{"id":316,"date":"2020-01-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/?p=316"},"modified":"2020-01-15T05:23:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T05:23:47","slug":"jimmys-notes-on-episode-8-ben-avery-vs-king-kong-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/15\/jimmys-notes-on-episode-8-ben-avery-vs-king-kong-1976\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy&#8217;s Notes on &#8216;Episode 8: Ben Avery vs. King Kong (1976)&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"783\" height=\"327\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=783%2C327\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?w=783&amp;ssl=1 783w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=300%2C125&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/JIMMYS-NOTES.jpg?resize=768%2C321&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 783px) 100vw, 783px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our big year started with\na big film when Nathan was joined by Ben Avery to discuss Dino de Laurentiis\u2019\n1976 remake of <em>King Kong<\/em>. I have a\nlot to add and Nathan had plenty of leftover notes from re-watching the film.\nSo, let\u2019s started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nathan informed me\nafter the fact that I forgot to mention that the film has a 5.9 score on IMDB\nwith 28,249 ratings as of today. Oops. Okay, Nathan, you get one point on me.\nDon\u2019t expect that to happen often!<\/li><li>The books Ben\nmentioned\u2014as pointed out by a listener on Twitter\u2014were the Crestwood Monster\nSeries Books. Yes, they do go for a pretty penny now, although you can find\nthem for reasonable prices if you search on eBay. (Weirdly enough, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/King-Kong-Monsters-Ian-Thorne\/dp\/0913940690\/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=crestwood+house+monster+series&amp;qid=1578888437&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the\nKing Kong book is on Amazon for only $15 in hardback!<\/a>)<\/li><li>\u201cFunnest,\u201d Ben?\nI\u2019d expect a professional writer like yourself to know that isn\u2019t the proper\nsuperlative for that adjective (although I\u2019m surprised it isn\u2019t). The <a href=\"https:\/\/everything2.com\/title\/The+Law+of+Common+Usage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Law of Common\nUsage<\/a> may make you right eventually, though.<\/li><li>I think it was\nmore De Laurentiis making this film than Paramount, but, you know, details. \ud83d\ude1b<\/li><li>Gorillas are apes,\nnot monkeys, Ben! (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=--szrOHtR6U&amp;t=18s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">see VeggieTales<\/a>).<\/li><li>Actually, Ben, I\ndo think you get a few decent close-ups of the \u201cgorilla chief,\u201d especially\nduring the sacrifice scene where he\u2019s dancing around like a male stripper on\ncrack!<\/li><li>Wow, Ben, you\noutdid me. I couldn\u2019t find those deleted\/alternate scenes you mentioned were on\nYouTube. However, some of the scenes shown on the extended NBC TV version can\nbe found on it.<\/li><li>It\u2019s pronounced\n\u201ckra-kn\u201d not \u201ckrei-kn,\u201d Ben.<\/li><li>Tim would be\ndisappointed that Nathan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DKl0ekYrcZM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">forgot Charles Grodin was in\n<em>The Great Muppet Caper<\/em><\/a>.\nShame. \ud83d\ude1b<\/li><li>\u201cPetra\u201d is Greek\nfor \u201crock,\u201d so I assume it was used as the source word for Petrox (not to take\naway from the clever pun).<\/li><li>Nathan and I\nwatched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kwOGaIJGnPE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a POV video<\/a> of\nthe original Kong ride, \u201cKongfrontation,\u201d at Universal Studios. He was doubly\njealous when I told him I rode it back when it opened in 1977. \ud83d\ude1b Yes, there\nwere Smellitzers\u201d installed in the animatronic Kong\u2019s mouth that emitted\n\u201cbanana breath.\u201d (The scientists here on the Island tell me the real Kong\u2019s\nbreath is\u2026well, in need of some kaiju-sized mouthwash). <\/li><li>Ben correctly\nidentified the documentary as <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt1155592\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Man on Wire<\/a><\/em>.\nIt tells the true story of Phillippe Petit, who walked across a tightrope\nbetween the World Trade Center Towers in 1974. (This was illegal, by the way).\nNathan wants to see it now.<\/li><li>According to <em>Newsweek<\/em>, there were g<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/michigan-prosecute-price-gouging-151893\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as\nstations owners who faced prosecution in 2001 for price gouging<\/a>.<\/li><li>Your closing is\ncute, Ben, but I\u2019m actually a Sagittarius. \ud83d\ude1b (Not that I believe in horoscopes.\nI am a man of science who knows what stars actually do: burn and gravitate). J<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now on to Nathan\u2019s rather\nexhaustive notes from the film. He went through all his stuff for the 1973 oil\ncrisis, but as Ben said, there is much to talk about with this film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nathan notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cHere\u2019s to the big\none.\u201d Foreshadowing. <em>(Hence why Nathan\nreferenced it at the beginning of the episode. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>James Creelman,\nRuth Rose, Merian C. Cooper, and Edgar Wallace are all credited as inspiration.\nWow. <em>(Probably for legal reasons. \ud83d\ude1b \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>How do sailors\ndeal with everything on a table moving during a stormy sea? It\u2019s even worse\nwhen you\u2019re drunk.