The ruler of the jungle had to rest for a long time, then the time had finally come. King Kong returned to the big screen in bombastic images with Kong: Skull Island. In terms of content, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kings of Summer) working on the war film masterpiece Apocalypse Now. Today the fantasy action is on TV.
On TV: Fantasy action Kong and Apocalypse Now have more in common than just Vietnam
In 1973, a group led by British ex-elite soldier James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) is to explore the mysterious island of Skull Island in the South Pacific. After an accident, the group is stranded in the jungle. And soon meets the mighty monkey, which, however, will not remain their biggest problem.
The imagery of the film is very reminiscent of films about the Vietnam War, with its jungle soldiers, marches through shallow water and flora. And indeed director Vogt-Roberts explained Den of Geek , he had a kind of Apocalypse Now in mind with King Kong. However, the parallels are not limited to visual details.
The underlying themes of both films are also similar. In both films, the journey of a group of soldiers becomes more and more surreal by the minute, until the limits of reason and civilization seem to be completely transcended. And in both films, the slaughter of war serves as a backdrop to the question where the boundaries actually lie between humans and monsters. In addition, there are small references such as Hiddleston’s character name Conrad, which refers to Joseph Conrad, author of the Apocalypse Now template Heart of Darkness.
When is Kong: Skull Island on TV?
Kong: Skull Island is running this Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben. If you don’t have time, you can catch up on the film at 12:50 a.m. In addition to Hiddleston, his MCU colleagues Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) and Samuel L. Jackson (Secret Invasion) can be seen in front of the camera.
The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.
In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.
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From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.
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