Mighty Joe Young (BD) [Blu-ray]

My wife says that they cut out a lot of the movie! But she still liked it.

I saw this movie when I was a child and loved it. Never forgot this title. So happy to be able to enjoy it once again.

Hey Joe Yung, I’ll look at it all the time

me have watched a little bit of movie. It be good. I like movies like this. joe is funny animal.

This could also be titled, "A tale of four giant monkey movies", since MJY and KK were both given remakes in recent years (for this review, I'll ignore the unfortunate 1976 KK remake). The plots for each is, by now, pretty much familiar to most people, although MJY has been overshadowed by KK. This is a pity. Growing up, I always loved this film. I liked the original KK, too, but always thought it took itself just a little too seriously. Also, as a child, I really didn't like that Kong was killed at the end. Kids don't really appreciate tragedy.MJY has the heart and humor that KK lacked. Some would complain about maudlin sentimentality, and it does require a certain innocence to appreciate it. I was fortunate enough to first see it at an age when I still had that innocence. I'm not ashamed to admit that I can still see it that way after all these years. Disney remade MJY in 1998, but some of the innocence and charm were lost in translation. The '98 version was a very forgettable film and an unworthy successor to the original.Comparisons to KK as well as the '98 remake are inevitable though, so let's address them (WARNING: some spoilers ahead)...KK is pretty much a straightforward action film with interludes of unconvincing romance. The acting in KK is really quite awful. (Although Robert Armstrong plays pretty much the same part in MJY that he played in KK, he does it better in MJY.) But then, all of the human actors in KK are pretty wooden, and not helped all that well by the script. (Peter Jackson's KK remake is excellent, crippled only by the poor choice of Jack Black to play the Carl Denham character.)By comparison, MJY also blends action and romance, but adds some notes of humor and sentiment. All of these have held up well over the years. One of the big differences between the original and the '98 remake is that the original seems more genuine in context. The original is really good storytelling, but the remake seems built on the same plot framework, but designed to appeal to focus group audiences. The acting in MJY is still inferior to the remake, but that's not enough to detract from the charm of the story. Peter Jackson obviously had some of the same feelings about the two that I did since he added some moments of lightness and sentiment to his KK remake that the original lacked.KK's great weakness is that its "moral" is hopelessly naive from a modern perspective. "Beauty killed the beast" is not only corny, it ignores that what really killed Kong was human greed and meddling with the natural world. Both KK remakes have picked up on this. By contrast, MJY is a "fish out of water" movie where both Joe and Jill are seduced by a society they're too innocent to understand. As great storytelling, you root for them to be able to go home, and the story obliges in the end. Unlike KK, the moral of MJY is every bit as relevant today as the day it was made.One weakness of the MJY plot is that Joe is, essentially, Jill's pet. Although this enhances the charm of the story, it detracts from its message about nature. No, Joe isn't a house pet, but he's still clearly domesticated. That Kong is just as clearly a wild animal enhances the sense of dread in KK's action sequences. KK turns that relationship on its ear, the making Ann Darrow character Kong's pet. One major difference between the original KK and Peter Jackson's remake is that the original suggested that the relationship between Kong and Ann was sexual on some level. The remake depicted Kong as a lonely creature and his pet human as a welcome companion.I have to make one final observation, unrelated to reviews of any of these films... I find it fascinating to see the effect that these giant monkey movies had on the careers of their female leads. Without KK, no one today would be likely to remember Fay Wray. Alone among these actresses, Terry Moore was most likely to have been remembered, but more for her relationship with Howard Hughes than her work in MJY. The '76 KK remake launched the career of Jessica Lange just as the MJY remake launched the career of Charlize Theron. It will be interesting to see how Naomi Watts' career progresses after the latest KK remake.

Always has been one of my favorite movies

Mighty Joe Young is one hour and thirty - three minutes and was released in theaters on July 27, 1949. The movie about the friendship of Jill Young and her twelve foot gorilla named Joe. Jill bought the gorilla at when she was eight years old and raised Joe to adulthood. Twelve years later Joe wreaks havoc on Max O'Hara camp. The people chase Joe and try to rope him. Jill finds Joe in trouble and recues him. The next day Max and Gregg go to meet Jill and Max sweets talk her into signing a contract and Joe and Jill are headed to the United States. Things start out great for Joe and Jill till one night three drunken men get Joe drunk and Joe goes on a drunken rampage. The court orders Joe to be shot. Max devised a scheme to rescue Joe and send Jill and Joe back to Africa. Overall Joe is a friendly gorilla and when he gets upset he has a habit of pounding his fist to the ground. Originally the whole film was black and white but the fire scene was colorized and has remained so ever since. The movie won an Oscar in 1950 for Special Effects. Mighty Joe Young is a great movie and get an AAAAA+++++.DVD EXTRASPlay MovieScene SelectionsSpecial FeaturesI. Commentary by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Moore and Ken RalstonII. A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and the Choo Brothers 22 minutesIII. Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young 11 minutesIV. Theatrical TrailerLanguagesI. Spoken Languagesa. EnglishII. Subtitlesa. Englishb. Españolc. Francçaisd. None

The fanciful adventures of a very lovable giant ape -- from the same daffy rascals who, about a decade earlier, gave the world KING KONG -- "MJY" is a sentimental tale of an overgrown gorilla tamed (as was Howard Hughes in "real life") by gorgeously fabulous Terry Moore wearing a slinky dress -- and playing "Beautiful Dreamer" on the piano in a gargantuan night club. Oh the song is sooooo soothing. But only to a point. Taunted by vicious drunks, Joe goes on a rampage in Hollywood, as so many big stars have done, finally redeeming himself in an astonishing, color-tinted finale faithfully restored for this impeccable Blu-Ray humdinger. Beautiful dreamer, beautiful movie, beautifully unbelievable in the gratifying and liberating way that great old movies could be--- even great old B movies, actually. An essential entry in the fantasy life of every movie-loving kid, to be seen in childhood and then returned to, gleefully and gratefully, when turning into an adult robs you of many escapist wonders. Many, yes, but not "Mighty Joe Young"!

