Posted on 08/11/2006 3:59:51 PM PDT by pcottraux
Presenting to you, this weekend, from pcottraux and rzenjikj at stout:
By Pcottraux (a.k.a Philip)
“King Kong” is one of my personal favorite movies, and unquestionably one of the greatest American films. It was a pioneering breakthrough in film special effects technology, as well as one of the most technically influential movies ever made. “Aliens” and “Jurassic Park” are its grandchildren.
However, since its original premiere in 1933, the movie itself has taken many forms. Five years after its release, “Kong” began to fall under the scissors of the editors. For some reason, even though the movie had already been in show for years, editors at the Motion Picture Ratings Board deemed many scenes “inappropriate” and they were instantly cut.
Some four minutes of footage was lost altogether. Included were scenes involving Kong peeling off Fay Wray’s clothing, a giant monster eating some of the sailors in the swamp, and of course, a rampaging Kong squashing Skull Island residents with his foot.
Miraculously, however, the man who actually cut the scenes from the reel decided that instead of burning it (which was the common custom back then), he would take it home. So for years and years, this lost footage, which was considered a sort of “Holy Grail” for Kong fans, lie in his basement in a film canister collecting dust. Decades later, he sold the footage, and it was restored to its rightful place in the movie. Film buffs of the world, rejoice!
However, this four minutes of footage wasn’t the only thing missing from “King Kong”…
In the movie, there’s a climactic moment where the sailors, having just been attacked by a swamp monster, are running crazily through the jungles of Skull Island. At some point, they come across a fallen log that forms a bridge over a gigantic chasm. They rush across towards what they think is safety, but suddenly, Kong appears on the other side. The sailors are trapped; Kong picks up the log--with them still hanging on--and shakes it violently. One by one, the sailors lose their grip and fall presumably to their deaths at the bottom of the ravine.
But before the movie was released to theaters, there was a notorious scene taking place immediately afterwards that was cut out. This missing piece of footage is now legendary among Kong fans such as myself, known simply as “The Lost Spider Pit Sequence.”
According to the legend, in the original cut, the sailors actually survived the fall to the bottom of the pit, only to be attacked and eaten by giant, disgusting insect monsters!
The scene in its time was said to have been cut out for two reasons: one, because it was too gruesome and shocking, and two, because it “interrupted the pacing of the film.” In fact, the scene was cut out personally by the movie’s director, legendary filmmaker Merian C. Cooper.
Despite the grimness of the scene, the film’s chief special effects technician/animator, Willis O’Brien, was said to have been devastated by the loss. He had considered it his greatest animation ever.
In all probability, the original footage of the Spider Pit Sequence was burned shortly after being cut. This was a common practice in an age long before DVDs, Deleted Scenes, Directors’ Cuts, etc. However, there is hope that a copy of the scene may still exist, depending on exactly when it was cut out. If it was excised right before the movie’s early pre-screenings, there is a good chance that at least a few copies of the movie (containing the legendary scene) had already been shipped out overseas.
Virtually nothing was known about this lost moment of film history for about thirty years. Then, some time in the 1960’s, a legendary Science-Fiction guru named Forrest J. Ackerman came across an intriguing photograph in the Philippines. Once he discovered this grainy old picture, he also learned of the possibility that a missing scene from “King Kong” may be out there somewhere, and he quickly published the picture as well the story in his popular magazine Famous Monsters of Film Land.
Once this picture found its way to Ackerman’s magazine, the legend was born.
It has been four decades since this one photograph was discovered, and since then, the legend of the “Lost Spider Pit Sequence” has grown from a small trivial bit of information to one of the greatest mysteries in cinema history. For years and years, massive investigations and expeditions have been launched all around the world; from China to the Philippines to England, people have been obsessively searching to find this lost moment from film history. In a sense, the Spider Pit Scene has become the “Ark of the Covenant” of the movie industry…people have been hunting it in exotic locales all around the world, and if it is ever found, it will be one of the greatest and most significant cinematic archaeological discoveries ever.
Is the Spider Scene out there, somewhere? Many think so. If it is, it is sitting in some old rusty film canister, locked away in the basement of some theater, or stored among cobwebs in someone’s attic…just waiting to be discovered. And while the odds of ever finding it are slim, the fact that bits and pieces of footage and old props from “King Kong” are still being discovered keeps that hope alive.
But after years and years of exhaustive searching, have all the countless expeditions produced any results? The answer is a resounding YES! Although the scene itself remains undiscovered, a small treasure trove of still photographs, concept art, and evidence has been uncovered. The original script from “Kong” also briefly mentions the Spider Sequence.