<\/li><li>The island does\nappear to be shaped like a skull, although they never call it that.<\/li><li>It\u2019s implied that\nKong may be at least 400 years old (1605). Or he is the latest member of the\nspecies? At least that\u2019s a little mythic.<\/li><li>\u201cSpouting ape\ns\u2014t.\u201d Foreshadowing?<\/li><li>\u201cSnapped a few\nmonkeys.\u201d More foreshadowing.<\/li><li>Jack and Dwan\u2019s\nrelationship does get at least a little more development in this compared to\nJack and Ann.<\/li><li>Was Kong spotted\non radar briefly?<\/li><li>How does Dwan not\ncause all kinds of trouble being the only woman on this ship? <em>(When I flew on the Gohten, there was only\none woman onboard, and the men behaved themselves\u2014although that was probably\nbecause she was the captain\u2019s daughter, so you may have a point there. Maybe. I\u2019m\nnot giving you another one this week, Marchand!)<\/em><\/li><li>Set off charges to\nmap geological structure\u2014just like in <em>Skull\nIsland<\/em>!<\/li><li>I gotta say, the\nscenery in this is really pretty. It does make me wonder if Peter Jackson was\ninfluenced by this?<\/li><li>They say the wall\nis Egyptian like in the original.<\/li><li>Dwan says this is\na wedding. Bride has a blonde headdress. Groom stand-in is dressed in ape mask\nand makes thrusting motions while dancing. Definitely indicates what they think\nhappens. Very \u201870s.<\/li><li>The chief tries to\ntrade six maidens for Dwan like in the original.<\/li><li>Jack speaks\nagainst colonialism by saying this isn\u2019t the 19th century, so they can\u2019t walk\nin and take their island.<\/li><li>Just like the\noriginal, the natives read the script and knew exactly where Dwan was. Somehow\nthey keep her from not screaming much.<\/li><li>Did Dwan get\ndrugged by natives? <em>(Obviously, yes. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>It\u2019s never explained\nwhy the natives want Dwan over their own girls. The original aid it was because\nshe was blonde.<\/li><li>And so they\nrecreate the iconic scene where the girl is tied to the\u2026altar(?) and Kong comes\nthrough the trees and takes her. It\u2019s surprisingly effective.<\/li><li>Kong appears 53\nminutes in. <em>(Which I think is proportional\nto the 1933 original where Kong appears 40 minutes into a 100 minute film. \u2013Jimmy)<\/em><\/li><li>Dwan references\nEmpire State Building.<\/li><li>There\u2019s a Chinese\ncook (and masseuse?) like in the original.<\/li><li>\u201cTurned on ape.\u201d\nConstant sexual references. Very \u201870s<\/li><li>Stone towers\nforeshadow Twin Towers.<\/li><li>This time Kong\nundressing the girl does feel sexual, unlike the original. It\u2019s unsettling.<\/li><li>A giant snake\nappears out of nowhere. Only other monster on island. Gory death when Kong\nbreaks its jaw. Harkens back to original.<\/li><li>\u201cEstimates monkey\ntime\u201d? Oh my\u2026<\/li><li>Replicates the\nscene where Kong crashes through wall. A bit more spectacular because Kong\nactually smashes it.<\/li><li>Like original,\nKong is knocked out with chloroform. Scene with his hand rising out of cloud of\ngas in hole is actually effective.<\/li><li>Jack opposes the\nexploitation of Kong, unlike original. Calls it a \u201cgrotesque farce.\u201d The beauty\nand the beast show is frowned upon. Later calls it a \u201cTragedy.\u201d Quits Wilson\u2019s\n\u201ccircus\u201d on principle.<\/li><li>The shot where\nKong catches Dwan was a bit unimpressive.<\/li><li>There\u2019s no mention\nof a legend of Kong before getting to island, unlike original.<\/li><li>One shot of Empire\nState Building.<\/li><li>How long did it\ntake Wilson to put all this together? This is a lot of stuff.<\/li><li>Kong reaches into\nbuilding and grabs Dwan like in original. This time, though, she doesn\u2019t seem\nas resistant. Yet she still calls for help. Hmm\u2026is she confused about how to\nfeel? I don\u2019t want to get into sex and consent right now.<\/li><li>Jack cheers when\nKong kills soldiers. He is a hippie.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that, the \u201cKong\nQuest\u201d will with the\u2026unfortunate sequel in next month\u2019s main episode on <em>King Kong Lives<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Join us next week for a\nmini-analysis of one of my favorite Toho tokusatsu films: <em>The Mysterians<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow me on Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NasaJimmy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@NasaJimmy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">#JimmyFromNASALives<br>\n#WeShallOvercome <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our big year started with a big film when Nathan was joined by Ben Avery to discuss Dino de Laurentiis\u2019 1976 remake of King Kong.&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/15\/jimmys-notes-on-episode-8-ben-avery-vs-king-kong-1976\/\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jimmy&#8217;s Notes on &#8216;Episode 8: Ben Avery vs. King Kong (1976)&#8217;<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":21,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,114],"tags":[231,227,241,19,66,239,14,15,240,242,18,236],"series":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-jimmys-notes","tag-ben-avery","tag-dino-de-laurentiis","tag-empire-state-building","tag-jimmy-from-nasa","tag-jimmys-notes","tag-king-king-1976","tag-king-kong","tag-nathan-marchand","tag-paramount-pictures","tag-skull-island","tag-the-monster-island-film-vault","tag-world-trade-center","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316\/revisions\/319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monsterislandfilmvault.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}