The Collection
The idea of a special feature only DVD release isn’t a new revelation, Warner Brothers was the first to release a special features exclusive disc years ago with The Matrix Revisited. However this is the first time a studio decided to sell an extras filled DVD set before the movie is even theatrically released. Included in the two disc collection are all 54 production diaries from the kongisking.net website where all of them were first released individually over the course of the movies production between September 2004 and April 2005.
With this collection we’re given unprecedented insight behind the movie and this isn’t even the movies own DVD release, simply something to wet out apatite. Who knows what Peter and Universal have in store for us when the movie gets released on DVD some time next year. But if these diaries are anything to go by than that DVD is certainly going to be a must own title.
Many people knew something was afoot when the video quality online began to noticeably decrease. And as much as some have complained about the studio selling these people need to realize that these aren’t going to be made available online forever, eventually they’ll be taken down (which they were for the DVD release). With this collection we’ll be able to poses them and enjoy them at will and in the comfort of our living rooms, not staring like a zombie at a computer screen.
The overall production of the movie from conceptual art all the way to the premier must have been around two full years. But we all know the movie has been playing in Jackson’s head since he was just a small boy in New Zealand after seeing King Kong for the first time when he was around eight years old. Now at the age of 44 he gets to bring his vision of the classic tale to the silver screen and he brings us along for the ride with this DVD set.
The first few entries are very short but that’s forgivable because this was a new experience for everyone involved and they were simply learning as they went. Unlike Bryan Singer and Kevin Smith, both of which started online diaries for their films Peter didn’t have anything as a starting point for these videos, he was pioneering the concept as he went along. The DVD set doesn’t go too far into the story itself, that more than likely is due to confidentiality agreements and just wanting to leave elements of the movie a surprise for viewers. These are intended to be an appetizer to what will become the main coarse on December 14th when King Kong is released in theaters.
The discs can be watched a bunch of different ways, you can either select a specific date and watch only that entry, or you could watch diaries grouped together by location, or you can go the easy route like me and select the play all option and have them play in sequential order.
First up for shooting were the scene aboard the S.S. Venture where we see the ship in all its glory docked in front a blue screen wall, we learn they’re shooting it this way because Jackson admits that on the open sea he gets sea sick quickly. He kept with the tradition of shooting the interior as cramped hallways and while it adds a sense of realism to the film, I’m sure the crew just loved being in such a small work environment. They give some nice information surrounding the practical effects like dump tanks for wave scenes and we get to see the cast get bombarded with hundreds of gallons of water.
Which is one thing these diaries do wonderfully, they blend humor and informative facts wonderfully, in one piece they may be showing us how a slate works and then transition to Lumpy the ships cook played by Andy Serkis (in character) giving us the grand tour of the Venture, from the kitchen to the ships bathroom, it’s short but oh so hilarious. They really know how to keep the viewers interest with these.
The next shooting location is Skull Island and apparently all the entries Jackson was putting on the site weren’t enough for one fan, a poster known only as “Gandalf” was taking set pictures and posting them on the web. Wizards… always using their powers for evil. The crew puts together a great comedy bit where Jackson, Jack Black and other crew members hunt down the spy. In another one Peter shows the two brontosaurus used in the original Merian C. Cooper version, time hasn’t been kind to the small pieces of film history but it’s very fascinating seeing how the animators put together the creatures since the technology at the time was so new.
For the most part, the Skull Island parts of the disc are technical parts of film making and not a whole lot on the movie itself. Before a film can start shooting, the art department needs to finish the set first, naturally, but I for one never realized what a short time frame they dealt with, they’re working at full speed with literally only days before the cameras need to start rolling on set. When dealing with location shooting, the most important thing needed is electricity and that’s all the work of the Unit location who have the job of getting power through out the entire set. That includes the parts where scenes are taking place as well as star trailers as well as the locations for make-up and kraft services.
There are some parts that are informative but are just too painstakingly slow to bare, for instance the chapter where they show how the cameras work and how they prepare for set-ups. That is a part of filming certainly worth mentioning and it’s clearly a hard job but something about it makes you lose interest quickly. There is another part to the camera piece which follows a roll of film from leaving the camera to being processed, also shown is how now all the rolls that are processed come with a 40 gigabyte fire wire drive for easy editing on computers. Which make it possible to transfer them to DVD so Jackson has easy access to them in between set-ups and can check dailies that way.
The next location is also the last on set location of the discs, New York. Watching the crew prepare for this section of the film really shows just how dedicated they are to pulling off a film as best as they possibly can. Peter brings up the questions a lot of people were asking and that was why they didn’t film the actually scenes in New York. The answer is simple, current day New York no matter how much set design doesn’t look like it’s from 1933. Also the idea of shutting down time square to film a movie is something that would probably never be allowed even for the Oscar winning director. So instead what they did was build two square blocks of sets that will be used for downtown New York scenes. The digital effects crew show a 3D model of the island with the sky line edited to resemble the 30’s. The coolest thing about this 3D model is the fact that the entire island is digitally mapped, every street every building.
Again much like the Skull Island diaries, the pieces for this shooting location don’t go much in to the story or what’s being filmed, then again I’d say it’s easy to guess what’s happening there. So these production diaries once again go over the smaller parts of a movie production that some times go unoticed. Like for instance, the unsung heroes of the movie business, hair and make-up, those two parts of movie making are the final pieces of the character that help the actors bring their role to life and here they show just what it’s like working in those fields. Another part of movie making that generally goes unnoticed is costumes, sure the cast gets noticed from time to time for what they’re wearing but with King Kong being a period piece every single extra needed to be dressed in the appropriate clothing for the time, which means each outfit was made by the costume department.
