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

[kong73]

Originally Posted by The hitcher

My only problem with revisiting this movie is that it is sad AF and makes me feel like blubbering like a little kid

Seriously I will just skip the end next time.

It's all fun, action and games until he dies at the end!!!!

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by lateralspin

It is a pick your poison type of choice. In some cases, the BD looks better. In others, the UHD looks better...

Yeah, same as the LotR movies.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Mierzwiak

The original color grading, while having some of the usual color blankets, still feels to me like exactly what it is - carefully applied, deliberate color pallette. It fits the style of the film and creates specific atmosphere, which, I think, sometimes can be lost on the UHD.

Just for fun:

BD


UHD


Official VFX shot (full range?)

Hmmm. To me it's more dumb ****ing luck that it looks 'how it should' in scenes like that ^ because elsewhere that green/yellow combo just drains the life out of the image IMO.

[RalphoR]

The UHD disc really is a study in contrast. That dang brontosaur stampede looked bad on blu-ray but the 4k made it at least palatable. Then it screws up other scenes.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

The UHD disc really is a study in contrast. That dang brontosaur stampede looked bad on blu-ray but the 4k made it at least palatable. Then it screws up other scenes.

I was gonna say something like this. Gentleman above said the DNR hurts the CG but honestly the HDR dramatically improved the CG to my memory. Added depth and shadow on top of more nuanced color really helps early CG to my eyes. The Mummy and Mummy Returns are the best examples off the top of my head. Need to rewatch this disc but that's how I remember it anyway.

[levcore]

I love this movie and i love how epic it is. I think the finale is just so depressing though, in a way that really makes the viewer miserable for what Kong has to endure. The original obviously has the same story beats but due to being much shorter, it doesn't dwell on Kong's demise for like 20 minutes.

Heresy but i'd love an edit of this movie that shortens the first act, keeps all the island stuff and ends with them leaving Kong on the island ha ha. The Skull Island stuff has always been my favourite part of the movie.

[spiltmilk]

Originally Posted by levcore

I love this movie and i love how epic it is. I think the finale is just so depressing though, in a way that really makes the viewer miserable for what Kong has to endure. The original obviously has the same story beats but due to being much shorter, it doesn't dwell on Kong's demise for like 20 minutes.

Heresy but i'd love an edit of this movie that shortens the first act, keeps all the island stuff and ends with them leaving Kong on the island ha ha. The Skull Island stuff has always been my favourite part of the movie.

I'm the opposite. I'd keep the great build-up in the first act and then remove at least 50 % of the different monsters on the island in order to keep the focus more on Kong rather than an endless array of other stuff. I like the third part as well so it's just the island that I would cut into with a vengeance.

This is the film I've been really interested in making an edit of, since I think there is a great film hiding underneath all those over the top CGI scenes. However, I think it might be difficult to get the continuity even halfway right, as there are so many people dying on the island.

I also in the UHD camp for this one by the way. I watched it and was disappointed with the overblown highlights and the weird DNR in places - thought I'd like the blu ray better - then watched the blu ray, and was quickly convinced that, at least for me, the benefits of the UHD clearly outweighs its drawbacks.

[StingingVelvet]

Depends on what you're looking for I guess. I love the "lost world" stuff but have zero interest in romance or other TV drama bullshit on a boat.

[spiltmilk]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Depends on what you're looking for I guess. I love the "lost world" stuff but have zero interest in romance or other TV drama bullshit on a boat.

Whatever floats your boat.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by levcore

I love this movie and i love how epic it is. I think the finale is just so depressing though, in a way that really makes the viewer miserable for what Kong has to endure. The original obviously has the same story beats but due to being much shorter, it doesn't dwell on Kong's demise for like 20 minutes.

Heresy but i'd love an edit of this movie that shortens the first act, keeps all the island stuff and ends with them leaving Kong on the island ha ha. The Skull Island stuff has always been my favourite part of the movie.

