Beauty vs Beast: Monkey Business
Monday, May 1, 2017 at 5:19PM Jason from MNPP here for another round of "Beauty vs Beast" - today is the 86th anniversary of the grand opening of the Empire State Building, aka the most famous building in the world. And so in its honor we're finally tackling the movie that not only birthed its legend but also gave this series its name...
"It was beauty killed the beast."
The Empire State Building was opened on May 1st 1931. President Hoover pushed a button in the White House in DC and the lights to the tower in NYC flicked on for the first time. Just under two years later the movie King Kong would be released (director Merian Cooper supposedly came up with the idea of the plane battle at its top), immediately branding the iconic skyscraper and its most famous big monkey occupant - and his little blonde friend (Fay Wray) - onto every human brain, and forever thereafter.
PREVIOUSLY Last week's contest faced down the mother-daughter duo of Postcards From the Edge and once again proved you should never bet against Meryl Streep - she stomped right over birthday gal Shirley MacLaine with 61% of your vote. Although forever1267 really summed up my own thoughts on the question:
"Where is the "Both" button?"
Reader Comments (13)
I mean I have to vote Ann because King Kong has gotten way too greedy over the years with all those damn sequels and remakes. He once seemed so devoted to Ann but maybe it's easy to be monogamous when you're "beauty" keeps becoming a different woman entirely!
If it's Jessica Lange, I'm Team Ann. For the others, I'm going Ape. That Peter Jackson version was annoying.
Naomi Watts was the best Ann by far although Peter Jackson just can't bring himself to edit his movies. But since Miss Wray was the inspiration I'll vote for her.
The Peter Jackson movie was endless- the 1933 original is a masterpiece .
The less said about the Jessica Lange version the better. The mechanical ape molesting her breasts was disgusting, and tells you everything you need to know about the late Dino De Laurentiis, Senior. Pig!
My vote for Ann is exclusively for Naomi's version. The other two onscreen Ann's were pretty forgettable.
*blush* Thank you!
I vote for Kong. Like Norman Bates, he's a sympathetic monster who will never get what he wants.
I call this a tie. Kong is the mightiest film character...but all he wants is Ann, so she's got to have something too.
I agree with jaragon on 1933.
The best bit of the Jackson one was the spider pit sequence - one of the few bits that don't pale in comparison with the original...because it didn't make it into the original!
I quite like the 1976 version, in its way. It's an attractive movie, with a good cast.
I haven't seen Kong: Skull Island yet.
Edward, I remember how the 76 version was savaged when it came out. But I am a fan--it's corny, and cheesy, and clunky, but it's very entertaining and does a great job of building dread toward the introduction of Kong--which is genuinely terrifying. Jessica is a lot of fun and seems to get the tricky tone of the thing. The critics were merciless toward the movie, and Jessica bore the brunt of it. The fact that she came back from this, and with a vengeance, I might add, is a true testament to her.
brookesboy: Yes, she really turned it around. All That Jazz and The Postman Always Rings Twice were great answers to her critics - and then the double Oscar nominations of 1982. Remarkable.
The '76 version of King Kong also has beautiful cinematography - 'hard' in a '70s way but attuned to the scenery, the out of doors, and the contrasts of epic scale and intimate close-ups. The film has also now taken on real pathos due to the role played by the World Trade Center in the climax. Definitely a film that has endured, one way or another.
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