Primal Fear on Screen: King Kong
In celebration of Director of Film Emeritus Bill Pence (1940-2022), presented on 35mm.
In celebration of Director of Film Emeritus Bill Pence (1940-2022), presented on 35mm.
In the late 1950s, while attending a screening of a French print of King Kong, Bill Pence realized he was watching footage that he had never seen before. All the US prints of Kong had been censored for suggestive content for the 1952 re-release, and US audiences had not seen the film in its original form since it was made in 1933. Bill bought a 16mm French print and upon returning to the States met with Saul Turell, the owner of Janus Films, and convinced him to let Bill put together a new re-release of the uncut King Kong. Bill had the excised portions of his 16 mm print blown up to 35mm and inserted into all of Janus' 35mm and 16mm prints. The Uncut King Kong was a smash hit at colleges and universities, as well as at a growing group of theatrical art movie theaters that were springing up all over the country. It is the version we know and love today.
