Timeless classic with a great film score kirsten 20180316 the original 1933 king kong was made in the early days of movies with soundtracks. King kong soundtrack from 1933, composed by max steiner. Though not the first original film score nor even steiners, the score for the 1933 king kong remains timeless and one of the best. Dec, 2005 max steiners score to the 1933 classic king kong is generally regarded as one of the benchmarks of modern cinematic musical composition. King kong is a 1933 american precode monster liveactionhybrid adventure film directed and produced by merian c. Try disabling any ad blockers and refreshing this page. Unauthorized cashin films began to pop up immediately most famously wasei kingu kongu 1933 and king kong appears in edo 1938, both now lost, and decades down the line, toho licensed the character to appear in king kong vs. King kong is a 1933 american precode monster adventure film directed and produced by merian c. Film music as an american art form many people had a hand in the birth and early development of the motion picture in. A second remake of the 1933 film of the same title, the film stars naomi watts, jack black, adrien brody, and, through motion capture, andy serkis as the title character.
The greatest and most famous classic adventurefantasy and parthorror film of all time is king kong 1933. King kong is a character that has been retold and reimagined so many different times that it should feel tiresome and worn out. This wasnt just one of the earliest uses of music to dramatically underpin the action on screen, it was a truly great score, too. The screenplay by james ashmore creelman and ruth rose was developed from an idea conceived by cooper and edgar wallace. Were film score fans, so many of us want to hear the scores we love in as complete a form as possible.
With over 72 minutes of musical score, this, by far, is the best king kong sound track ive came across. In 1933 max steiner wrote possibly the seminal film score for king kong. This soundtrack album has all the themes, all the cues, and even the deleted and extended stuff from one of my favorite films. Max steiner conducting the rko orchestra for king kong 1933. King kong 1933 max steiner soundtrack score full lp. James newton howard the last thing any fan of the lord of the rings trilogy thought writerdirector peter jackson would tackle next was another remake of king kong, but to his credit, the 2005 version of the classic metaphorical tale has garnered fantastic success from critics and box office results alike. The film music of max steiner with emphasis on king kong. There are many things that make the 1933 movie king kong great the special effects, the image of the giant ape climbing the empire state. The score to king kong 1933 rko was in financial difficulties and nearing bankruptcy. Its a top notch recording of some great, powerful music score. For the first time a sound film was accompanied by an original nondiegetic score that paralleled, supported and enhanced the narrative, pioneering the techniques and principles that have governed film scoring ever since.
From the original 1933 program at graumans chinese theater in. The driving drumbeats and quieter moments combine for fine listening. Links go to the internet movie database laserdisc database buy posters from buy posters from moviegoods buy this soundtrack from. In recent years i have focused on the remarkable special effects, based by willis obrien and others on his fx work in the lost world 1925 but achieving a sophistication and beauty that eclipsed anything that went before. For king kongs first reissue, in 1938, some of the original violence and sexuality had to be cut to satisfy the film industrys production code, which had not been strictly enforced at the time of king kongs original 1933 release. Among the lost shots were kongs removing fay wrays clothes, natives being crushed in closeup by the. Play fulllength songs from king kong original 1933 motion picture soundtrack by max steiner on your phone, computer and home audio system with napster. But one cant truly scold the property until hes seen the original. Screams, score and more there are many things that make the 1933 movie king kong great the special effects, the image of. Schoedsack both reallife adventurers and film documentarians conceived of the lowbudget story of a beautiful, plucky blonde. The film music of max steiner with emphasis on king kong 1933.
Godzilla which remains their most successful kaiju film to this very day as well an unrelated film called king. King kong s score was the first featurelength musical score written for an american talkie film, the first major hollywood film to have a thematic score rather than background music, the first to mark the use of a 46piece orchestra, and the first to be recorded on three separate tracks sound effects, dialogue, and music. If it was an unused cue from that film, i simply wanted to hear it because im a fan of the original king kong and was curious what an outtake from that classic score might sound like. King kong 1933, gone with the wind 1939, casablanca 1943. King kong is a 2005 epic monster adventure film cowritten, produced, and directed by peter jackson.
