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MonsterVerse is one of the most interesting cinematic universes out of all of them. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures-owned franchise has earned over $2.5 billion worldwide and also consists of TV shows on different streaming services but the way it all came together is a bit iffy because of the rights issues and the general laziness that we see in the some of the MonsterVerse films, but still Godzilla vs. Kong is still one of the most iconic movies for me. So, we thought of compiling every project that exists in the MonsterVerse and ranking them according to their Rotten Tomatoes score, here it is.

7. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Max & Rent on Prime Video) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 42% Credit – Warner Bros.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a monster sci-fi action adventure film directed by Michael Dougherty...

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When you're young, your favorite movies can leave quite an impression on you. For a nine-year-old boy in New Zealand, it set him on the path towards becoming a filmmaker. Indeed, Peter Jackson's first viewing of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 epic "King Kong" on a tiny television screen inspired him to make movies. In a 2005 interview with NBC News, Jackson said the film had a "profound effect" on him and described its titular ape as "a very special little chap" who captured his heart. When he was 12, he even made a rubber Kong and cardboard model of the Empire State Building and tried to animate it using his parents' Super-8 camera.

What was it about "King Kong" that Peter Jackson loved so much? In an interview with Chud, he once described the film as "a wonderful piece of escapist entertainment.

These are frightening times. Of this, there is no doubt. We may even believe there’s never been more to fear. And for some populations, that’s true. But humanity has always lived in frightening times.

Since we first cast shadows onto cavern walls, we’ve made things to fear. Over time, those shadows evolved into performers donning masks, authors putting ink to paper, and filmmakers harnessing technology to project our nightmares onto the screen as we returned to our cave-dwelling roots to sit in the dark with others. We are a horror people. And as the world has gotten scarier, horror has been there to reflect back our fears.

The rise of Hollywood and independent filmmaking in the 20th century created a lasting dialogue between what we see in the fear-seeking news, and what films are made in response. Early American horror movies of the mid-1920s and 30s,...

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire truly shocked everybody, even though it didn’t have much money behind it. It stormed the box office, getting a huge $35 million on its first day, much more than anybody anticipated. This most recent film in the Monsterverse series demonstrates the way that large spectacles and fan excitement can beat budget issues any day.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

It’s setting an entirely different norm for blockbuster hits. And with a particularly huge start, it’s on target to break a wide range of records in the cinematic world, showing that people actually love watching giant beasts battle it out in the cinema.

Godzilla X Kong Smashes Box Office Records Despite Low-Budget

A recent report by Deadline revealed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire had a production cost of about $135 million. Unbelievably covered 75% of the spending plan, with Warner Bros. disclosure contributing...

He may be king of the monsters and headliner of the longest-running film franchise, but Godzilla isn’t exactly a beacon of consistency. He made his premiere in Honda Ishirô’s 1954 classic Godzilla as an allegorical figure, warning of the dangers of nuclear technology, before eventually settling into a drive-in movie star and a hero for children, as well as those young at heart. That’s a somewhat unlikely legacy, especially considering that the original film ends with the creature’s unambiguous death.

Inspired by King Kong’s popularity in Japan, Godzilla’s filmmakers didn’t have the time or resources to execute the stop-motion movie magic that brought Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s King Kong to life (the 1933 monster adventure was re-released in Japan in 1952), but their resourcefulness and ingenuity resulted in a different kind of magic. Tsuburaya Eiji’s pioneering use of suitmation was not...

This article contains mild spoilers for "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."

Moviegoers have been madly in love with King Kong ever since Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack unleashed him onto the big screen in 1933, and he's only gotten more lovable over the years. Some might argue that's a problem. He is, after all, a monstrously large gorilla who isn't above squashing dozens upon dozens of human beings if need be. But in almost every case, it's the humans who go looking for trouble, straying into Kong's territory and arrogantly trying to cage him for their own greedy interests. Put yourself in the big guy's position, and you'd probably get smash-happy, too.

Kong might be the most relatable kaiju out there. He's eminently susceptible to heartbreak and bleeds red just like the rest of us. When he hurts, we hurt, even when... no, especially when he gets a toothache.

Franchise animation Kung Fu Panda 4 and creature clash Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire lead a bumper weekend of 16 new films at the UK-Ireland box office.

Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 has the biggest opening of the weekend in 715 sites – a significant jump for the series, after 2008’s Kung Fu Panda (448) and sequels in 2011 (514) and 2016 (585), all through Paramount.

