs work gives me chills, and still looks amazing. As for the whole natives thing, you find out in the art book that they once inhabited the interior of the island, hence why Kong lives within a temple. They were on par with the Aztecs, however the geological instability of the island messed with their great wall and pushed the wildlife into their city, forcing them to live on the peninsula that housed their mausoleums. Generations of inbreeding basically drove them all mad... or something like that, it would have been nice for the movie to mention this.
depends on which era of Godzilla you refer to. today i think the view of the character is pretty similar in that he is a walking natural disaster as opposed to a walking nuclear bomb at the beginning in Japan and just another monster with a famous name in the USA in 1998
Kevin Blanchard I was think something similar to this King Konf video. specifically what cultural issues at the time where being projected on to Godzilla
One correction I'd like to offer, and I sincerely hope you don't mind, is that the Godzilla series wasn't actually going strong by the time of King Kong vs Godzilla. There hadn't been a proper Godzilla movie since 1955 and the series had in many respects been put to pasture. In fact, it was King Kong vs Godzilla that really revitalized Godzilla and laid the groundwork for the franchise to become more family-friendly and driven by spectacular monster fights. The film wasn't even originally planed to feature Godzilla, it began as King Kong vs Frankenstein if you can believe it. Anyway, great video and I'm looking forward to watching the other recently re-uploaded Loose Canons.
Good point. King Kong was beloved in Japan to the point that Godzilla is a bit of a variation on him; King Kong was always meant to be the hero. Godzilla's basically riding Kong (then Mothra's) coattails until 1964's Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, an Avengers style crossover movie that makes Godzilla a hero in his own right.
I love the Jackson King Kong. I wasn't even aware that the runtime is that long. My eyes are always glued to the screen the whole time and it's over in a flash.
If memory serves Lindsey is a fan of godzilla as a franchise and would likely know that. Even if she wasn't, she's the kind of person who would do the research and do the subject justice I mean it is film theory after all that's kinda her thing.
Well, yeah. But I think it would be nice to revisit the topic of Kong now that a new movie is out. Doesn't have to be all that long and intensive either. I'd be more than satisfied if it was just Lindsay talking to the camera for ten minutes.
It would have been nice, especially because of how amazing that movie is and how divergent it is from previous kongs. Notably: not racist for a goddamn change and skipped the whole damsel in distress bit. This kong's a family man.
After watching episodes of Nerdwriter and Mister Amazing and Every Frame a Painting and even Movies with Mikey, there's something really nice and comforting about Chez Lindsay's realness. The production is more relaxed and the performances are much looser and a maybe a little silly. It makes the whole show way more approachable and seems, in the end, profoundly un-pretentious. Sorry if it sounds like I'm saying it's more ramshackle, cuz that's not what I mean. It's just a really refreshing show! So thanks for making it!
@@beckyginger3432 less sensationalized i think. every frame a painting is very clearly trying to do “serious analysis” the likes of which would fit in a textbook, which is a distinct style and choice given their format. movies with mikey seems to get hung up on using emotion, music, and editing to carry many of his points. lindsay has a few videos that may tread into style over substance, specifically and blatantly emulating mikey at times, but the nature of talking into a webcam just fits this casual media critic “brand” she made so well.
1:50 "Cuddle up with your favorite, helpless kidnappee; as we take a look *glances off to the side* at the history of...King Kong" I see what you did there, Lindsay.
I mean, he's a loose adaptation that definitely changed a lot over the years, but I feel Donkey Kong deserved a mention here since, the fact that he's a giant ape and his last name aside, he made his debut by kidnapping Pauline (Jumpman/Mario's gf) and scaling . . . uh, a bunch of platforms and ladders which I suppose stood as monuments to man's hubris somehow. Like the fact that he was supposed to be the video game equivalent of King Kong is pretty blatant tbh
@@corbiecrow9738 Donkey Kong was the first ever Mario game, Mario didn't even have a name and there was no actual story, just infinite climbing until the game crashed.
Thanks for the reupload! I wonder how this year's Kong film fits in. It's clearly a kaiju film rather than something close to Cooper. It's a lot faster paced than the 2005 film, but it doesn't really use the 33 film's ideas at all.
The sexual subtext is pretty faint but it's there in Skull Island. The racial one is pretty interesting-we have Kong's main human enemy being, well, a black guy. A vet whose PTSD makes him go on an obsessive revenge quest.Kong himself is avenging his parents to protect the islanders. So you've definitely got a racial subtext there, I'd say.
