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Also Known As: - |
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| Year of first release: 1949 | |
| Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack (The Most Dangerous Game, King Kong) | |
| Actors: Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Robert Armstrong | |
| Country: USA | |
| Genre: Adventure | |
| Conditions of visioning: 13.09.2013, Sao Jorge theater, MotelX2013 | |
| Synopsis: Jill (Moore) and her gorilla friend Joe were living peacefully in Africa, until they travel to New York to discover the world, not all for the good. | |
| Review: I
have heard about this movie since a remake was done back in 1999, but
until now I hadn't seen any of the two. It is known because of several
reasons and its similitudes with the classic King Kong (1933): same director, same writer, the couple made of a big ape and a girl coming to New York. Moreover Mighty Joe Young is the big first undertaking of special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, working hand-in-hand with his idol Willis O'Brien who animated King Kong. The movie was shown in the "Big Bad Wolf" retrospective at the MotelX 2013 festival, so that actually mainly a classroom of children were attending, and JoRafCinema were almost the only adults. Instead of recent DVD or Blu-ray, an old film was projected and it was showing: shaky and grainy image and high-pitched sound. At some point the film even stopped and burned! I had never seen that before except in parodies of it. Fortunately the movie resumed and we could see it all. I liked the movie in spite of the obvious intention to repeat the success of King Kong, and the fortuitous ending (Walt Disney ending as my co-blogger said). The special effects are remarkable, in particular the interaction of the ape with its environment and with humans. Its motion is very fluid and sometimes it doesn't look like stop motion but almost like digital effects! Impressive for that time. I will probably purchase this movie and its remake in Blu-ray when they are released, to watch them in the best conditions. |
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Rating: 7 /10
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More than entertainment, an Art.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Mighty Joe Young (1949)
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Ray Harryhausen is the creator of the Stop motion trick used as special effects. This has been used since then (1949) over 30 years. Indeed scenes where Joe Young touches people or other animals are overwhelming for that time!
ReplyDeleteEven if the movie itself does not match my taste, it is worth watching it for historical reasons (therefore Rating 6/10 for me). It is like watching Avatar that was revolutionary for the 3D movies.