Conversely, the total grosses of each film have dropped, with the first title making £20.4m, followed by £17m and £14.2m for the sequels. All of these were pre-pandemic; number four will look to cross the £10m mark before challenging any of those totals.

There will be many comparisons in the next day or three between Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki’s shockingly beautiful and elegiac epic about a giant lizard triggering nationwide trauma for a country in ruins, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the newest monster smash up between the Big G and the Ape from Skull Island. But right at the top, every reader should recognize this is a fruitless exercise; a contrast as meaningful as pondering the differences between a genuine Oscar winner and a Saturday morning cartoon.

For make no mistake, Godzilla x Kong is a cartoon. I’m told the film technically qualifies as live action, too, because Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens appear in front of some blue screens (and presumably to pick up hefty paychecks for their troubles). But I still don’t entirely believe it. Flesh and blood actors might float by to spout exposition,...

Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 mega-hit "King Kong" was a marvel of special effects. It employed stop-motion animation, outsize models, rear-projection, and novel composting methods to convince audiences that a giant ape was interacting with human co-stars. Compared to modern, ultra-slick CGI effects, the 1933 King Kong may not look as realistic, but the ape shimmers with life and personality beyond what many modern effects can accomplish. Kong is the most sympathetic character in the movie, as he was kidnapped from his home and exploited by would-be entertainment moguls. Using bi-planes to shoot Kong off the top of the Empire State Building wasn't a moment of triumph for a masterful humanity, but the tragic execution of an animal that doesn't understand what it was thrust into. Not bad for a film that's going to celebrate its 91st birthday in April of 2024.

Interpreting "King Kong" in 2024 is fraught. Cooper...

Merian C. Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack's classic monster movie "King Kong" was released in 1933, so the monster turns 91 years old in 2024. That means he's definitely too old for this sh*t.

In Adam Wingard's 2021 film "Godzilla vs. Kong," the 70-year-old nuclear gorilla-whale and the 91-year-old mega-ape, both drawn by an ineffable, in-born monstrous instinct, had to fight. Over the course of many decades, Godzilla movies have taught us that if two kaiju ever appear in the same film, they instantly hate one another and have to start wailing on each other. It won't be until a tertiary monster appears — usually an "evil" one — that the primary and secondary monsters put aside their differences and team up to hang a beatin' on the new guy. This is what happened in "Godzilla vs. Kong." At first, the title monsters were enemies. When Mechagodzilla appeared, however, Kong and Godzilla pounded the interloper into the dirt.

Robert M. Young, one of the pioneers of American independent cinema whose work began nearly 70 years ago, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. The news was announced via a Facebook post from his son Andy.

In a career that lasted from 1956 to 2011 he directed documentaries, narrative features, both independent and studio releases, and even episodes of “Battlestar: Gallactica.” Two of his films have recently been added to the Library of Congress Film Registry. “¡Alambrista!” (1977), as timely today as when it was made, about the life of undocumented Mexican immigrant won the Camera d’or for best first film at Cannes. “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982), one of Young’s eight films with actor Edward James Olmos, produced by American Playhouse but released theatrically, has also been included. Both films are also part of the Criterion Collection.

Though perhaps not as well known as some pre-Sundance independent American directors like John Cassavetes,...

When the monster was invented in 1954, Godzilla stood as a symbol of nuclear devastation. Indeed, in March of 1954, shortly before Ishiro Honda's film "Gojira" was made, a group of fishermen aboard the ship Daigo Fukuryu Maru was exposed to radiation from a nearby American nuclear bomb test in the Bikini Atoll. One of the fishermen died of radiation poisoning and their fish were irradiated, causing a public panic about the safety of their food and the effects nuclear fallout may be having on the local fauna. As all cineastes know, Godzilla was an animal mutated by nuclear tests, turning into a nuclear-powered, unstoppable force of destruction. Godzilla echoed the devastation of the nuclear bomb that Japan had suffered at the hands of America. Honda's original "Gojira" is a somber and downbeat film about how weapons of mass destruction will never be done destroying us. 

In the years since...

The world will never know what was going through 26-year-old Christian missionary John Allen Chau’s head when he was shot and killed by arrows off the coast of North Sentinel Island. There are jokes, of course, and educated guesses, but the best most of us can do is search inside ourselves for the answer. That’s the approach “Boys State” directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine take with “The Mission,” using an investigation of Chau’s story as a Rorschach test of audiences’ own biases and beliefs.

