Notes on a Theme: Movies About Making Movies

Sullivan's Travels, King Kong and Singin' in the Rain are all example of Movies About Making Movies. This was an interesting theme to explore, because it's in a lot of movies once you sit down and think about it.

Sullivan's Travels focuses on the Director/Writers journey as they try to discover their next big hit. In King Kong, adventure finds the adventurous nature director who is out to appease his fans. And in Singin' in the Rain, we see the drama behind the camera as the actors "disagree."

If you're interested in watching more movies about movies check out these:

Tropic Thunder (2008)



























This movie is comedy about actors getting dropped into actual combat during their attempts to film a war movie. However, it is in no way safe for the kids. Screen that junk!


Holiday Inn (1942)





























This features a couple scenes involving one of the main girls getting "stolen" in a non-shady way off a movie set. This happens late in the movie, but the whole plot builds to it.


Be Kind Rewind (2008)



























When a video store finds out that all the video tapes in his store have accidentally been erased, he and a friend take a home video camera and re-film the movies themselves. This movie is rated PG-13. I don't remember what for, but take their advice.

Next Sunday(tomorrow) marks the beginning of a new theme, and it's my pick. Which I am super excited about. I know what i'm bringing and I know which movie I want the group to pick. It would be perfect!

The Great Movie Review: King Kong (1933)

In the words of my mother, "You're going to listen to an hour and a half of that woman screaming?" Yes mother, and we're going to like it too.

We all know the story of King Kong. Director meets woman. Woman meets giant gorilla. Giant gorilla meets 7 well armed WWI fighter pilots with scarves and dies.

Given the fact that this movie is 77 ears old, it can't help but feel old. That's not to say that it is not well done; it actually looks pretty good. The live action stuff flows together pretty well with the animation displayed on a screen behind them in the studio. Movie magic!

My favorite was when Kong would throw something into the foreground. The object would fly off screen. Then an object of about the same size and shape would reappear at about the same arching angle and take out a villager. That's entertainment.

The whole time, I couldn't help but think of Robot Chicken. The animation style looks exactly the same. I kept expecting the gorilla to turn to the camera with a moving putty-made mouth and try to sell me some Admiral Ackbar Cereal.

Regardless, I didn't look at the clock nearly as much as I did in Peter Jackson's "version." I guess that's a good sign. When it was all said and done, we were all glad it was over.

In a fight of King Kong vs. King Kong, Peter Jackson loses.

King Kong (1933)

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 2
Val: 3
Kyle: 2
Micah: 2

Averaging to 2.25 screams out of 5.

Shares this rating with: Trainspotting, Blade Runner and A Man For All Seasons