King kong the complete 1933 film score with monster. Kong, the eighth wonder of the world, is a prehistoric ape like creature who inhabits skull island. Kong is a showy, stateoftheart popcorn movie, faithful to the spirit of the 1933 original but generously adrenalized with the best effects money can buy. Steiner was in charge of the music department at the studio in a time when a single film had a budget for a maximum of a three hour recording. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Released by southern cross records audiophile in 1984 sccd 901 containing music from king kong 1933. Ive seen king kong 1933 many times, most memorably in its rerelease in the 1950s, when it did indeed scare me. It had already spent nearly a half million dollars producing a film about a fifty foot tall gorilla named king kong. King kong film by cooper and schoedsack 1933 britannica. The classic film score from king kong 1933 brought to life by the moscow symphony orchestra brings you back to the first time you witnessed the splendor of that timeless film. King kong complete film score rko studio orchestra max steiner, conductor recorded in 1933 compiled and remastered from the original film soundtrack and the few existing preproduction tracks by f. Sure, there are fantasy films with far better special effects the matrix, jurassic park better acting the acting here is of the period. The 1933 film inspired many other monsterhorror films such as godzilla and jurassic park. In 1991, it was deemed culturally, historically and aesthetically. Also, the 2005 dvd release of the 1933 film has peter jacksons recreation of that scene. Max steiner, william stromberg, moscow symphony orchestra king kong. King kong 1933 max steiner soundtrack score full lp album. Tracks 1220, running 24 minutes, are, indeed, max steiners unmixed premastering music tracks, preserved from a group of complimentary 78 r.
King kong is a landmark 1933 hollywood horror adventure film in. Key moments in max steiners score for king kong classic. King kong steiner, 1933 often cited as the first modern film score, max steiners long and highlyacclaimed career will always have king kong as a highlight, and even after more than 80 years, it still holds up. In tribute to the 1933 film in addition to the use of steiners cues in the theatre scene, howards score contained a few steinerisms notably. King kong original 1933 motion picture soundtrack by max. King kong 75th anniversary of the film and max steiners great. First, the 1933 version of king kong, is for me, the greatest fantasy film ever made. Film music was forever changed by max steiners 1933 score for king kong. Screams, score and more there are many things that make the 1933 movie king kong great the special effects, the image of the giant ape climbing the empire state. Jan 18, 2014 the score likewise reaches its dramatic apex at this point, making us feel as if the music wants ann to warm up to kong even though that, lo and behold, shall never be. King kong, landmark american monster film, released in 1933, that was noted for its pioneering special effects by willis obrien. Jan 03, 2012 king kong was the first film about a monster terrorizing a city and might be a reason why kong was such a shocking character to cinema audiences who were not used to the idea of their homes being in danger.
The senate theater and the detroit theater organ society present a screening of merian c. These scenes were all restored to the actual film in 1971, although the famous, or infamous, spider pit sequence has yet to be found, although the king kong 2005 gives an idea of what it was like. A film crew travels to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal ape who falls for their blonde starlet. Thus, it was always a shame that the only way film and film music fans could hear it was by watching the movie. Original king kong is back in theaters in march for the first.
King kong contains stopmotion animation by willis obrien and a music score by max steiner. The screenplay by james ashmore creelman and ruth rose was from an idea conceived by cooper and edgar wallace. The 1933 king kong is in the top ten of the 100 essential film scores of the 20th century the extra special treat on this original soundtrack is the previously unreleased 24 minute suite from the film, this time without any dialogue. Main titles by max steiner score reduction and analysis a full score reduction of the main titles from the 1933 film, king kong. The original king kong will screen nationwide for the first. King kong 75th anniversary of the film and max steiners.