Was Chau an evangelical martyr-hero who answered God’s calling and gave his life trying to convert a remote and hostile tribe? Or was he an arrogant and unprepared American, brainwashed by the church into undertaking a suicide mission? Chau can’t answer, and though he left behind detailed diaries and a string of social media posts, the filmmakers were obliged to...

A strong argument could be made for King Kong being the most influential movie ever made. Kong’s progeny includes Mighty Joe Young, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, Ray Harryhausen films, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Avatar, many of the character-driven stop motion creations of the past ninety years, and dozens of authorized and unauthorized spin-offs, sequels, remakes, and rip-offs. The film inspired dozens, if not hundreds of directors, special effects artists, sound effects creators, composers, and film creators of all kinds, who have in turn inspired the next generation of filmmakers, and they the next. It is the first special-effects driven blockbuster of the sound era; a genre-crossing spectacular that introduced the world to some of cinema’s most iconic imagery and sound, the screen’s first true Scream Queen, and one of the all-time great gods and monsters of film history.

King Kong...

John Ford was considered one of the top directors in Hollywood when he decided to make an elevated Western in 1939's "Stagecoach." The notion struck many in the industry as odd. Westerns were generally considered programmers, and, thus, beneath the talents of a man who'd won the 1935 Best Picture Oscar for "The Informer." But Ford was enamored of Ernest Haycox short story "The Stage to Lordsburg," and believed the public was ready for a fresh take on the genre. He also thought the ensemble film's lead, John Wayne, was at long last ready to become a star.

The rest of Hollywood was not so certain. If Ford was serious about taking on this so-called "classic Western," why was he hellbent on casting Wayne, an actor of seemingly limited range scrapping it out in B movies?

Few in the industry understood what Ford was attempting. In fact, one of his most vital associates,...

When the classic monster movie King Kong was released in the US in 1933, it had the biggest opening ever recorded, and little wonder – who could resist the fantastic story of a giant lovesick ape on the rampage in New York city!

Since then Kong has returned to the screen numerous times, not least in the 1976 version King Kong, starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange, with Kong himself brought to life by special effects legends Carlo Rambaldi (Et) and Rick Baker (American Werewolf in London). Directed by John Guillermin (The Towering Inferno) and produced by the legendary Dino De Laurentis (Flash Gordon) this blockbuster features a stirring John Barry score, action set pieces, stunning scenery, groundbreaking effects – it’s arguably one of the greatest King Kongs ever. To celebrate the towering release of the film in a stunning 4K restoration, here’s a look at Kongs onscreen from the 1931 original all...

About 43 minutes into the 1933 pre-code horror classic “King Kong,” aspiring actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) finds herself on a remote island struggling to free herself from the two stone pillars she’s tied to as an offering for the giant ape its inhabitants worship. The trees rustle, and then we see him. Kong. The camera quickly cuts to Wray, who instantly freezes, holding in her breath as if her life depended on it. The camera zooms in on the ape’s face, his eyes growing wide, then suddenly cuts back to Wray, who lets out the most iconic blood-curdling scream in cinema history.

And thus, the scream queen was born.

“I’d become Hollywood’s scream queen without even realizing it,” Wray told journalist James Bawden in a 1989 interview. After the film wrapped, Wray recorded what she called an “Aria of Agonies” — screams and moans for the editors to use as they pleased.

King Kong‘s reign will continue on Disney+: The streamer is developing a live-action series centered on the monstrous movie ape, according to our sister site Variety.

The serialized drama, which is still in the early stages of development, will explore the origins of King Kong and the mysteries of his home, Skull Island. Paper Girls‘ Stephany Folsom will write and executive-produce the series, based on the original 1933 King Kong film, written by Merian C. Cooper. Film director James Wan (Saw, Insidious) will also serve as an EP.

More from TVLineDid She-Hulk Just Set the Stage for 'World War Hulk'?...

Disney+ is heading to Skull Island for a live-action King Kong series that will explore the mystery and mythology of the giant ape’s home. As reported by Deadline, the series is in the very early stages of development at the streamer, with Disney Branded Television behind the project. It is said to be based on the original 1933 film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, as well as the recent novelizations by artist Joe DeVito. Stephany Folsom (Paper Girls) is on board as writer and executive producer. James Wan (Aquaman) will also serve as executive producer alongside Michael Clear and Rob Hackett via their Atomic Monster banner and Dannie Festa of World Builder Entertainment. King Kong has seen a resurgence in recent years due to Legendary Entertainment’s Monsterverse movies, including 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong. However, the upcoming Disney+ series is not connected to the Monsterverse franchise.

The ‘King Kong’ franchise is moving ahead with a live-action series about the origin of the giant.

