King Kong 4K UHD (2005) (Ultimate Edition)

[Tok]

Originally Posted by happydood

Weeeell. I love Peter Jackson's movies. They create worlds I want to live in for the few hours I'm watching them and they're full of heart. I'll take them all just as they are. I have no problem with fan edits since the world is a rainbow and all, but, like abridged books, they're just not for me.

Naomi Watts in period costuming in 1930's New York for an hour just sends me.

Agreed. In the viewing world of home video I want to spend time in the world Jackson and company created. It’s escapist fun. I love the original and I was thrilled with the expansion he did on the story.

Never understood the hate this film got other than it wasn’t the Hobbit as fans of LOTR were desperate for Jackson to continue adventures in middle earth. Now the Hobbit was a series that should have never been expanded beyond two films. That said the series didn’t lose steam until about a third of the way into the third film for me.

[raptors661]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

Yeah, if you’re going to chop any fat from the movie, the goes-nowhere stuff between Jimmy and Hayes gets my vote.

PJ's King Kong is one of my all time favorites (along with the original). I watch the extended cut every time, and I agree with this. I feel like there's something else on the cutting room floor that fleshes that out more. They could be in the deleted scenes, I haven't watched those in a while.

[Schwartzy]

Again i love how this takes its time to set the adventure!

It is rare atleast nowdays where kong would probably be dead already or size of a skyscraper fighting godzilla in the next movie already before they get on the island on PJ's version...

It feels like proper adventure thats sets up the characters that feel alive and real people with real problems.

i love it. It was also my first dvd i ever bought and the hobby continues my top 3 film of all times.

It was also a peak imo in set desing,miniature and cgi work that used all of them together. I miss that jackson and style

[chip75]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

That only says "New York - 1933". It doesn't tell you about Ann. It doesn't tell you about Denham. Or any of the characters. It doesn't set up the context of the story and world being presented. All it does is say "New York - 1933".

"New York - 1933" says an awful lot. You can get the same information without overindulgence.

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by chip75

"New York - 1933" says an awful lot. You can get the same information without overindulgence.

No.

[coolguy25]

hey guys on movies anywhere there is a Theatrical and Extended. Which one do i redeem?

[raptors661]

Originally Posted by coolguy25

hey guys on movies anywhere there is a Theatrical and Extended. Which one do i redeem?

The extended is only 13 or so minutes longer, so I'd go with that. You're already watching a 3+hour movie, an extra few minutes won't hurt.

The new scenes are also great.

[coolguy25]

Originally Posted by raptors661

The extended is only 13 or so minutes longer, so I'd go with that. You're already watching a 3+hour movie, an extra few minutes won't hurt.

The new scenes are also great.

Thanks I just watched Theatrical last night. Dam it really did feel too bright and my eyes were sore by the time we hit the Brontosaurus chase. That looked atrocious the CGI really stood out it looked like they were gliding and being sucked in the Dinosaurs legs.

The worst part is the DTS-X is so good, but I would rather watch the Blu Ray next time at least I only payed 9.99 on Black Friday and never owned the Blu Ray before.

[raptors661]

Originally Posted by coolguy25

Thanks I just watched Theatrical last night. Dam it really did feel too bright and my eyes were sore by the time we hit the Brontosaurus chase. That looked atrocious the CGI really stood out it looked like they were gliding and being sucked in the Dinosaurs legs.

The worst part is the DTS-X is so good, but I would rather watch the Blu Ray next time at least I only payed 9.99 on Black Friday and never owned the Blu Ray before.

The CG for that scene was always bad, even in the theaters. I think they were rushed to finish that one. The CG for the rest of the movie, especially Kong, hold up really well though.

[thestrangestick]

I watched this last night, having not seen it since I was a kid, hoping I would be able to enjoy it a lot more as I’m now actually semi-capable of following stories. Unfortunately, this doesn’t really have one, so I was forced to agree with my child-me impression of it. Far too long and not nearly interesting enough.

I actually really loved the first 50 minutes or so. All the period drama stuff in NY is very well done and completely gripping. The shark only starts to get jumped when King Kong is introduced, which for a movie titled King Kong is a really bad sign.

A lot of the CGI has not aged well at all, but I think the bigger issue is the weak characterisation of a lot of the characters, and if you find Naomi doing a weird tumbling act for an aggressive billion foot monkey to be as awkward and weird as I do then the main relationship in the film is already struggling to make sense. None of the action sequences are very memorable bar the classic Empire State bash so the runtime feels completely unearned.

It’s a huge, messy film basically. I did like a lot of stuff about it, but there’s too much wrong with it for me to think about watching it again. I could never even tell if Jack Black’s character was supposed to be empathetic at times or if Jackson could not make up his mind. 90% of the movie he’s an entertaining but increasingly toxic narcissist, who doesn’t really get any redemption at all yet who I still felt like I was supposed to relate to or support at times.

