PDA

View Full Version : King Kong info


juan
December 20th, 2004, 01:25 AM
KING KONG INFO AND TRANSLATION



Hello everyone. As we all know, King Kong 1933 is one of best known giant monster movies ever made. Less famous, however, is a novel based on the original script and copyrighted 1932. While reading my copy (brought from Gorgozilla thanks buddy! ) I came across things that give interesting background info not seen in the movie and was even able to translate some Skull Islander words.

We all, of course, remember Anne Darrow, the bride of Kong. We first see her in New York City, Manhattan, on the streets and thinking to steal an apple out of hunger. In the movie, we’re only told that Anne has an uncle somewhere and that she did a few acting jobs; we assume that she’s a New Yorker. In the novel, we learn that she’s a country girl, from out west. After her rancher parents died for reasons we are not told of, she received an inheritance from her father’s land or would have if not for a scheming uncle who swindled her. After that, Anne went to New York looking for work and did some bit parts at Fort Lee and even had a starring role. After that, Fort Lee went out of business and Anne was on the streets, hungry, homeless, and poor. (If you do your homework, you’ll see that movie was made during the Great Depression when such poverty was commonplace. Farmers were especially hard hit and though Anne’s parents were ranchers, its close enough.)

In the movie, we only know that Driscol is the first mate of the ship. He's brave and trustworthy but we don’t go past that. In the book it is revealed that Driscol is a runaway. He had the chance to go to college but didn’t want to go and left for a life at sea. This displeased his mother but she forgave him and went on to accept all his crazy adventures alongside Carl Denham.

As for Skull Islander words, I once only knew the word for friend, “bala.” Captain Englehorn says that the language is similar to that of the Nias Islanders. However, after a close examination of the text, I was able to translate more.

Bala=friends

Bali, reri=we don’t want friends. (Roughly)

Tasko=get out!

Watu=wait

Saba=bride

Ani=girl

“Dama si vego. Punya. Punya bas!”=“He says the ceremony’s spoiled because we’ve seen it.”

Malem=Woman

Pakeno=gold

ma=of

sita=look

bisa=gift

para=for

kow=a

Wa= ‘s [wa designates possessive]

Dama=stranger

tebo=sell

na=to

hi=us

dia-six

Tida=no

“malem ati rota na ni”=“Our woman is our luck and we dare not part with her.”

Di=we

Wana=can’t

ta=loose it

Dulu=tomorrow

“Hi tago nah”=“we return then”

En=the

Hope you like and have a nice day! :)

Raptor
December 20th, 2004, 07:55 AM
Way cool, Juan, especially regarding the characters' backgrounds. Yes, I believe we should consider the times when the original film was made, even if it is now more of a "period piece". We should also realize that there are still areas of economic depression here in the states. One can even access census blocks and possibly identify areas in their own town, getting STATISTICS. What is most revealing is the PEOPLE themselves; they each have a "story", as you've revealed with Anne and Driscol.

I'm wondering if we might not have another opportunity in the coming year to once again consider the humans who have had to deal with kaiju, as we did with the EYEWITNESS collection of tales. Maybe a "here and now" approach to the original characters; how would they/we deal with such situations as they faced? Also, we can watch the 2005 KING KONG and see how it compares as to "setting the scene". When watching the original, the dialogue can even be rather "jarring" to our current "sensibilities". At the same time, there are various efforts afoot to change various elements of American history. Will "the powers that be" one day try to make it appear the U.S. did not have the Great Depression?
The prior "remake" IMO is much more of an "update" or "modernization" of the classic tale; a good premise in its own right.
Your research and insight is what helps take KAIJUPHILE film discussion so much further than just what we may see on the screen. Thanks again! :thumbs:

juan
December 23rd, 2004, 12:42 AM
Ah yes, Kong remakes...