I was thinking that Kong in the latest Skull Island film is instead analogous to the Vietcong. He's an enemy that American warfare isn't prepared for, overpowers them despite their technological advantage, gets hunted for the flimsy motive of "they hurt us so we hurt them back", and the trek to kill him becomes a perpetual journey through the treacherous jungle that kills more people than it saves. Not mention most of the film actually is shot in Vietnam. One gets the feeling the writers got the idea by going: "Vietcong... hm. Wait, VietCONG? VietKONG! Perfect, make it a movie." :D
Good point! In that way, this movie uses Kong as a more Godzilla like metaphor. Ironic considering Godzilla's heavily based on King Kong. Funny enough, they've found fossils of giant apes in Vietnam
king kong's family relative and cousions Donkey kong Diddy Kong Cranky Kong Dixie Kong Funky Kong Candy Kong Wrinkly Kong Kiddy Kong Tiny Kong Lanky Kong Donkey Kong Jr Dread Kong Swanky Kong Bluster Kong Karate Kong Kong Fu Ninja Kong Sumo Kong
I saw skull island last night in 3D and it was UNBELIEVABLE!!! Omg..... this movie was so good. Visually, this movie was probably the best I have ever seen. Go see it while it's still in theatres. Don't wait for it to come out on blue ray. See it now.... it's worth the price of a ticket
To my knowledge, some just left the company, but continued to do their own content. After Nostalgia Critic was supposed to conclude in 2012, and Doug was to move on to other things, people continued to make their own content within TGWTG, but disconnected from one another. By this period, Lindsay was making money off of being the Nostalgia Chick between 2012 and 2014, so it didn't matter that much to her. She had her own subset of friends from Channel Awesome, that had their own website (Chez Apocalypse). Once Doug reworked the Channel Awesome brand and website, and Lindsay's site stopped, some members jumped back into the community. Members of Chez Apocalypse like Todd in the Shadows, that Lindsay's still close with, joined once more. Lindsay has said in the past that she didn't feel comfortable continuing the Nostalgia Chick by herself, since it was so connected to Doug. She continued to finally do her own thing, independently.
Nidorino Alliance Also this vid is with League of Super Critics(which has privated all of Lindsay's vid now. Sad cos I wanna re-watch some but hopefully they'll get a re-upload) which means her thing with Maker on that is possibly over so yay for finally finishing all that administrative sh*t and getting her own money directly using this channel.
Polarizer Conlangs she used to be part of a group channel and they held onto her videos when she left. She was allowed to reupload them here now that she's going solo.
When I was very young, I watched the original King Kong while visiting my grandparents in Brooklyn NY, the next day we went to the Empire State Building. The original has been one of my all-time favorite movies after that. Thanks for the analysis!
I agree sooo much about the Jackson-version! i mean, I was 13, but I honest to god remember shedding a tear at the end, as probably the first and only human to ever do that during a goddamn king Kong movie!
Interesting thoughts all around! I never realized the Paramount Kong was that fishy... kinda don’t want to see it now. As for Peter Jackson’s version, well... it *might* be my favorite Jackson movie? It’s a toss-up between it and Return of the King. But your critiques of Jackson’s Kong are rather spot on; it’s a film that’s very in love with itself, but also paradoxically too long and too short. And the stuff with the natives is pretty weirdly handled; Jackson doesn’t even give us a sympathetic moment when the sailors crack out the guns on them. It’s a weird marriage between old and new standards for acceptable portrayal, and that’s why I like analysis like yours: it puts a spotlight on how far our world as our media has come, and helps us understand the nuance so we can keep striving for better. 💯
Glad I'm not the only one. I loved that movie for the most part. I really didn't mind that it was long I don't really understand why a three hour run time is even considered a valid criticism tbh.
Kefka Palazzo well we use kong when we speak of a specific king like the current king of Norway, whose name is Harald, we say "kong Harald" and we explain who he is, we say he is king "konge" of Norway. Same goes for Denmark.
When the Peter Jackson version came out on DVD, I hosted a Kong-athon covering four films (1933, 1976, 2005, and "King Kong Escapes" from 1967). There were three of us who spent nine-and-a-half hours watching giant ape movies.
On the Netflix show, you also missed the 2000 animated series where Kong has a technologically-enabled telepathic link to the show's actual protagonist, who genuinely considers Kong as his brother, and they fight bad guys because it's an early 2000s kids animated show and that's just sort of what you did. And for some reason it's all officially available to just watch on RU-vid...
Did not know there was a 2016 TV series about Kong fighting robot dinosaurs, but looks likw Kong: King of the Apes came and went without making many waves.
