by Lunkenstein on December 10th, 2005, 10:23 am
It's been my favorite giant monster movie since about age 6. The first creatures that fascinated me were dinosaurs (before getting into monster movies later). My sisters took me to a double feature of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH + THE LOST WORLD (1960). They even bought me a few plastic dinosaurs afterward! Then my mother took me to see GORGO which was another affecting experience. There atop the old FOX Theater in Philly was the huge head of Gorgo! That was a cool marketing idea. It was around this same time I first saw KING KONG and I was forever hooked. A couple years later, President Johnson interrupted a broadcast of KONG and I was furious! He made me miss Kong's capture! At that point, I'd probably only seen the film a couple times. It's impossible to guess how many viewings since.
So many memorable moments in Kong - magic from start to finish. The fight with Rex, the log scene, the rampage in New York, etc, etc... Plus all those great characters. Robert Armstrong's Denham in KONG & SON is so enjoyable (and as O'Hara in JOE YOUNG). Metal, I totally love Fay too! What a gorgeous, wonderful lady she was. Finally saw THE VAMPIRE BAT last year and yes - what a doll as a natural brunette.
The new DVD sets are wonderful. They really did it right. The only thing lacking is the amount of input from Fay, but that's a sad timing issue I guess. The DVD extras it has about the film and its creators are great, and the films themselves have never looked better.