King Kong

Director: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Year Released: 1933
Rating: 3.0

Famous Hollywood B-movie salvaged by breakthroughs in technology and creativity to make a gigantic monster come to life. Story is familiar to everyone: director and his crew go to Island That Time Forgot to film the "Eighth Wonder of the World" (while battling other dinosaurs like pterodactyls), the massive gorilla falls for Faye Wray, they bring it back to America and exploit it. It certainly won't be remembered for its acting or dialogue, both of which border on awful, and it's important to view this in context. It wasn't all that groundbreaking in its use of stop motion - nor the best - because unknown filmmaker Wladyslaw Starewicz was making similar films at the same time, and it's a shame he never got the credit he deserved.