King Kong Production Diaries DVD Review:

Since he was twelve years old, director Peter Jackson has been dreaming of remaking the movie that sparked his imagination and drew him into film. That movie was ‘King Kong’ and now he has the chance to realise his dream. With pre-production finished, Peter Jackson and his cast and crew move into the production phase and the director is keeping a weekly video diary for the entirety of the shoot.

After unprecedented success with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, interest was always going to be high in Peter Jackson’s next project but when he announced it was going to be a remake of a classic, everyone couldn’t wait to see what he could do with ‘King Kong’.

A filmmaker who knows he is making movies for the audience and not just himself, Peter Jackson has taken the unique approach of keeping a video diary throughout the entire production of ‘King Kong’. These diaries where then released onto the Internet via the ‘Kong is King.net’ website every week, giving fans and anyone who is interested a fascinating insight into the making of a huge budget, visual effects fill extravaganza.

Now in another first, the diaries from the production element of the filmmaking process (the actual recording of the life action elements) have been released on DVD before the film is actually released in cinemas. Released in Widescreen and with a far better picture quality than its Internet counterpart, there are fifty-four diaries covering the entire live action shoot.

Each diary gives you exclusive access to the set as we see Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and the rest of the cast in action. The diaries take you behind the scenes of New Zealand shoot as the filmmakers create New York, the Venture and Skull Island in Jackson’s home country. Informative and fun, each dairy takes you through the entire filming process, revealing how a visual effects intensive film such as this is filmed, showing the green screen techniques used, the miniatures, the sets and how 1930s New York was created in New Zealand.

With over four hours of diary footage covering only the production element of the film, you can understand why Peter Jackson and Universal Pictures have released the Production Diaries on DVD before the film. With Pre and Post production diaries still available for the DVD release of the movie, this is an excellent opportunity for fans and anyone interested in filmmaking to see how a huge budget movie is made. Peter Jackson again breaks boundaries and sets a new standard in audience access to a movie.

Star Rating = * * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Stereo 2.0 soundtrack, the diaries have improved picture and sound qualities from those seen on the Internet.

BONUS FEATURES

The Making of a Shot: The T-Rex Fight (16.28 mins)
Director Peter Jackson and his visual effects team take you behind the scene of one of the most ambitious scenes in the movie, the T-Rex fight. Here we see how the T-Rex’s were designed, both in model and CG form, their movements and deciding their look. We also see how the virtual Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) was created for the more dangerous elements of the fight and of course we see the star of the show, Kong himself. After the director and his team has have explained how the scene was made, we get to see the completed sequence.

Credits (6.14 mins)
As a precursor to the actual DVD credits, star Andy Serkis stalks the DVD team and gives them a taste of their own medicine. This is a funny little extra on an already packed DVD.

OVERALL

This is basically a DVD extra packaged on its own so you can’t really rate it. The added bonus of the ‘The Making of a Shot: The T-Rex Fight’ diary is excellent and a real must see for fans. This is an excellent package and will be a great compendium to the movie.



Jamie Kelwick

During the production of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson became known for his close connection with the fan base. He had open discussions with the true fans in order to make a film which would guarantee to please the people who loved the material the most. Following this same pattern, Jackson started a website; Kong is King, as he began filming the remake. The site had a series of short video clips which showed how things were filmed, had short conversations with actors and crew members, and sometimes just had entertaining little bits. It is the kind of material that you would expect to find its way onto the bonus features of the film’s DVD, but it has become something much more.

It is both very brave and smart to release a large DVD package about the making of a film before the film is ever released, or it is very stupid and cocky. On one hand it is publicity that may even make a small profit instead of costing anything. On the other hand, the film hasn’t even been released yet. Only a director like Jackson can get away with something like this because of the large fan base he has developed considering the material. It is along the same lines of filming the sequels before the first film has even achieved success.

The package which has been put together for this material which has already been seen my fans on the internet is phenomenal. It is slightly uncomfortable how large the actual package is, but assuming that the cardboard casing is not kept, storage of the actual DVD shouldn’t be a problem even though it is somewhat unique. The actual DVD package is made to look like a clipboard, and it flips open. Inside is a gorgeous 52-page production memoir, with some fantastic photographs. This is clipped inside the DVD package with the discs. Also inside the cardboard package made to look like luggage are four exclusive production art prints. These could easily be framed and hung in a home. They are gorgeous prints and very tasteful. There is also an individually numbered certificate of authenticity with the prints.

On the actual discs are all 54 of the internet clips which were compiled over the long eight months it took to shoot the film. Some of the material just seems like a plot to get fans excited, but there are also some really interesting and humorous bits. It should be known that there is a lot kept secret because this was all shown long before the release of the film, but even some of the mundane details are made interesting. If you aren’t convinced just watch the entry about the different types of fecal matter which was created for the animal cages within the film. Also, even though Jack Black seems to be playing a more serious role in this film, when he isn’t in character he is his usual fun-loving self. Often times it doesn’t seem that Jackson understands his humor and instead takes his comments seriously.

Depending on the success of King Kong, this package could be a huge success, but even if it isn’t there is something to be said for it. There are reviews of this package floating around on the internet and it will be on shelves in stores for consumers to see. The point is that even if the idea is hated, it will still be giving the film publicity, and as they say, there is no bad publicity.

Ryan Izay