Peter Jackson invites his fans on an unprecedented entertaining journey with this ground-breaking 2-Disc DVD release in which fans are transported onto the set of King Kong to experience the entire 6-month production process with the cast and crew.

CRITIQUE

Are you looking to witness the filming of Peter Jackson’s King Kong in grand detail? If so, these 55 video diaries are just for you. You’ll get to see almost all of the different departments hard at work, such as the director working on set and interacting with cast and crew, the costumers fitting people and more, the set builders creating the environment, the production crew doing their thing, the make-up artists applying make-up, and the special effects artists working on the visuals. There’s so much more happening, and film enthusiasts, as well as students of film, will find these diaries involving and interesting to look at. However, some spoilers creep in and out of the diaries, and King Kong the big monkey doesn’t actually show up here, so you’ll have to wait to see him in the movie which is released December 14, 2005.

THE VIDEO

Universal presents the diaries in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The video is crisp and the colors look just fine.

THE AUDIO

The audio option includes 2.0 Dolby Digital which gets across dialogue and all sounds just fine. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and French.

THE EXTRAS

Each disc has one bonus feature. There is also the option of watching the video diaries in a specific order, such as chronologically or by location.

Disc 1 offers a 5-minute introduction by Peter Jackson.

Disc 2 offers a 17-minute featurette called The Making of a Shot: The T-Rex Fight. There’s some cool stuff in here; the fight sequence looks very exciting.

The packaging is probably the coolest aspect of this set. Included are authentic production art prints and a 52-page collectible booklet.

FINAL THOUGHTS

With nearly four hours of footage, the King Kong production diaries offer interesting behind the scenes of one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters. However, if you’re looking for a concise making-of documentary you may have to wait for the DVD release. This cool collector’s edition set comes recommended to fans of the movie and Peter Jackson, while others may want to rent it after seeing the movie in theaters.