The 4K was also such a mixed bag which doesn’t help. Some scenes had gorgeous levels of filmic detail and grain, giving way to heavy DNR or sharpened, out of focus shots. It was so inconsistent, and painfully reminded me of Jackson’s other notable 4K release…

[Schwartzy]

One thing i agree is that Carl didnt get what he deserved... But im sure that after the film ended he lost everything and probably went to jail... People died on the island and when kong got loose in new york and Carl was responsible.

He had moments of empathy and heart but ultimately creed and hunger for fame ate his heart and he lost everybody and everything.



No Carl.. it was you.

[bookcase]

Originally Posted by raptors661

The CG for that scene was always bad, even in the theaters. I think they were rushed to finish that one. The CG for the rest of the movie, especially Kong, hold up really well though.

Yeah, that scene has always been cringe-worthy -- I would've cut it. But I think the rest of it is excellent and I love the film.

[RYJAPE21]

Originally Posted by thestrangestick

A lot of the CGI has not aged well at all…

Could not disagree more. Aside from the aforementioned stampede scene (which looked horrible back in 2005 on the big screen, where I had the pleasure of seeing this film twice), I truly feel Weta did a remarkable job. A majority of the CGI stands above some of the films of today. Kong is so lifelike, right down to the strands of fur; the dinosaurs blend in well (for the most part) with the environment, and those damn giant insects are still frightening.

I’m always shocked when I see the CGI bashed for this film.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by RYJAPE21

Could not disagree more. Aside from the aforementioned stampede scene (which looked horrible back in 2005 on the big screen, where I had the pleasure of seeing this film twice), I truly feel Weta did a remarkable job. A majority of the CGI stands above some of the films of today. Kong is so lifelike, right down to the strands of fur; the dinosaurs blend in well (for the most part) with the environment, and those damn giant insects are still frightening.

I’m always shocked when I see the CGI bashed for this film.

Kong is a majestic CG creation (albeit with Andy Serkis doing the monkey work) and there's plenty of other good stuff, it's mainly that dodgy dino stampede that sticks in the mind.

[Schwartzy]

i dont think the whole stampede looks bad.. to me only the pile up at the end is quite bad and looks flat and when guys are running out of the pileup it looks so green screen.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Schwartzy

i dont think the whole stampede looks bad.. to me only the pile up at the end is quite bad and looks flat and when guys are running out of the pileup it looks so green screen.

Agreed. That was the most noticeable for me as well. It’s the weak link of the CGI in the entire movie. Everything else still holds up quite well.

[RYJAPE21]

Originally Posted by Schwartzy

i dont think the whole stampede looks bad.. to me only the pile up at the end is quite bad and looks flat and when guys are running out of the pileup it looks so green screen.

Yeah I’d mostly blame the green screen for how that scene looks. It’s just very unnatural and takes you out of the film briefly.

[coolguy25]

I could handle the CGI issue of the stampede if it wasn't such an eye sore by the point in the movie.

Seriously though out of my 100 4k's this is the first movie I ever had to shutdown halfway because it was just too dam bright and hurting my eyes. There is major DNR on this badboy also and all grain was taken away from faces making them look waxy. That's a major reason I sold off my Lord of the Rings 4k set, by the time I got to TWO TOWERS the brightness and DNR was just too much to handle.

[got6]

Originally Posted by RYJAPE21

Could not disagree more. Aside from the aforementioned stampede scene (which looked horrible back in 2005 on the big screen, where I had the pleasure of seeing this film twice), I truly feel Weta did a remarkable job. A majority of the CGI stands above some of the films of today. Kong is so lifelike, right down to the strands of fur; the dinosaurs blend in well (for the most part) with the environment, and those damn giant insects are still frightening.

I’m always shocked when I see the CGI bashed for this film.

Perfect assessment. Like many other forums….people bash for the sake of piling on. I loved the action sequences in the theater and put on the blinders for the brontosaurus sequence. Snip the heart of darkness sequences and the poor jimmy characterizations and the movie is rewatcheable for me anytime.

[Schwartzy]

Originally Posted by coolguy25

I could handle the CGI issue of the stampede if it wasn't such an eye sore by the point in the movie.

Seriously though out of my 100 4k's this is the first movie I ever had to shutdown halfway because it was just too dam bright and hurting my eyes. There is major DNR on this badboy also and all grain was taken away from faces making them look waxy. That's a major reason I sold off my Lord of the Rings 4k set, by the time I got to TWO TOWERS the brightness and DNR was just too much to handle.

Yea the hdr of the 4K makes the cgi stand out way more than if it was done right... God i wish we could get new release and master but doubt it will happen :/

Its just sucks that two of my favourite films have the worst 4K releases T2 and this.