The project is in early development at Disney+, reports ‘Variety’.

The series would be a serialised drama that would explore Kong’s origins as well as the mysteries of his home, Skull Island.

According to ‘Variety’, the series would be based on the original ‘King Kong’ written by Merian C. Cooper as well as new novelisations by artist Joe DeVito produced in conjunction with Cooper’s estate.

‘Variety’ further states that Stephany Folsom, who developed the Amazon series ‘Paper Girls’ for television, will write and executive produce the King Kong show.

James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett will also executive produce on behalf of Atomic Monster along with Dannie Festa for World Builder Entertainment. Disney Branded Television will produce the show.

The original ‘King Kong’ film released in 1933 and became an instant hit.

King Kong will swing back into streaming with a live-action series at Disney+, now in early development per Deadline.

Written by Stephany Folsom (“Paper Girls”), the working titled “King Kong” project would mark the gigantic ape-like monster’s fourth serialized adventure, but will be the first to feature live actors running alongside the title creature. (“The King Kong Show” (1966), “Kong: The Animated Series” (2000), and “Kong: King of the Apes” (2016) were all animated.)

“‘King Kong’ is a serialized action/adventure drama that brings the classic monster story into the modern age, with a return to Skull Island and the dawn of a new Kong,” reports Nellie Andreeva for Deadline. “The series will explore the mythology of King Kong’s origin story and the supernatural mysteries of his home based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original books and the new King Kong novelizations by Joe DeVito.”

The project comes from...

A new spin on an old classic is in the works at Disney+. According to Variety, the streamer is in the process of developing a live-action King Kong series. While differing rights to "King Kong" stories have resulted in several on-screen versions over the years, including the Legendary-Warner Bros. MonsterVerse saga, the latest iteration is going back to the source material. It will reportedly be based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper, plus more modern "King Kong" novelizations by Joe DeVito, which were made in conjunction with Cooper's estate.

Most interestingly, the new project already has some great talent on board behind the camera. Horror director James Wan will executive produce through his company Atomic Monster, with Michael Clear and Rob Hackett also on board as EPs. The show will be written and executive produced by Stephany Folsom, who recently developed the '80s teen sci-fi comics "Paper Girls" for Prime Video.

King Kong is going from Skull Island to Disney+.

The iconic movie monster, who first appeared in Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1933 masterpiece, will be headed to Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform in “King Kong” (working title). The project will be the first live-action series set in the Kong Universe, and hails from James Wan and his Atomic Monster production company and Stephany Folsom, who has worked on Disney projects like “Toy Story 4” and “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Well, I guess the news is out. I'm beyond excited to be working with these people on one of my favorite stories. #KingKong https://t.co/ibpAYGs6uc

— Stephany Folsom (@StephanyFolsom) August 23, 2022

According to early reports, the story will be set in modern times and partially set on Skull Island and the origins of a new Kong. The project will be based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original...

Click here to read the full article.

Disney+ is exploring a trip to Skull Island.

The streamer is in the early stages of development on a live-action King Kong series. The project from Disney Branded Television will be based on the 1933 film conceived by producer and director Merian C. Cooper and more recent novelizations by artist Joe DeVito, made in conjunction with Cooper’s estate.

Stephany Folsom (Prime Video’s Paper Girls) is attached to write a script and executive produce alongside James Wan (Aquaman), Michael Clear and Rob Hackett (via their Atomic Monster banner) and Dannie Festa of World Builder Entertainment.

This King Kong is not connected to the Monsterverse series from Legendary Entertainment, which has released two films featuring the giant ape (Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong) and is currently at work on a TV project at Apple TV+ and an animated Netflix show.

The Disney...

Deadline has reported that Disney Branded Television is in very early development on a King Kong series for Disney+. The potential series originates from James Wan’s Atomic Monster and is set to be penned by Stephany Folsom (Paper Girls).

The King Kong series would be a “serialized action/adventure drama that brings the classic monster story into the modern age, with a return to Skull Island and the dawn of a new Kong.” It will explore the mythology of Kong’s origin and the other supernatural mysteries of the island. The estate of original King Kong creator Merian C. Cooper has also teamed up with artist Joe DeVito to develop new novelizations which will be used as source material for the series alongside the original story.

In addition to writing the King Kong series, Stephany Folsom would executive produce with James Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett for Atomic Monster,...

A brand new King Kong project is in the works for Disney+, Deadline reports tonight, with James Wan‘s Atomic Monster on board to produce a live action series for the streamer.