These bits of evidence give us a tantalizing idea of what actually happens in the scene itself, and provides a faint glimpse as to what the scene looks like.
So what DOES the scene look like? From what we gather, the season probably lasted about two minutes. There were four sailors getting up and brushing themselves off for a small moment. Then, according to the script, “The men at the bottom of the ravine are attacked by giant insects who come out of caves and fissures to eat them!”
In all probability, there were four sailors altogether (6 actually fall from the log). And five disgusting creatures in all appear out of the “caves and fissures” for dinnertime. There is:
A. A giant crab.
B. A giant man-eating lizard.
C. A giant two-legged lizard which looks up at the hero hiding in the cave at the top of the chasm and decides to go after him (this moment does make it in the movie).
D. A giant spider, and last but not least,
E. The most repulsive monster of all, which is described as a giant insect with slithery octopus-like tentacles.
The most common evidence is actually early conceptual art for the movie. When making a movie like “King Kong,” it is necessary before filming takes place to draw, sketch, and paint what various scenes in the movie will look like. Since this was before filming began, there were several drawings of the Spider Pit Scene made without the knowledge that the scene would be later removed. Most of the artwork was done by an artist named Byron Crabbe, and if you look at other conceptual art he did for “Kong,” you’ll see that the moviemakers were very faithful to his art.
Most of the film’s concept art was done in the late 20’s, long before filming actually began.
The first image is a rough sketch that shows the most recurrent theme throughout the Spider Pit evidence: two of the sailors scrambling to get to safety on top of a large rock as they are attacked by a giant crab. By the end of the sequence, the crab grabs at least one of them in its giant claw, and then crushes and eats him.
Last but not least is the most famous piece of concept art from "King Kong;" this picture is a master-shot of the Spider Pit Sequence taking place:
But concept art isn’t the only evidence we have…
Since the search for the Spider Pit Scene began, a few grainy photos have turned up. Like the infamous Spider Photo, these are actual still images from the scene itself (which begs the question: if the scene is missing, where did the photos come from?).
BUT THAT ISN’T ALL!!!
Just last year, an even bigger discovery was made. A young man from California went snooping around an old movie museum, and came to an amazing discovery: it’s not the Spider Pit Scene itself, but something almost as good. He found the actual spider stop-motion puppet that was used in the scene!
Click here to read this amazing story.
And here is a follow-up, with pictures included.
It is evidence such as this continually being discovered that keeps the legend alive, as long as the hope that some day, miraculously, that missing moment in film history will be uncovered for the world to see.
I want to conclude tonight with a video clip. While shooting his wonderful remake of “King Kong,” director Peter Jackson decided, on the side, as a fun fan project, to shoot a recreation of the lost Spider Pit sequence. He did this using authentic models, replicas, and old cameras to make as authentic a recreation as possible, then spliced it into that moment into the movie. The entire clip is mostly footage from the original and is altogether about 6 minutes. It actually starts with the swamp monster chasing the sailors into the jungle and ends with the hero being attacked by the two-legged lizard who crawls up towards him from the bottom.
Peter Jackson’s fan-film recreation of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence:
I leave you with this.
Philip.
that's good to hear...
They have that problem even with the full films that have been cared for..........especially in films before the advancements of 1935.
Good stuff that it's still around.
I think that "mean" is really all a point of view. I entertain myself with telemarketers.
Heidi calls me one evening, trying hard to sell me a time share. I let her go through her spiel and say, "Heidi, I'm absolutely naked right now...what are you wearing?"
Heidi hung up - I don't know why.
If they ever do find the lost sequence (I dream), I imagine it will not be in good shape. Probably will be very scratchy and corroded.
When the other deleted moments (the clothes peeling, the head stomping, etc.) were found, they were very rough. They were put back into the film, but those moments were pretty scratched up and unclear. But then, miraculously, a clean nitrate print was found in England...a few copies had existed and the British censors hadn't cut them out.
That's what you see in the "King Kong" DVD.
Oh, we know it's you.
Oooh...Heidi, eh?
D'oh!
But you can still keep sneaking if you want.
What's up, Phil?
I'm trying to type quietly as hubby is napping (snoring) on the couch...
See the need for sneaking?
Hopefully the sound of his snoring will drown out the noise of the typing.
It did for a while, but now it started up again.
Is anyone still here?
I'm here!!!! (for a short time)
You still up?
Oh, you know it.
Was outside smokin a stogie. Hubby ended up napping for 3 1/2 hours. Now he's bouncing off the walls (and it's 10pm). Usually he gets sleepy about this time.
Oh, what a night it is.
Something happened at work today...
What happened?!??!!??!?!?!
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