Is this Science Fiction?
I am working on a list of my all time favorite science fiction movies. Do you think "King Kong" qualifies as sci fi? Thanks.
shareDefinitely, yes !
After all "Science Fiction" meaning Science-based Imagination,
is included in "Science Speculation",along with "Science Anticipation"
which means possible and probable scientific development.
"King Kong" would belong to the latter category, specifically "Cryptozoology"
viewed by "Mainstream Science"(a sacred cow unto itself despite its indeniable academic credits)
in the same light as UFOs and Parapsychology.
The problem with "Orthodox Scientists" is not with their scientific competence,
it lies with their frame of mind which is anutting but scientific, becoz it refuses
to consider data that do not kowtow to its pet-theory-invested egos.
The existence of a giant ape like King Kong is not at all impossible, along
with other giant survivors of ancient times in remote parts of the world.
After all "orthodox scientists" would have us believe that we descend from
apes with "proofs" like "Piltdown Man" !
Thank you for your well thought out and thorough response. I would be happy to here other opinions on this question if anyone else cares to chime in.
shareScience Fiction, I'd say yes. Plus Kong is unique in so much as far as I can tell he is the only Giant Creature in movies that was not created by atomic radiation.
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
Well, we also have 'The Lost World' (1925 and 1960), 'Journey To The Centre Of The Earth' (1959), 'The Land That Time Forgot' (1975 and 'At The Earth's Core' (1976).
'The Mighty Peking Man' (1977) was a Konglike creature. And then there is 'Moby Dick' (1956).
Spielberg's jurassic dinosaursare also not created by atomic radiation, but they are created by man, just like 'Tarantula!' (1955).
"I don't discriminate between entertainment
and arthouse. A film is a goddam film."
In film literature of different Fantastic Films and alike, King Kong is often mentioned or reviewed. Because the film is so complex and multi layered, I consider it simply BOTH a horrorfilm (Its meant to scare oss!), a fantasy (The whole set up, a sea journey to the unknown on the quest of a sacred something), and Science Fiction, because you have an island inhabited by prehistoric beasts that dwell in a prehistoric jungle. The Sci Fi aspect comes from rather early sci fi, when it was still on the boarder to fantasy. Sir Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes) wrote The Lost World in 1912 about a plateu in the Amazon where "time had stood still". That scenario has been copied very many times and of course was part of the Kong story. As dinosaurs are scientifically proven to have existed, that scenario make it not "impossible to happen", as we have found animals alive which we thought were extinct since hundreds of millions of years ago.
shareAlso "The Valley of Gwangi", about cowboys capturing a Tyrannosaur in the old west.
share"The Deadly Mantis" ~ The creature is a gigantic prehistoric insect that was frozen in ice. As the film begins, a volcano near Antarctic erupts, causing an ice flow in the Arctic to break away, which releases the creature. Opening Narration: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
"Beginning of the End" ~ Are the grasshoppers the result of chemical experimentation? I don't seem to recall radiation referred to except for leading man Peter Graves' objection: "You can't drop an atom bomb on Chicago!" (Being an Illinoisan, I LOVE this movie=})
"The Black Scorpion" ~ Volcanic activity releases the creatures. When the men enter the place the scorpions emerge from, they encounter other huge insects.
"Mysterious Island" (Ray Harryhausen's version and probably most others) ~ Radiation isn't involved here either. Isn't it Nemo's experimentation? (I haven't seen any of the films for a long time.)
"Mighty Joe Young" ~ He just grew up very big. I'm not sure if he gets to be in the gigantic league. Also in the ape genre: "Konga" is enlarged through chemistry.
"The Valley of Gwangi", "The Beast of Hollow Mountain", "Dinosaurus!", "Gorgo", "The Land Unknown", "The Last Dinosaur", "Carnosaur" series, and many other dino movies (JP trilogy already mentioned) ~ None of these are created or revived by radiation.
"The Giant Claw" ~ It's made of antimatter and is extraterrestrial~or so I seem to recall. What a terrifying rubber chicken, striking~ummm~hilarity, not horror, I guess=} *snicker*snort*
"20 Million Miles to Earth" ~ The Ymir becomes gigantic in Earth's atmosphere, unlike on its home planet of Venus.
"The Monster That Challenged the World" ~ An earthquake in the Salton Sea unleashes this prehistoric menace. (It's one of my all-time favorites and seems to be getting more attention. Yea!)
"First Men in the Moon" ~ Since this is not Earthbound, perhaps the "mooncalf" doesn't count. It's shown as a denizen of caverns beneath the surface of the moon.
"Rodan" ~ Earthquakes activate the giant creatures in this one, both the Rodans and the creepy Meganurons.
Mothra (various films) ~ As far as I recall, Mothra is a creature of nature, not "giganticized" by radiation.
"8 Legged Freaks" (to name something more up-to-date) ~ chemical waste
"The Host" ~ chemical waste (a new trend?)
"Cloverfield" ~ just gigantic all on its own I guess
Can you tell I'm rather freaky about creature features?! I was born with the Fifties and grew up with them.
*** The trouble with reality is there is no background music. ***
Conquest of the Pole --- The ice giant. They don't explain him, he just exists.
Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman --- The Aliens did something to her, I'm not sure what.
Food of the Gods --- Giant rats created by eating some sort of ooze.
Empire of the Ants --- Don't remember.
Tremors --- Graboids. Presumably ancient creatures. They existed in the Old West at least.
Shark Attack III: Megalodon --- Prehistoric fish.
Reign of Fire --- Ancient dragons awoken.
Jack the Giant Slayer --- Mythical giants from another land.