The project’s working title is simply “King Kong,” and Deadline notes in their report that it will be a “serialized action/adventure drama that brings the classic monster story into the modern age, with a return to Skull Island and the dawn of a new Kong.”

Stephany Folsom (“Paper Girls”) is writing the series, which will “explore the mythology of King Kong’s origin story and the supernatural mysteries of his home based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original books and the new King Kong novelizations by Joe DeVito.”

Deadline goes on to explain in tonight’s exclusive report, “The Merian C. Cooper Estate had teamed up with artist Joe DeVito to produce new novelizations...

A live-action series about the origin of King Kong is in early development at Disney+, Variety has confirmed.

The series would be a serialized drama that would explore Kong’s origins as well as the mysteries of his home, Skull Island.

The series would be based on the original “King Kong” written by Merian C. Cooper as well as new novelizations by artist Joe DeVito produced in conjunction with Cooper’s estate.

Stephany Folsom, who recently developed the Amazon series “Paper Girls” for television, will write and executive produce the King Kong show. James Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett will also executive produce on behalf of Atomic Monster along with Dannie Festa for World Builder Entertainment. Disney Branded Television will produce.

The original “King Kong” film debuted in 1933 and became an instant hit. The character has been used in numerous films to date, most recently in the Legendary-Warner Bros. Monsterverse films.

Exclusive: An iconic monster is headed to Disney+. Disney Branded Television is in very early development on King Kong (working title), a series for Disney+ tracking the original story of the famous ape. Deals have just closed for the project, from James Wan’s Atomic Monster, which would mark the first live-action series set in the Kong universe.

Written by Paper Girls creator Stephany Folsom, King Kong is a serialized action-adventure drama that brings the classic monster story into the modern age, with a return to Skull Island and the dawn of a new Kong. The series will explore the mythology of King Kong’s origin story and the supernatural mysteries of his home based on IP from Merian C. Cooper’s original books and the new King Kong novelizations by Joe DeVito.

Folsom executive produces alongside Wan, Michael Clear and Rob Hackett for Atomic Monster and Dannie Festa and...

Following the success of the three "Lord of the Rings" movies, director Peter Jackson was granted the power in Hollywood to make whatever film he wanted. Jackson immediately cashed in his chips on a remake of "King Kong" that would expand one of his favorite movies into a massive technological marvel. In the spirit of Merian C. Cooper's and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 original, Jackson employed the most advanced special effects of the era to envision the enormous gorilla, bringing Kong to a level of realism not previously seen. Additionally, Jackson was determined to make his "King Kong" feel as big to adults...

The post Putting Naomi Watts In King Kong's Hands Took Some Serious VFX Trickery appeared first on /Film.

No stranger to the world of kaiju, storyboard artist Richard Bennett has utilized his artistic talents to help bring Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Kong: Skull Island to life on the big screen, and now he's teamed up with Clover Press to launch a Kickstarter campaign for Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett, a new hardcover coffee table book collecting his amazing storyboard art from all three of those colossal creature features (including deleted scenes)!

We had the pleasure of catching up with Bennett in a new Q&a feature to discuss his career as a storyboard artist and what readers can expect to find within the pages of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett.

You can check out the Q&a and a preview from the book below, and to learn more about Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett,...

About a young aboriginal girl raised by European parents, director Charles Chauvel said the inspiration for his 1955 film came from Merian C. Cooper, a producer who knew his way around the backwaters. Although popular in Australia as the first domestic movie filmed in color, Jedda did not fare well in the US or UK where the distributors cut 40 minutes and changed the title to Jedda the Uncivilized.

The post Jedda appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Above: 1981 French grande for Stalker. Art by Bougrine.It’s been six months since I last did one of these round-ups of the most popular posters featured on my Movie Poster of the Day Instagram (previously Tumblr).With some 3,349 likes to date, this rare French poster for Tarkovsky’s Stalker, posted just last month, outstripped the pack and is in fact the second most “liked” poster I’ve ever posted, just a couple of hundred likes shy of Andrew Bannister’s UK poster for Parasite which I posted over a Pandemic ago. With art signed by one “Bougrine” the poster is currently offered for sale at Posteritati. Though the style and signature don’t quite look right, there was a Vladimir Bougrine (1938-2001) who was a prominent Soviet dissident painter who ended up in Paris in 1977 where, according to Wikipedia, “the French Ministry of Culture introduced him to...a community of writers,...