Notes on king Vs Godzilla. In 1963 Godzilla had only ever been two movies, the original and Godzilla Raids again, a movie that was released less then a year from the original in 1955. The Godzilla serries wasn't going strong it didn't even exist yet. The only reason it was made was because Willis O'Bian couldn't get anyone to make his dream "Kong Vs Frankenstein" because the budget was to high. He eventually went to Toho figuring suit-mation would be cheaper than stop motion. After a lot of negotiation and rewrites, and a small bit of worry over the international rights to Frankenstein, Godzilla was given the place of Frankenstein's monster. Another note that is lost on many American viewers is that O'Brian and Toho were not trying to revive Godzilla and make a monster movie. kong Vs Godzilla would lean even further into comedy than Son of Kong and become an almost parody of the general. Several famous japanese comedians were added to the cast and some of the plot elements were intentionally silly. With it's all star cast and unique flavor it was a bit in Japan, and would hold box office records for decades. In spite of it's success it was decided that it would need some major changes for the international release. While Ichiro Arishima was a big draw in Japan, it was worried that the slap stick and dry humor of the film wouldn't translate well to the American sensibilities. The movie was rearranged, new scenes were filmed, and a lot of the humor was cut to make something more in line with the giant monster creature features that were more popular in the States. In the end the movie did quite well stateside due to an extensive advertising campaign and the star power of Kong and Godzilla. This convinced Toho to give Godzilla another shot and they went ahead and green lit three more films. Meanwhile Toho had planned a few Kong sequels, but they found the rights to be to costly, and changed the first planned sequel into a Godzilla movie (Godzilla vs the Sea Monster), with minimal changes to the script. They thought they were done with Kong for good untill Rankin-Bass (the animation studio behind Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer) approached them again with an offer to co-produce a Kong solo film basses on their King Kong cartoon. Since Toho still had most of the suit (it had been modified and lent to Tsubaraya for use in their Ultraman serries), and wouldn't have to pay for the rights for Konng they agreed. Rankin-Bass insisted that Kong Escapes hedge closely to the cartoon as possible, and while Toho did get away with some changes to the human cast, the film was a pretty faithful adaptation of the children's cartoon, including the use of a robotic Kong to work as Kong's nemesis. The film didn't do quite as well as Rankin-Bass had hoped and talks of any sequels were shut down quickly
awes-enine is a very powerful word that I intend to now use daily, but that might mean I have to talk about the 1976 King Kong more than I would like to
I just realized that this was done before the Skull Island movie or the news that there is going to be yet another Kong v Zilla movie :) Loved the Jackson version myself.
hey lindsay, how does the skull island kong relate to these? kong doesnt climb a symbol of hubris instead, the hubris is concentrated into samuel l jackson
It's too bad you didn't go more in depth about KKvG, since it's arguably the only one played as a comedy. Also it has some pretty anti-capitalist stuff in it (like Mothra vs G).
I quite liked the "Chaotic Neutral" reference. Hey, if this whole making-money-thing doesn't work out for you, you'll always have a place on my table. I both love and fear you. Good luck to you, Lindsey.
Kong Lives was the first one i saw back when i was 9 i think and i kinda loved it. I may have to check out its predecessor; that looks AMAZING. Tried to watch the original, or rather my parents tried to get me to watch it since i loved Lives so much, but having grown up solely on stuff from 1977+ at that point i just couldn't get past the dated effects. Upside though. Whether by lucky accident or brilliant epiphany, my dad double-featured it with The Planet of The Apes, and coming straight off the first half-hour of King Kong allowed me to completely look past the prototypical ape makeup, and i was able to fully appreciate the movie. For the moment Peter Jackson's is my favorite with Skull Island coming in a close second. It's long yes, but i agree it still manages to leave one wanting more. Even the extended cut of Jackson's King Kong never feels padded to me, but then I'm one of those people who can watch an entire trilogy in a day without feeling worn out. I even own the Extended Editions of The Hobbit and prefer them over the theatrical versions.
I love how 70's Jeff Bridges looks practically identical to 90's Jeff Bridges. Something truly hilarious in imagining the Dude going up against King Kong. xD Though I'm surprised you didn't bring up the 1998 ANIMATED VERSION called "The Mighty Kong" starring Jodi Benson as Anne Darrow and Dudley Moore [his last film role] as Carl Denhman...it's so hilariously awful. Imagine if the 1933 original was animated like the GoodTimes Disney ripoffs that Phelous reviews; toned down and kiddified like every other non-Disney studio making animated films was doing to copy the Disney Renassiance's success; had songs written by the SHERMAN BROTHERS [yes, the pair behind Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and other Disney classics]; and ended with King Kong surviving the fall from the Empire State Building. To quote Strong Bad, "so direct-to-video it hurts" xDDDD
I liked skull island because of the after credit clip tying it into the Kiaju-verse. Legendary Godzilla from 2014 is coming back in Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019. Then Godzilla vs Kong in 2020 (skull island Kong and 2014-2019 Godzilla). I loved this shit as a kid. Thought it was dumb when I got older. But now I'm hyped again. I think it's because there is an effort here at some continuity building where Kaiju never really had that before and were previously taken in all sorts of directions. It's a slow build, but their doing with Kaiju what Marvel and DC did with their universes on the big screen.
