8mm Forum: KING KONG

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Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on November 24, 2009, 07:47 AM:

I found my Holy Grail Super 8 Sound film.... King Kong.

This is a 400 ft film and it starts at Kong's New York unveiling.

This was manufactured by Mountain Films and I found out they also released King Kong's Skull Island monster fights! Hmmmm...Love to find that one!

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on November 24, 2009, 08:45 AM:

Tim,

There are a number of Kong extracts out there. Full length prints show up often on eBay and used film lists.

Doug

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on November 24, 2009, 09:07 AM:

GREAT box art there! I love how Kong's arm is curled back, almost like a cat. Very un-natural and therefore, very fun!

Was that an extract from King Kong, or one of the later sequels or remakes?

Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on November 24, 2009, 09:37 AM:

Wow! That's Great!

Posted by Steven J Kirk (Member # 1135) on November 24, 2009, 10:07 AM:

There were full length prints of the original KING KONG from Mountain and the quality is very good. 6 X 400ft is the entire film.

Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on November 24, 2009, 12:23 PM:

I'm wondering if I have the 6th installment of that series!
It's Mountain films, 400ft, New York part.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on November 24, 2009, 12:36 PM:

The Mountain 6x400ft version is an excellent release (it has a better contrats than the 16mm print I own and is more complete than the 35mm print I have in the collection).

Film Office in France also released all sorts of extracts:
- 4 x 50ft silent
- 400ft + 200ft silent
- 2 x 400ft + 1 x 400ft sound (the last reel, the NY scene, was sold separately)

UFA, in Germany, released a 3x400ft set of "King Kong vs Godzilla". I found a 2x400ft release of "King Kong's Escaped" in Spain, I don't know who put that one out (that's one ugly red print).

Marketing released a superb 4 x 400ft digest of the 1976 version (the 300ft reel sold through the Revue brand is a trimmed version of Marketing's part#4).

Classic offers a splendid scope trailer of the 2005 version.

Hope you can find the other reels of the Mountain release...
[Wink]

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on November 25, 2009, 08:35 PM:

I have the 6 x 400 Mountain version and the print is very nice, only the front Mountain titles and censorship logos at the start are dark. The main titles are fine. Contast is good and it's sharp too.

Is this the full length theatrical version I have always wondered? Maybe it was another similar film, but as a kid I seem to recall a scene where you could see Kong tied up on the ship for the return to NYC. In my version he is captured on the island and the next you see is the cut to New York.

David

Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on November 25, 2009, 09:07 PM:

Nope, No tied up in the ship scene in the 1933 original. Carl Denham shouts "We'll all be millionaires boys, I'll share it with all of you!" Cut to NYC.

They show Kong in the tank of the ship while transporting him to New York in the 1976 remake though.

That's going to become my mission, finding all of Kong on Super 8!

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on November 25, 2009, 09:15 PM:

That is how 'Kong' goes: he's knocked out, we dissolve to Manhattan. I have never heard of any scenes involving the transport in the '33 original.

I had the Mountain 6-by-400 back as a teen and it is complete with the censored native scenes and such.
(It was a great buy, along with their other 'big RKOs' on offer at the time, such as "Citizen Kane.")

My current 16mm version of "Kong" (US negative) still has the censored scenes inserted from another source, not as part of a complete negative as the Mountain one was/is.

P.S. I am sure mz. Wray would have had a thing or two to say about how she was portrayed on that box art.... [Wink]

Claus.

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on November 26, 2009, 09:51 AM:

Thanks Timothy and Claus, that makes me feel a lot better. It really is a great film to have on Super 8.

David

Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on November 26, 2009, 10:17 AM:

Great find Timothy!!

I have the 2X200 Collectors Club version which I fleshed out with a version called "Kong battles the Monsters". makes a nice full 600' reel cutdown. Unfortunatly it is a silent version.
I thought I had found my holy grail when I won (well it was listed as a sound 4X400) version of King Kong on Ebay.
I received a Kong film alright but it was "Son Of Kong".
Actually I was happy anyway, unfortunatly it has an emulsion scrtach running the entire 4 reels!!

Cheers
Terry

Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on November 26, 2009, 05:00 PM:

Terry-

The "Son Of Kong" Mountain Films box is really cool.

On The back of my Mountain Films Kong case it shows the cover art for Kong Battles The Monsters. Would LOOOOVE to find that one!

Here in Atlanta GA. We put on a show on the last Saturday of every month at the oldest operating theatre in Atlanta; The Plaza. We host great old horror/sci fi flicks on glorious 35mm!

We showed a great print of the original Kong about six months ago! [Big Grin]

Posted by Terry Lagler (Member # 1110) on November 27, 2009, 09:33 PM:

Timothy
Kong on 35mm - on the big screen! The mouth waters.

Kong Battles The Monsters is basically the T-Rex battle, the battle in Kong's lair and with the Pterodactyl.The last two monster fights were not on the Collectors Club release.
Cheers
Terry

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on November 28, 2009, 01:07 PM:

I bought the Mountain 6 x 400 KING KONG when it first came out.A fine copy,but it comes from the censored British version.It is missing three short scenes, one showing Kong stepping on natives, one a closeup of Kong chewing people and another I can't remember right now.I later bought a used, dupey, contrasty but complete American copy (source unknown)and added the missing scenes to mine. And sold the dupey, contrasty print to a friend who didn't mind the condition !!
Mountain's SON OF KONG is shortened to 61 minutes from the original 69-70. I have a complete american print which is in three overfilled 400 ft reels,so it must be a Thunderbird .

Posted by Dino Everette (Member # 1378) on November 29, 2009, 03:33 AM:

quote:
I have a complete american print which is in three overfilled 400 ft reels,so it must be a Thunderbird .

hahahahahahaha [Big Grin]

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on November 29, 2009, 03:05 PM:

Am I wrong ?

Posted by Steven J Kirk (Member # 1135) on November 29, 2009, 06:21 PM:

I don't believe it is censored because it is British it is because of the 'Hays code'. This came in just after KING KONG was released and the film was trimmed in those gruesome scenes you describe on re-release. Some later versions then re-incorporated some or all of the deleted scenes. Sure someone else will know the full story of this and continue the post...

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on November 29, 2009, 06:37 PM:

I am trying to recall which scenes may/may not have been cut in the Mountain/British neg. version; included the 6-400 version print, as I recall it, was:

The bronto killing the sailor.
Kong examining Ann.
Natives getting knocked off the scaffold and stomped.
Chewing scene of native (c/u stomping scene may have been cut.)
Man bitten in NY street.
"Wrong woman" thrown to the street (fall may have been trimmed.)

I have never been able to find a list of exactly what trims were made in Britain, but these are the scenes I recall still being in my print, from 30 years ago admitttedly, so I hope I am not just having wishful remembrances here.... [Smile]

Claus.

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