Next month’s Criterion Channel selection is here, and as 2021 winds down further cements their status as our single greatest streaming service. Off the top I took note of their eight-film Jia Zhangke retro as well as the streaming premieres of Center Stage and Malni. And, yes, Margaret has been on HBO Max for a while, but we can hope Criterion Channel’s addition—as part of the 63(!)-film “New York Stories”—opens doors to a more deserving home-video treatment.

Aki Kaurismäki’s Finland Trilogy, Bruno Dumont’s Joan of Arc duology, and Criterion’s editions of Irma Vep and Flowers of Shanghai also mark major inclusions—just a few years ago the thought of Hou’s masterpiece streaming in HD was absurd.

I could implore you not to sleep on The Hottest August and Point Blank and Variety and In the Cut or, look, so many Ernst Lubitsch movies,...

The always delightful Doctor Z hangs with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante while discussing a few of his favorite monkey movies.

Dr. Z – Tmtmm Pod Mentions

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Planet of the Apes (1968) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Escape From The Planet of the Apes (1971)

Battle For The Planet of the Apes (1973) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

Any Which Way You Can (1980)

The Godfather Part II (1974) – Katt Shea’s trailer commentary

Schindler’s List (1993)

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021)

King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

King Kong (1933)

Conan The Barbarian (1982)

Godzilla (1954) – Don Coscarelli’s trailer commentary

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Stalag 17 (1953)

In The Heat Of The Night (1967) – Michael Schlesinger’s trailer commentary

King Kong Escapes (1967)

Murders In The Rue Morgue (1932)

The Sorrow And The Pity (1972)

My Octopus Teacher (2020)

It Came From Beneath The Sea...

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It’s not quite the summer, but studios are all ready rolling out their biggest franchises for delightful popcorn flicks that make movie lovers sprint to the multiplexes. This year might look a little different, but indicators of normal life gradually returning are always welcomed signs. “Godzilla vs. Kong” feels like a return to the big-budget summer blockbusters that moviegoers became accustomed to, before the pandemic. It’s the kind of movie that doesn’t require much of a synopsis, beyond its three-word title. Whether you’re a diehard fan of the two iconic characters, or are simply itching to watch a new blockbuster, the release should be an event to remember.

Warner Bros....

One of the most anticipated movies to spin out of Warner Bros.’ upcoming phalanx of 2021 movies heading straight to HBO Max is “Godzilla vs. Kong.” The sequel to “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” and “Kong: Skull Island,” the fourth entry in Legendary’s evolving MonsterVerse arrives day-and-date on the rookie streaming platform and in available theaters this coming March 26. Watch the new full trailer below.

Directed by genre filmmaker Adam Wingard and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, “Godzilla vs. Kong” has been wrapped, at least production-wise, for nearly two years. It was originally slated to open in November last year but, like every other tentpole movie in the pipeline, was pushed into 2021 due to the pandemic. “Godzilla vs. Kong” combines the former character created by Japan’s Toho, and the latter character created by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, in a monster movie mash-up that harks back...

Dino De Laurentiis took a lot of flack for his underwhelming remake of the incomparable 1933 horror classic, which he promoted into a monster-sized hit. Nothing could eclipse the original but the good casting still appeals. An honest ad campaign would have leaned on two points: See Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin carry an insultingly ugly production like real stars! See ‘newcomer’ Jessica Lange play a sexualized ditz so well that she retains her dignity! …and most importantly, See the biggest special effects fraud ever perpetrated on movie screens! Umbrella Entertainment from Australia puts this one back in print, on Blu-ray.

King Kong (1976)

Region B Blu-ray

Umbrella Entertainment

1976 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 134 min. / Street Date November 4, 2020 / Available at Umbrella Enertainment 19.95 (au)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, Jessica Lange, Rick Baker, Rene Auberjonois, Julius Harris, Jack O’Halloran, Ed Lauter, John Agar.

Cinematography: Richard Kline

Film Editor: Ralph E. Winters

Production design: Mario Chiari,...

Composer Max Steiner, whose scores for “King Kong,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” placed him in the movie-music pantheon, isn’t much discussed today. He seems to belong to that old-school, pre-synthesizer world of orchestral scoring from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.

But as author Steven C. Smith points out in his engrossing new biography of the three-time Oscar winner, “Music by Max Steiner” (Oxford University Press), the Austrian wunderkind pioneered the art of film scoring and ranks as “Hollywood’s most influential composer.”

His music essentially saved Rko’s “King Kong,” the 1933 giant-ape-wrecks-Manhattan fantasy, forcefully demonstrating the power of dramatic underscore to create mood, propel the action and provide emotional support (and disproving the widely held studio-executive theory that audiences of the time would “wonder where the music came from”).