Included sporadically through the discs are some great pieces on the effects of the movie, like for instance the miniature department. They get a few diary entries on their work and as always what they have to say is fascinating to listen to, it’s also mind boggling that they started work on miniatures months before even principle photography but only wrapped all of their work two months ago back in October. The effects crew talk about the work that’s put in to give the more complex scenes depth and look real, by digitally scanning actual miniatures used for the film.
For the visual effects between Kong and Ann they had it set up for Andy Serkis to be the exact size Kong would be by placing him on a portable tower. That way the reactions between he and Watts would photograph better on film rather than Naomi reacting to nothing and only people telling her what expressions to make. Then when Andy has to go back and do facial mapping for Kong he’ll know exactly what emotions to express since he was in the room with Watts and can remember how Kong should be reacting to Watts expressions on screen.
The Hell Divers used in the original King Kong were at the time the standard plane for the US Navy however now there isn’t a single one of them in existence. So in order to stay as true to the original as possible Peter and his crew actually managed to get ahold of the planes blueprints from the Smithsonian and they built a full scale replica of the plane completely to scale and as true to the 1933 version as can be. That just goes to show the level of detail being put in this movie.
Peter Jackson is the king of April fools pranks. With one of his diary entries he convinced everyone involved with the production to be a part of the entry and have everyone talk about a sequel to King Kong that would be starting shortly after Kong premiered and the sequels shooting script was so large that they would be splitting it in two. The plot for the movie? Son of Kong helps the army defeat Hitler and his genetically mutated creatures. Son of Kong helps the US defeat Hitler! And the prank is very elaborate with pre viz shots of Kongs son along with model versions of Hitlers creatures and even some miniature set designs. Well played Mr. Jackson… well played. It’ll be even funnier when people watch the DVD and not realize that the entry was posted on April 1st, and the DVD doesn’t say anything about it being a hoax either.
Another hilarious inclusion is Jackson during the final hours of principal shooting starts to get fatigued and just completely is void of energy. So he calls up Bryan Singer to help him out which leads to Singer having no idea what’s happening. He then asks Pete for some help with the pre-viz shot to get a sense of what Kongs emotion would be in the scene. Only the way he worded it was a thousand times better “what does he… can he fly?”. The next day Peter is once again exhausted which leads to yet another guest director, Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) which is just plain hilarious and even Peter can’t help but crack up while the Diary cameramen are filming.
While he makes light of the situation and only made that diary for laughs, the wear and tear the movie has on him becomes noticeable over the course of the production. He starts off with his eyes sparkling still baring a resemblance to his former jolly ol’ saint nick look and by the time it’s all wrapped up he’s completely exhausted. It’s documented well with the “A Day In the Life of Peter Jackson” production diary where you see what a heavy load the film is and how he’s trying so hard to keep everything moving and on track.
Sadly the set is being put out with only the production diaries and are excluding all of the post production entries, I can only assume that was done to get the set out before December 14th and if they were to wait it never would have reached that mark. Now will those ever be put out on disc like these were? One can only hope and it’s not to far fetched as there are 33 of them, I just hope they plan to include those with the movie when it’s released on DVD and not as another separate title like this one.
The Video
(presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen)
For video diaries produced exclusively for the web, this set looks incredible. The video is just about the same quality you would expect to see with modern documentaries. It’s leaps and bounds better than the cramped quicktime window we’ve grown used to that’s for sure.
The Audio
(English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
The audio track much like visual isn’t what this set hinges on, it’s the material talked about and shown. There’s no ambient sound, it’s completely dialog driven and is crystal clear so we don’t miss a whole lot with the lack of a surround track.
The Extras
Well the entire set is comprised of extras, that’s what the diaries are, extras that were made available to die hard fans exclusively on the internet. Universal certainly has included enough material here to please fans that were hesitant about the purchase though believe me. The DVD is sold in a limited edition box that is made to look like a Carl Denham production chest, inside is another box that slides out which contains the Production Diaries. The discs themselves are put in a unique holder that cases both discs as well as the included 50 page scrapbook.
The scrapbook is put together wonderfully and includes brief descriptions of each production diary as well as drawings, stills and other images of photos taken on set while the crew was either filming or candid shots from around the set giving the book a wonderful authentic scrapbook feel. Four exclusive production art prints are also put in the collection and look beautiful. Also inside the box is a certificate of authenticity which I’m not sure the point of is as the number I have is 255,143 and it doesn’t say exactly how many of these things were produced, I’m also not positive if the certificate is for the DVD box set or for the art prints.
There are also two exclusive diary entries available, one is an introduction by Peter Jackson where he welcomes us and talks about what the concept of the diaries were to begin with and what they eventually evolved in to. It’s only around 5 minutes long but that’s longer than most introduction pieces on other DVDs. He also says that the Post Production Diaries will also be released as their own separate DVD collection some time next year.
The other is an entry that shows the creation of one of the films major scenes involving a fight between King Kong and a family of three T-Rex’s that runs a little over 16 minutes. And the coolest thing of all is at the end of showing us all the aspects of creating the scene they play a segment in its final stage. Let me tell you, if this scene is anything to go by as to the effects for the overall film then we’re in for one amazing thrill ride when King Kong gets released because this scene is beyond words for how spectacular it is.
