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    WSR Detailed DVD Review
    King Kong
    Special Collector's Edition
    Genre: Fantasy Adventure

    Reviewed In Issue 109 (Jun 2006) Of Widescreen Review®

    Stars:
    Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretchmann, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, Evan Parke & Andy Serkis

    WSR Review Scores
    WSR Picture Rating: 4
    DD Sound Rating: 5+
    DTS Sound Rating: NR
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    Reference Systems
    Critics' Composite Score: 4
    Internet Links


    Special Features
    Special features on Disc Two include a three-minute introduction by director Peter Jackson (who looks like he


     DVD General Information

    (Studio/Distributor): Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    (Catalog Number): 29945
    (MPAA Rating): PG13
    (Rating Reason):

    		 For frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images
    (Retail Price): $30.98
    (DVD Type): Two DVD-9 Discs
    (Widescreen Edition): Yes
    (Full Screen Edition): Yes
    (Anamorphic Widescreen): Yes
    (Running Time In Minutes): 187
    (Color Type): Color
    (Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
    (Closed Captioned): Yes
    (Regional Coding): 1
    (Theatrical Year): 2005
    (Theatrical Release): Yes
    (Direct-To-Video Release): No
    (DVD Release Date): 03/28/06
    (THX® Digitally Mastered): No

     Credits Information

    (Director): Peter Jackson
    (Screenplay/Written By): Subscribe Now!
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    (Music): Subscribe Now!
    (Director Of Photography): Subscribe Now!
    (Production Designer): Subscribe Now!
    (Visual Effects): Subscribe Now!
    (Costume Designer): Subscribe Now!
    (Editor): Subscribe Now!
    (Supervising Sound Editors): Subscribe Now!
    (Re-Recording Mixers): Subscribe Now!
    (Executive Producers): Subscribe Now!
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    (Academy Awards): Subscribe Now!

      DVD Picture Information

    (Principal Photography): Subscribe Now!
    (Theatrical Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
    (Measured DVD Anamorphic Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!
    (Measured DVD Letterbox Aspect Ratio): Subscribe Now!

      DVD Sound Information

    (DVD Soundtrack): Subscribe Now!
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    (WSR Superb Sound Qualities): Subscribe Now!

      WSR Narrative Review
    Story Synopsis:
    After a very, very long boat ride on which a film crew, led by director Carl Denham (Black), is to shoot a movie starring the beautiful Ann Darrow (Watts), the ship changes course. Its destination: Skull Island. Its purpose: to show the world the last undiscovered territory. But no sooner do they set foot on the island do they discover that the natives are not friendly, and a sacrifice is to be made to the King. Kong, that is...who happens to be a 25 foot gorilla who can defeat any beast who dares to challenge him. But when he meets the lovely Ann Darrow tied to a sacrificial skewer, the monkey

    DVD Picture:
    The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture does a great job of creating the period of the storytelling. Colors are nicely saturated, if a bit surreal to enhance the fantasy elements of the story. Images are sharp and detailed, with satisfying definition and clarity. Contrast and shadow delineation are nicely balanced, with the visual effects often blending seamlessly with the live footage. Periods of pixel breakup or smearing are noticed at times, but overall the picture is clean, smooth, and nicely detailed. This is a very nice looking DVD, especially for a movie with such a running time as this. (Suzanne Hodges)

    Soundtrack:
    While the Dolby

    This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
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      WSR D-Box Motion Code™ Review
    D-Box Motion Code™ Rating:
    4.5

    D-Box Motion Code™ Review:
    King Kong is the first D-BOX Odyssee Motion Simulator encoding for a feature film to be available to users day-and-date with the DVD release. Much of the early portion of the movie is limited to slight rumbles and gentle rocking, and since most of the time the system is stationary, it can be a distraction when the slight rumbles show up. Once the action moves on board the ship and island, the motion becomes more consistent, and everything meshes together well to create that fourth dimension in the presentation. As the saying goes, it's not the size of the gorilla, but the motion of the ocean. Well, throw that saying out because this title gives you both the motion of the ocean and the crashing of the giant ape, all synced perfectly with the sounds of the effects and the motion felt by the characters. For those of you who are prone to motion sickness, you might want to turn down the motion's level on-board the ship. After you get past the scenes with little to no action, the D-BOX Odyssee system really shines. (Danny Richelieu)
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