Steiner went on to score some 300 films over a 35-year career, mostly for Rko and Warner Bros., although...

Thanks to our current situation, there aren’t many new movies being released at the moment. And while that’s a sad state of affairs for cinephiles, it does at least provide a good opportunity to look back and check out some golden oldies that might have so far slipped under your radar.

Luckily, the good old Beeb has you covered. Streaming service BBC iPlayer has acquired a bunch of big-screen masterpieces for your lockdown delectation, all produced by the legendary Rko Pictures – one of the “big five” studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

From powerhouse dramas to technicolour marvels, toe-tapping musicals to weird and wonderful B-movies, Rko produced some of Tinseltown’s all-time classic movies, and boasted some of the period’s biggest star signings – including Orson Welles, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Joan Fontaine and Robert Mitchum.

BBC iPlayer currently has 26 “silver screen classics” available to stream or download,...

I really want to like The Hunt. As an object of scorn and right wing media smears, not to mention a one-time shiny distraction for our ever distracted president, the horror-comedy in which liberal elites hunt red state “deplorables” was maligned and distorted by Fox News’ funhouse mirror. But despite all that, The Hunt just really wants to be liked by everyone on both sides of the aisle with its straight down the middle “you’re all nuts” commentary.

Granted the movie is certainly the product of liberal filmmakers turning election cycle politics into blood sport, but only in the most self-deprecating and self-satisfied way. The cinematic equivalent of Andy Borowitz’s standup routine at The New Yorker Festival, one can almost see the words crafted by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse’s screenplay strain as they reach out of the screen to pat their own back. The only thing missing is an applause sign.

David Crow Feb 13, 2020

King Kong returns to theaters in March for one day only. Find out how you can bend the knee and pay fealty to the big ape.

You may not be getting your promised King Kong vs. Godzilla smackdown next month, but something even better is about to stomp into your multiplex: the original King Kong movie from 1933! Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies announced the humongous news on Thursday, revealing that the big ape will have his moment for one day, and one day only, on March 15.

Even if it’s for an afternoon, this also marks the first nationwide rerelease of King Kong 64 years with the film will play on over 600 screens across the country.

“Last given a big-screen re-release in 1956 – when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, the average movie ticket cost 59 cents, and not a single manmade item was orbiting the earth – the original theatrical...

While 2019’s home media releases ended on a quiet note, taking off the week of Christmas and New Year’s, this first Tuesday of 2020 is more than making up for it with an array of titles that should delight horror and sci-fi fans of all tastes. In terms of recent films, both Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, Travis Stevens’ Girl on the Third Floor are making their way to Blu-ray and DVD this week, Michael Beach Nichols' documentary Wrinkles the Clown is coming to DVD from Magnet Releasing, and Scream Factory is releasing Larry Fessenden’s take on Frankenstein—Depraved—as well.

Kino is showing some love to the sci-fi classic Doctor Cyclops, and Rlje Films is keeping busy with both The Shed and The Nightshifter this Tuesday. Other notable releases for January 7th include Trespassers, Cosmos, Dark Encounter, Mermaid Down, Savage Creatures, and Dark Light.

Depraved

The legend of Frankenstein...

“Goddamn it Chief, you’re about as big as a damn mountain! “

Get ready to laugh, cry, scream, sigh, and sing along with some of the greatest movies ever made, because throughout 2020, Fathom Events and Turner Classic Movies are teaming up for the fourth year in a row to present the hugely popular TCM Big Screen Classics Series in movie theaters nationwide.

In addition to pristine digital projection and movie-quality sound, each presentation will also feature all-new pre- and post-film commentary from popular TCM hosts, showcasing what makes each of these unique cinematic achievements such an important – and lasting – part of movie history. We hope you can share this exciting news with fellow movie lovers!

Now in its fourth year, the TCM Big Screen Classicsseries continues to grow in popularity. In 2019, many events in the series experienced sold-out audiences and ranked near or at the top of box-office results – showcasing...

Rudy Behlmer, author of “Memo From David O. Selznick” and nearly a dozen other film-history books, died Friday at his home in Studio City, Calif. He was 92.

Behlmer was among the most widely respected historians of Golden Age Hollywood, in part because of his insistence upon researching “primary source material” and not relying on faulty memories or exaggerated press accounts of the time.

“Memo From David O. Selznick,” which Behlmer edited from thousands of Selznick’s private letters, telegrams and memoranda, was a best seller in 1972. Behlmer first interviewed the “Gone With the Wind” producer for a 1963 article for “Films in Review,” one of dozens of magazine pieces he wrote over the decades.