Part 2! Part 2! Part 2! Part 2! But yeah this time definitely wait until the movie everyone is crapping their pants over comes out. Might mean not getting the episode out until 2025, but hey, you'll have plenty of time to give Jackson's King Kong another chance(personally it's my favorite. I cry right along with Anne when the planes are coming in for their final run). Heck, you could make it a series and do full reviews of the whole franchise.
1) Well, not exactly, BUT 2) "Life's A Pitch" podcast 106 gave us a pretty good idea of what it would be like. You can find them on soundcloud, acast or i-tunes. 3) I would love to know that too.
Fun fact I just learnt in film class: King Kong (1933) was the first live-action talkie film to use non-diegetic music! (ie, music that doesn't exist in the world of the characters)
I saw the 70s version of KK in the theater as a young kid. Watched it again with my kid a few years ago and was totally in shock over the Deep Throat/porno references shortly after "Dwan" is rescued. And given the news the last week or two, clearly nothing has changed.
this is a wholeass two years later but King Kong is actually on Broadway now...I went to see it yesterday! It’s good, but some of the vocal songs are weird. and there’s also two parts where dubstep plays as King Kong’s puppet is swung around with Ann in slow motion. It’s cooler than it sounds, but still weird...
Hey, Miss Lindsay. You mentioned that King Kong is unique in that he originated exclusively from classic movies, not classic lit. Back when The History Channel listed more toward, well, history, they mentioned that the werewolf, similarly has no definitive novel from which it got later adapted into movies. Dunno if the ol' Wolfman would be worthy of *e-hem* canonization, but I'd be curious about your take on him.
This is a very VERY late reply, but since I now have been assimilated into the youtube collective despite my efforts for YEARS to not be, I now can comment "freely" GOOBLE GOBBLE ONE OF US!!!. I have been watching your videos for about 7 years I reckon? FIRST time you came to my attention was the Ferngully teamup with the Nostalgia Critic. I just wanted to say I have enjoyed watching you grow as a critic and a well meaning idiot. I may not always agree with your perspectives, but you're never boring and have truly wizened through the years and have a great adoration for movies, good and bad. Good Luck Lindsay.
Is funny how animals on that island attack humans for no reason especially if they already have big chung of food in their mouth. And that sauropod stampade is one of most cartoonish thing I ever saw. And not in a good way.
KK vs Godzilla was originally supposed to be Frankenstein's Monster rather than Kong. Elements of this are still in the script as filmed; his affinity to electricity as an example. The film also ends differently depending whether you watch the Japanese or American version.
Yes and no. Toho was sold the rights to Willis O'Brien's King Kong vs Frankenstien, and they decided to make two different movies : King Kong's battle in the South Sea, and Frankenstien vs Godzilla. Frankenstien proved problematic-they sat on Battle in the South Sea and Frankenstien, and made King Kong vs Godzilla in 1962. Since that was a hit, they decided to bring in Mothra to fight Godzilla in another successful shot in 1964. After that was a hit, along with the Ghidorah movie, in 1965 Toho then went ahead with Frankenstien vs Baragon at the same time as Invasion of the Astro-Monster. Both were successful, so Toho made a sequel to Frankenstien-War of the Gargantuas, and partnered up with Rankin Bass for Big Battle in the South Seas. However, they didn't have time to secure the rights, so Godzilla replaced Kong. FINALLY, in 1967, Rankin Bass released their King Kong cartoon and Toho released King Kong Escapes to promote each other. The ending is only different in the dialogue; they both seem to acknowledge Kong as the victor. The other difference in the ending is as the screen fades to black, the American version only has Kong roaring, while the Japanese has both monsters roaring to make it clear that Godzilla is still alive.
If you decide to update this to include Skull Island, please also consider throwing in other Kong-inspired oversized apes (like those in the Mighty Joe Young movies and Rampage).
I'm so sorry but I gotta disagree about those endings. Every time I watch the 05 ending, I cry like a baby. The 33 version does not feel more tragic to me at all. Sure, it's sad that Kong died for someone who didn't care about him, but it struck me more that Ann loved Kong and was forced to watch him die for her. She couldn't protect him, and her grief was so intense that the script mentions she almost jumped off the building, to follow Kong, before Jack arrived. That shit hurts. And I know this might be a odd comparison, but it's like Titanic. If the love between Rose and Jack wasn't mutual, I wouldn't have been heartbroken over his sacrifice.
Meryl Streep was also up for Jessica Lange's role in King Kong, but she wasn't hot/sexy enough. Lange's career struggled, but recovered in the long term. I feel like this could've killed Meryl's career stone cold dead. Thank God it didn't.
"At the end of King Kong Lives, King Kong dies" is now in my list of favorite quotes about movies, right beside "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a movie about one tower".
The Japanese at 9:55 is badly translated. The first part is a bit garbled because he was finishing to ask a question, but he answers "Godzilla is dead I think"
