Sunday after a pleasant breakfast and a game of Dominion with my sweetie-wife, I departed San Diego for Hollywood California. Sadly the drive North was frustrating, there were a minimum of  three auto accidents (luckily none looked to have seriously injured anyone) that backed up the freeways and extended my driving time to Universal Studios by 50%.

The sky was overcast and the clouds occasionally spritized on the fairly large crowds attending the park on Easter Sunday. I rode the tram and attended a few shows. (I made a point of seeing the special effects show, because I wanted see how a switch I missed on my last trip had been effected. I did spot it, very nicely done.) After the abbreviated visit, I left the park for my real reason for the day out, to see the 1933 classic King Kong on the big screen.

I parked at the Hollywood and Highland shopping center, had a dinner of pizza, and then walked to the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood boulevard. The Egyptian was the site of the very first movie premier and is a Hollywood landmark. It is now owned by a 501(c) organization that shows classic films to preserve the history of the medium.

I have been fortunate enough to see a number of classic films, both genre and mainstream, projected in actual theaters, but never King Kong. Even though the drive to and from took a total of five hours, and I was quite happy with the experience. There is nothing like watching this film on a big screen. And no, your 55” LCD does not count.

The projection was crystal clear and the special effects stood up quite well for a film that this year is 80 years old. Of course you can always spot stop-motion animation, the lack of motion blue is a dead give-away, but that takes nothing away from the monumental achievement this film represents.

King Kong truly was the Star Wars of 1933. I’ve seen this film many times, but on the big screen I became aware of just how effects packed it truly is. I watched the sides and corners of the screen as artist Willis O’Brien created a reality that was immersive and credible. The frame was packed with information and story, these filmmakers had a true eye for detail and how those details combine to created story. If you ever get the chance to see this in a real theater, do so.