Other books followed: “Hollywood’s Hollywood: The Movies About the Movies”, “Inside Warner Bros. 1935-1951” (1985), “Behind the Scenes: The Making Of…” (1989) and “Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck” (1993).

Behlmer’s first book, co-written with fellow film historians Tony Thomas and Clifford McCarty,...

David Crow Sep 20, 2019

The Most Dangerous Game is the original man-hunting-man film that's influenced everything that came afterward.

On a sleepy island in a desolate swath of the Pacific, the comforts of modernity remain strangely cold. Four people, three men and one lonely woman, are sharing cocktails by a grand piano. Yet even in this candlelit reverie, there is something amiss outside—a howl. Does that noise emanate from what the host of the evening, dear Count Zaroff, alludes to as “The Most Dangerous Game” known to man? No, the count insists, it is merely the baying of his hounds. Little can the three guests know, however, that the hounds’ cries trumpet each’s potential doom, and that this noise will still be ringing in our collective ears 87 years after the premiere of The Most Dangerous Game.

Despite what some shortsighted, historically ignorant politicians and Fox News personalities might say,...

Olinka Berova is as sexy as Ursula Andress, but even with a new woman producer Hammer’s She sequel doesn’t give her new She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed much of a chance — the story just sits there and the kingdom of Kuma is woefully under-produced. Good photography and acting help, but one doesn’t earn high marks for the Boys from Bray.

The Vengeance of She

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date February 26, 2019 / 29.99

Starring: Olinka Berova (Olga Schoberová), John Richardson, Edward Judd, Colin Blakely, Jill Melford, George Sewell, André Morell, Noel Willman, Derek Godfrey, Danièle Noël, Gerald Lawson, Zohra Sehgal, Christine Pockett, Dervis Ward.

Cinematography: Wolfgang Suschitzky

Film Editor: Raymond Poulton

Original Music: Mario Nascimbene

Written by Peter O’Donnell based on characters created by H. Rider Haggard

Produced by Aida Young

Directed by Cliff Owen

Aida Young took her first full producing credit for Hammer on 1968’s The Vengeance of She...

Using Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 cinema classic 'King Kong' as the inspiration for a musical theatre piece really isn't such a bad idea. Among the film's notable achievements is the extraordinary dramatic underscoring music by Max Steiner, that supplied the title character's tragic death plunge from atop the Empire State Building with the kind of heartbreaking emotion that would make any operatic tenor jealous.

A new Broadway season is gearing up, and there are currently three productions of musicals (all new) set to open this fall. Could we be seeing any of them contend at next year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each musical as well as the awards history of its author, cast and creative types and the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

“King Kong” (previews begin October 5; opens November 8)

In this musical adaptation of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s classic 1933 film of the same name, an ambitious young actress and a maverick filmmaker voyage from the bustling streets of 1930s New York to an uncharted island to capture the greatest wonder the world has ever seen. At the center of this 21st-century reimagining: a 2,000-pound, 20-story gorilla, and the woman who risks everything to help him.

With a book by Tony-winning playwright Jack Thorne...

Every year, we here at PopOptiq celebrate the month of October with a series of articles we like to call 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list to 200 movies, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles.

Note: Since there are so many great horror films and so much to choose from, I am not including documentaries such as Haxan — short films such as Outer Space – a mini-series such as Stephen King’s It — nor animated films such as Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll and Coraline. I am, however, including some films as special mentions along with a few movies that some people consider horror films, but I don’t.

****

Special Mention: King Kong

Directed by Merian C. Cooper...

The Cinerama wonder movies were all but extinct fifteen years ago, un-preserved, un-projectable in their original 3-panel splendor, and largely forgotten. Countless hours of labor and research have now brought them all back to life on Blu-ray in the wraparound simulation ‘Smilebox’ format. These latest (and last?) discs properly restore two early releases, the show that started it all and the competing ‘Cinemiracle’ production that eventually became part of the Cinerama fanfold of travelogue gems.

This Is Cinerama

&

Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich

Separate Blu-ray Releases

2017 Authorized Restorations

Flicker Alley

1952 & 1958

Color

Smilebox widescreen

Street Date May 15, 2018

38.60 each

Back about ten years ago, the preservation team headed by the dauntless David Strohmaier had to rush their first two Cinerama releases onto the market, before the money could be found to properly refurbish them. The other seven productions would get the benefit of a new restoration process that involved scanning...