Reminds me of the cartoon "Mighty Kong"." Its set in in the 30s but the dialogue is a laugh. :p

Another thing, Captain Englehorn is a German American. In the book, they're waiting for Driscoll and Anne to come back and the captain sees them. He says, "Gott ze dank!" a german phrase. The text reads that the "depths of his gratitude was seen in his using a language he'd forsaken for English some twenty years ago."

Do your math and you'll see it means that Englehorn would have emigrated to the US from Germany in either 1912 or 1913, shortly before the first World War. Could this mean that Englehorn left Germany because he wanted nothing to do with the Kaiser? That would make sense with how he assimilated to the degree that he did, even forsaking his native language. He might have assimilated to that extent, not wanting to be picked on as were so many innocent German Americans in World War I for no other reason than that their parents or grandparents had been born on germany.

A similar fictional example is seen in Back to the Future III where Doc Brown says that it wasn't until the war that his family were the Browns, before they'd been the Von Brauns.

PS: King Kong 1976 was also a period piece. At the time the the oil crisis was on and the film has an oil man talking about how everyone's looking for oil.

That's all and have a nice day!:)

Raptor
December 23rd, 2004, 11:57 AM
Another thing, Captain Englehorn is a German American. Do your math and you'll see it means that Englehorn would have emigrated to the US from Germany in either 1912 or 1913, shortly before the first World War. Could this mean that Englehorn left Germany because he wanted nothing to do with the Kaiser? That would make sense with how he assimilated to the degree that he did, even forsaking his native language. He might have assimilated to that extent, not wanting to be picked on as were so many innocent German Americans in World War I for no other reason than that their parents or grandparents had been born on germany.Exactly. My grandfather did also. In SOME parts of the country, people still didn't like Germans. Around here, we had a German POW camp and the locals had no undue animosity toward those detained, even becoming friends with many. I can only think that whatever biased "holdovers" by present generations were perpetuated by THEIR parents.

A similar fictional example is seen in Back to the Future III where Doc Brown says that it wasn't until the war that his family were the Browns, before they'd been the Von Brauns. A nice play on WERNER von Braun there! As well, Doc is your "typical" stereotyped scientist - the Einstein "look" and all.
King Kong 1976 was also a period piece. At the time the the oil crisis was on and the film has an oil man talking about how everyone's looking for oil.:)And "big oil" comes off looking like the "bad guy": exploitive as all get out. PETROX reminds me of "pet rock" and no doubt has found its way to many model railroad lay-outs! There are a lot of ways writers and film makers can have a little "fun" with their material! It being an oil company rather than a film crew in the "update" worked very well IMO. In the '30's, movies were a great "escape" from the harshness of the times. I'd personally like to see a period "follow up" focusing on Anne Darrow myself. I'd thought about that before getting a Publishers Clearing House sweepstates invite where they claim to be the originator of "reality TV", what with their filming winners' reactions to that van showing up. It is the HOKIEST promo they could have ever come up with IMO, what with wanting everyone to jump up and down and act thoroughly stupid at such a life altering occasion. "Real" people? Not when it comes to the media and merchandising. :confused:

juan
December 28th, 2004, 02:43 AM
One last thing.

In Kong 1933 we see Anne hungry and destitute trying to steal an apple. I read a book on the subject called "An Album of the Great Depression" and it had a blurb on apple selling. I quote:

THE APPLE SELLER
A new figure appeared o the streets. He was a veteran of World War I, out of work, and he sold apples for 5 cents apiece. For $2.25 he bought a box of seventy-two apples, spent 10 cents on bags and 10 cents on carfare.
Then he stood for hours hoping to sell all his apples. If he sold all of them, he made a profit of $1.15 cents for his family.
President Hoover said, "Many people have left their jobs for the more profitable one of selling apples."

End quote. No wonder the apple seller was so mad at Anne!

On this, I checked out "The Rough Guide to New York City" from the library as research for my Monster Wars fic. In the New York of film section it lists Kong 1933 and says that it "paints a vivid era of Depression Era Manhattan--" among other things.

Cool.:cool: