The Big Picture: Schlocktober 2012: King Kong
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Does Bob read these forums?
I ask because I wanted to know if you (MovieBob) had seen the 1931 Dracula shot in Spanish.
I watched it a couple of years ago as part of a Film History exam I had to do, originally we (The other guys in my team and I) had in mind to analyze 4 Classic Horror movies from the '30 and '40 (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Cat People) but we ended up analyzing a fifth that was the Spanish-spoken version of Dracula, called Drácula
P).
I bring this up because while we were at it we got surprised by how far better this other version was, I'm pretty sure you know the story but I'll tel it anyways, the film was shot using the exact same locations the English-spoken version used, only that they had to shoot it in the other half of the day, while the "mainstream-version" production team wasn't using the sets. Some dialogues are a bit cheesy for native Spanish-speaking people (there are LOTS of mixed accents: Mexicans, Spaniards, Argentinians, the whole bunch) but it's a rounder film than the English-spoken version. It doesn't have Bela Lugosi but most of the actors play their part better, there's better use of film language, action and montage and so the general structure flows nicely. Some say it's slow (it lasts almost 30 minutes more), but I think it's just less rushed than Tod Browning's, thus the plot gets developed in a better, more solid way and makes more sense.
I thought it could be a good subject for a future Shlocktober, if it hasn't been already mentioned.
I ask because I wanted to know if you (MovieBob) had seen the 1931 Dracula shot in Spanish.
I watched it a couple of years ago as part of a Film History exam I had to do, originally we (The other guys in my team and I) had in mind to analyze 4 Classic Horror movies from the '30 and '40 (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Cat People) but we ended up analyzing a fifth that was the Spanish-spoken version of Dracula, called Drácula
P).I bring this up because while we were at it we got surprised by how far better this other version was, I'm pretty sure you know the story but I'll tel it anyways, the film was shot using the exact same locations the English-spoken version used, only that they had to shoot it in the other half of the day, while the "mainstream-version" production team wasn't using the sets. Some dialogues are a bit cheesy for native Spanish-speaking people (there are LOTS of mixed accents: Mexicans, Spaniards, Argentinians, the whole bunch) but it's a rounder film than the English-spoken version. It doesn't have Bela Lugosi but most of the actors play their part better, there's better use of film language, action and montage and so the general structure flows nicely. Some say it's slow (it lasts almost 30 minutes more), but I think it's just less rushed than Tod Browning's, thus the plot gets developed in a better, more solid way and makes more sense.
I thought it could be a good subject for a future Shlocktober, if it hasn't been already mentioned.
Bob's going to do Mighty Joe for no apparent reason...
As long as he doesn't do Godzilla vs. Megalon. I hate Jet Jaguar.
As long as he doesn't do Godzilla vs. Megalon. I hate Jet Jaguar.
the 70s King Kong is kind of a guilty pleasure for me - it is, by any definition, pretty bad, but I do like John Barry's soundtrack and it was the first version to show Kong in a truly sympathetic light - something Peter Jackson took from it (if you watch the original after the PJ remake it's quite jarring, because Fay Wray's Ann pretty much never regards Kong with anything except terror.)
The original is still the best though.
The original is still the best though.
Nope; it's the perfect mascot for these special episodes. He's supoosed to draw you in to the real meat of the show.fangclaw said:
Because GIANT ROBOTS, DAMMIT!!! They represent the FUTURE, a triumph of form and function. They sound like what we can accomplish with such amazing technology: amuse ourselves for a couple of hours.leviadragon99 said:
Mind. BLOWN. So that's why Optimus Primal turned into a gorilla! Not just because gorillas are the strongest apes that are closely related to humans?Ken_J said:
Bob, thank you for bringing back Schlocktober! Tou videos are getting me more intersted in the wacky workings behind the scenes in producing movies, with Apocalypse Now taking the burnt, flaming cake (filming a war movie in an active war zone: BALLSY).
King Kong as king of the monster movies?!
Are you implying that Kong is somehow better than Godzilla?
Your opinion is grossly incorrect, sir. Godzilla could STEP on King Kong if they hadn't upped his size for the show down.
Are you implying that Kong is somehow better than Godzilla?
Your opinion is grossly incorrect, sir. Godzilla could STEP on King Kong if they hadn't upped his size for the show down.
I call it "The Spectacle of Failure". We know the shark looks fake and dumb, but it still terrified us (then we laughed at how ridiculous it was). Everyone knew it would be either super awesome (1% chance) or laughably ridiculous (99% chance). Either way money well spent.leviadragon99 said:
OT: I really did enjoy that back story. I love any story where big corporation sues little corp, AND LOSES. HAHAHA.
So, Bob, you being the paragon of film that you are.. how long till we stop weeing our pants as a society whenever something that even reminds us that the WTC used to exists appears in a movie, etc.?
We seem to have no trouble showing Germany in general, Berlin, The Pentagon, holocaust imagery, London, civil war massacres, Indians, the crusades, witch burnings, slavery, and the hundreds upon hundreds of other horrible things or places where horrible things have happened in human history.. yet we as a country seem to be going out of our way to forget the WTC even existed and when something does remind us about it, we close our eyes, cover our ears, and sob in a corner.
We seem to have no trouble showing Germany in general, Berlin, The Pentagon, holocaust imagery, London, civil war massacres, Indians, the crusades, witch burnings, slavery, and the hundreds upon hundreds of other horrible things or places where horrible things have happened in human history.. yet we as a country seem to be going out of our way to forget the WTC even existed and when something does remind us about it, we close our eyes, cover our ears, and sob in a corner.
I know, right? PumpkinBob is so cute! X)Tiamattt said:Gotta say, pumpkin bob is surprisingly adorable. This is going to be a good month.
As for Kong I don't know why but I thought he was cool as a little kid, current me doesn't know what I was thinking.
Another, and more likely contender given the obscurity is White Buffalo, a western version of Jaws where the shark is replaced by a killer bison starring Charles Bronson.the antithesis said:
Great video, Bob.
I'm not a fan of Schlocky films, and thus not the biggest fan of Shlocktober, but the Nintendo tie-in trivia was great!
Here's hoping for more neat tie-ins like that as the month progresses.
I'm not a fan of Schlocky films, and thus not the biggest fan of Shlocktober, but the Nintendo tie-in trivia was great!
Here's hoping for more neat tie-ins like that as the month progresses.
Ah yes, when I saw the link to this video my first thought was "next will be King Kong Lives". What a treat that film is:
Note the SECOND hand coming off to the side... yep, they went there haha!
If Bob doesn't get around to this I'll be confused since it's the direct sequel and has a plot stupid even for a monster movie.
Note the SECOND hand coming off to the side... yep, they went there haha!
If Bob doesn't get around to this I'll be confused since it's the direct sequel and has a plot stupid even for a monster movie.
Possibly, but I've been watching Big Picture long enough to know that it's also possible that the next couple movies are going to have nothing to do with King Kong, outside of the fact that a couple of the same people did work for the movies. I've noticed that Bob loves talking about those neat little connections between otherwise unrelated movies.zombie711 said: