NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

English, French, Spanish and none

Chapters 35

ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - September 2010: We've had two other King Kongs on Blu-ray - firstly the newest version (2005) with Naomi Watts/Jack Black (reviewed HERE) and in France they produced the Blu-ray of the sexy Jessica Lange great ape flic - covered HERE. But now is the time for the original...

The new Warner Blu-ray looks impressive on my system. The biggest benefactor of the move to 1080P appears to be the prevalence of the grain - which is now more consistent - seemingly thicker and giving off a nice textured feel. In many instances the lighter scratches/artifacts... are gone (??). See the matched grab looking at 'Skull island' from the water and the large wall. This appears to be the exact frame - see the flying bird near the base of the wall - close to the right side of the gate. Firstly, you may notice movement in the frame (the Blu-ray has moved right and down). But where is, what we perceived as, the damage (vertical scratches under the surface), in the sky and mountains? The new image is darker and where the DVD may have had some boosting (remember, this process can bring damage to a more noticeable level) to heighten detail - it appears as though no manipulation was done here. I need to live with it for a longer time but my first impressions are that this looks much more pure - cleaner with stronger grain. Effort has been put forth. Because the image is 'dimmer' it looks much better in the higher resolution, IMO. If we get more information on the transfer - we will post it here.

Audio takes a lossless bump too - and it naturally improves - sounding more consistent, a bit crisper and this does add to the presentation. It may not be cleaner but the perception is that it sounds so in HD. Subtitle options now include Portuguese - and my Momitsu confirms that the disc region FREE - playable on Blu-ray machines world wide.

Supplements are duplicated (same commentary and documentary) excepting both the Lost Spider Pit sequence and the Creation Test Footage (with Harryhausen commentary) are now in HD. It is also a benefit to have all this on one lone disc. The package itself is a Digi-book with 34-pages which include color photos, vintage advertising and essays. It's very appealing.

This is still so much fun - kind of vintage exploitation. An upgrade from the Warner DVD will depend on how much you appreciate the film. If you want it in the best looking and sounding version - then this Blu-ray is the way to go.

***

ON THE DVD: Unfortunately, up until now we have had to exist on impure DVD representations and bootlegs to see the great ape flic (see comparisons below). The new Warner DVD image looks tremendous - certainly the cleanest, sharpest, best contrasted image to date. Now there are some scratch marks but they are very light. To give a brief overview I have only sampled the disc, commentary and some of the extras. Everything I have sampled so far is magnificent - the transfer shows some inconsistent grain and has some moments of superb sharpness. Audio is true mono and sounds very clean. The commentary snippets that I have heard so far are excellent - stop motion animator Harryhausen goes into some detail on the technical special effects used. Before this was released we were sure it would be in consideration for DVD of the Year... and it still remains so. Actually it may have gained a few points.

My suggestion, unless you are extremely keen on extra features, is to get the blue-cover edition with Mighty Joe Young and Son of Kong for the same price as this... or you may buy them separately quite reasonably.