It is a depressing ending but Jackson's Kong isn't as likable as the original. He was so innocent and you really felt sorry for him even more so.

The good news is with the MonsterVerse that Kong wasn't really stolen off of Skull Island to go splat in NYC. Although, he was taken and forced to fight a giant, mean radioactive lizard. At least he survived and has a whole kingdom to rule.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

It is a depressing ending but Jackson's Kong isn't as likable as the original. He was so innocent and you really felt sorry for him even more so.

You're saying the Kong in the original 1933 movie is the most innocent and likable? I don't agree with that at all, he ruthlessly slaughters people and desires Anne as a plaything more than anything else. He's widely considered a monster in that movie, versus the sympathetic character the later movies made him.

[Schwartzy]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Hmmm. To me it's more dumb ****ing luck that it looks 'how it should' in scenes like that ^ because elsewhere that green/yellow combo just drains the life out of the image IMO.

The 4K makes this scenes rock formations look so bland with way less shadows and so the cgi vines and roots look kinda bad :/

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Schwartzy

The 4K makes this scenes rock formations look so bland with way less shadows and so the cgi vines and roots look kinda bad :/

If you're talking about the screen cap, sure I guess. But it doesn't look as shitty as that in actual HDR vs the SDR converted cap.

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

If you're talking about the screen cap, sure I guess. But it doesn't look as shitty as that in actual HDR vs the SDR converted cap.

Yeah, I've been wondering if CAH's caps for this 4K really do look that bad on the actual disc (on a proper setup), because eesh.

[Hedrox]

Seeing as this is a Universal title, does the US disc have burnt in theatrical subtitles or something? Been so long since I've seen this movie that I can't even remember if there is any dialogue that requires them.

[CSM101]

Jackson’s Kong is most lovable and heroic. Perhaps the Kong that Adam Wingard has directed in the two recent Godzillaverse movie is even more heroic than Jackson’s.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

You're saying the Kong in the original 1933 movie is the most innocent and likable? I don't agree with that at all, he ruthlessly slaughters people and desires Anne as a plaything more than anything else. He's widely considered a monster in that movie, versus the sympathetic character the later movies made him.

They're all monsters and sympathetic creatures but for me I still feel saddest for the original. Maybe it's because he had scenes where he acts like the Bumble from Rudolph or doesn't understand being stabbed in the finger. '76 never "smiles" and seems to be perpetually ticked off and Jackson's version, although laughs, is very vengeful and violent (the graveyard of "brides"). I just see it differently so we can just agree to disagree. I love all three movies.

[StingingVelvet]

Man, I forgot how much I hate this movie. Turned it off right after the t-rex fight, I just couldn't take anymore. It's so stupid, cartoonish, and unrestrained. On top of that is has awful pacing, and on top of that it looks awful with garish lighting, horrible CGI and bad post-processing (on both discs). I really hated blockbuster films and CGI for a good while in the later 00s and early teens and this movie is honestly a big reason why.

Anyway... my hatred of the movie aside, I compared the BD to the UHD again out of MrHomeTheaterMan curiosity and I think I'd take the UHD pretty easily on this one. The color looks way better and the HDR adds a lot of depth to the awful looking CGI. It's definitely garish at times with ugly harsh lighting but that's mostly just how the movie looks, you can't get away from it. Same thing with the funky processing, they both look like that. I'll take the HDR and color improvements over mildly better grain that's irrelevant in this cartoon anyway.

3 t-rexes out of 10.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by kong73

It's all fun, action and games until he dies at the end!!!!

Dino was right!

[Mierzwiak]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Man, I forgot how much I hate this movie. Turned it off right after the t-rex fight, I just couldn't take anymore. It's so stupid, cartoonish, and unrestrained.

That's the very reason why I love it so much.

And the T-Rex(es) fight is outstanding, especially that part on vines - it might be one of my, if not the favorite piece of insane, creative, unrestrained blockbuster filmmaking of all time.