December 14, 2005
King Kong is a 2005 epic adventure monster film co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. It is the eighth entry in the King Kong franchise and the second remake of the 1933 film of the same title, following the 1976 film. The film stars Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrien Brody. Set in 1933, it follows the story of an ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter prehistoric creatures and a legendary giant gorilla known as Kong, whom they capture and take to New York City.
Development began in early 1995, when Universal Pictures approached Jackson to direct the remake of the original 1933 film. The project stalled in early 1997, as several ape and giant monster-related films were under production at the time and Jackson planned to direct The Lord of the Rings film series. As the first two films in the Rings trilogy became commercially successful, Universal went back to Jackson in early 2003, expressing interest in restarting development on the project, to which Jackson eventually agreed. Filming for King Kong took place in New Zealand from September 2004 to March 2005. It is currently one of the most expensive films ever produced as its budget climbed from an initial $150 million to a then-record-breaking $207 million.
King Kong premiered at New York City on December 5, 2005, and was theatrically released in Germany and United States on December 14. The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, and eventually appeared in several top ten lists for 2005; it was praised for the special effects, performances, sense of spectacle and comparison to the 1933 original, though some criticisms were raised over its 3-hour run time. It was a commercial success, grossing over $562.9 million and became the fourth-highest-grossing film in Universal Pictures history at that time and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2005. It also generated $100 million in DVD sales upon its home video release in March 2006. It won three Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. A tie-in video game was released alongside the film, which also became a commercial and critical success.
A sequel, Skull Island, entered development in 2013, with Jackson producing and Adam Wingard set to direct. The project was abandoned after Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the rights and ultimately rebooted the franchise with the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island as part of Legendary's MonsterVerse. Wingard later directed the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong.
Storyline[]
Filmmaker Carl Denham and his crew encounter a giant ape in Skull Island and imprison it to bring it to New York. However, they land in trouble when the giant ape is set free in the city.
Sound Effects Used[]
- Hollywoodedge, Bone Breaks Blood Com FS044101/Hollywoodedge, Object Being Squashe PE105201
- Hollywoodedge, Bone Breaks Blood Com FS044104
- Hollywoodedge, Crash Metal Glass PE110801
- Hollywoodedge, Death Screams 110 Mal HS013507
- Hollywoodedge, Death Screams 210 Mal HS013603
- Hollywoodedge, Death Screams 610 Mal HS014005
- Hollywoodedge, Elephant Honks Blows PE024901 (Used for Brontosaurus moans.)
- Hollywoodedge, Female Screaming Ter TE036701
- Hollywoodedge, Glass Crash Sustaine PE112901
- Hollywoodedge, Goose Honks Strange AT085901
- Hollywoodedge, Jungle Background Cl AT100201
- Hollywoodedge, Large Continuous Cra PE282401
- Hollywoodedge, Large Wooden Door Clo HS040301 (Heard when Ann Darrow opens the door from the top of the Empire State Building.)
- Hollywoodedge, Leopard Snarl Fast CU AT012201 (Used once for Kong during the biplane scene near the end.)
- Hollywoodedge, Walrus Grunts Multip AT038501
- King Kong Roar
- SKYWALKER, AIRPLANE - AIRPLANE FAST PASS BY 01
- SKYWALKER, AIRPLANE - AIRPLANE FAST PASS BY 02
- SKYWALKER, AIRPLANE - BIPLANE PASS BY
- SKYWALKER, CRACK - HOLLOW, THUMPING CRUNCH
- SKYWALKER, ROAR - VASTATOSAURUS REX ROAR
- SoundDogs, Metal, Rip, Crush, Hit, Glass
- SoundDogs, Metal, Rip, Crush, Snap, Short
- Sound Ideas, ALARM, FIRE - FIRE BELL RINGING
- Sound Ideas, ANIMAL, BULL - ROARING AND SNORTING, PROCESSED (Used for the Ferrucutus.)
- Sound Ideas, BEAR - ROAR, ANIMAL 03 (Used for the Piranhadon.)
- Sound Ideas, CAT, LION - EATING, LOW MOANS & FLESH TEAR, ANIMAL
- Sound Ideas, Gorilla Roars and Breaths 01 - Series of gorilla snarls, breaths and roars
- Sound Ideas, HARBOUR, AMBIENCE - CLOSE AND DISTANT FOGHORNS, LOW BACKGROUND RUMBLE
- Sound Ideas, MONSTER - ROAR, ANIMAL 06 (Used for Kong when he's on the Empire State Building.)
- Sound Ideas, SCREAM, CROWD - MEDIUM STUDIO AUDIENCE: PANIC SCREAMING 02
- Sound Ideas, SCREAM, CROWD - MEDIUM STUDIO AUDIENCE: PANIC SCREAMING 03 (A brief portion is heard somewhat faintly not long after 02 is heard, unless confused with another sound.)
- Wilhelm Scream