Parfait

Schade, dass es noch keine Blu-ray gibt, Bildquali ist aber toll. Sehr schön ist auch das Ende, das in Rot eingefärbt ist, wie es damals bei der Kinoauswertung auch war.

I haven't seen this film in many years. I do remember how much I enjoyed it, so, I decided to order it. I watched it the other night and fell in love with this film all over again. For an older movie, I was amazed at how great the picture quality really is. The Blu Ray quality is amazing, especially for a black and white film. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of "big monkey movies". I prefer this movie to King Kong any day.

*レビュー掲載後追記:【以下レビューは、北米盤Blu-ray(ASIN:B00ZJYJCWY)に対するものですが、Amazon.co.jpが、勝手に他メディアにも転載しています】邦題『猿人ジョー・ヤング』アフリカで、父親と暮らす幼いジル・ヤング(ローラ・リー・ミシェル)は、原住民から小さなゴリラの赤ん坊を買い取って、ジョセフと名付けて育てることにする。それから12年後。ニューヨークの実業家、マックス・オハラ(ロバート・アームストロング)一行は、アフリカをモチーフにしたナイト・クラブを開く準備のために、アフリカで猛獣を捕獲していた。そこで一行は、大きなゴリラに遭遇し…。メリアン・C・クーパー製作、アーネスト・B・シュードザック監督という『キング・コング』の名コンビが放つ『キング・コング』の姉妹編ともいうべき特撮作品。製作に、ジョン・フォードも名を連ねてはいるものの、実際は、名前貸しのようなものだったようだ(ただし、現場には、何度か顔を見せたとのこと)。1998年には、ロン・アンダーウッド監督によるリメイク作品『 マイティ・ジョー 』も作られた。アフリカから、大きなゴリラ(ただし、コングほどの規格外の大きさではない)をアメリカへ連れて来るという『キング・コング』と全く同じ基本プロットから、やり手のクーパーとシェードザックのコンビが、もう一本の『コング』で一山当てようとしたことは、誰の目にも明らかだろう(『キング・コング』で、カール・デナムを演じたロバート・アームストロングが、同じような興行師役で出てくるぐらいだ！)。ある意味、『キング・コング』の縮小再生産であり、変奏が本作。ただし、そのテイストとタッチは全く違う。『キング・コング』が、文明批評を盛り込んだモンスター・パニックだったのに対し、本作は、心やさしいジョーとジルの絆を描いた童話的ファミリー・ピクチャーと言っていい作風(ジョーが、ナイトクラブで暴れる場面もあるが、それは、心無い酔客が惹き起こしたもの)。『キング・コング』を貫くのが恐怖ならば、本作を包んでいるのは、あくまで、温かさとやさしさなのだ(ジョーの大好きな”Beautiful Dreamer”のやさしいメロディも、本作の精神を表現しているようで効果的だ)。その温かさとやさしさの源は、レイ・ハリーハウゼン(ウィリス・H・オブライエンの助手という形だが、実質的には、ハリーハウゼンがほとんどの場面をアニメートしたとのこと)が作りあげたジョーによるところが大きい。くるくると変わる豊かな表情に、力強く大胆な動き、細やかな身振りや仕草…と、何とも言えない愛嬌と愉快さがある。まさに、気はやさしく、力持ちのゴリラという感じで、いつもながら、小さなモデルに生命、人格、魂を吹き込んだハリーハウゼンの職人芸に感嘆させられっぱなしだ。クレジットに、”Mr. Joseph Young as Himself”と出てくるように、確かに、ジョーの実在を疑わない人がいても決して不思議ではない。ジョーの出てくる場面は、どれも瞬きするのも忘れてしまうほど素晴らしいのは言うまでもないが、その中でも、圧巻なのは、やはり、クライマックスの孤児院の火災場面。激しく燃え盛る孤児院から、取り残された子どもたちを救出しようとするジョーの必死な姿を描き、手に汗握るスペクタクルとジョーのやさしさと勇気が感じられる名場面になっている。初公開時は、興行的に振るわなかった本作だが、時を経て、『キング・コング』と双璧をなす作品として認識されるようになったのも当然と言える出来の一本だ。本Blu-rayは、米ワーナーが、” Special Effects Collection ”と銘して、『コングの復讐』、『原子怪獣現わる』、『放射能X』と一緒に発売したBOXセットから単品発売されたもの。残念ながら、本作の35mmオリジナル・キャメラ・ネガは残存しないので、状態の良好な35mmポジを2Kフィルム・スキャンして作られたHDマスターを使っている。きれいにレストアされて、キズなどはほとんどなく、豊かな深みと奥行きのある白黒諧調に、細やかなディテール表現を実現した素晴らしい画質だ。孤児院の火災場面では、セピア色に染色されている。モノラルDTS-HD マスター・オーディオ音声も、明瞭。英語字幕収録。特典には、以下のものが収録。すべて、2005年発売の北米盤DVD(“ Mighty Joe Young ”)の特典からの再録で、SD画質。●レイ・ハリーハウゼン、テリー・ムーア、ケン・ラルストンによるコメンタリー●”A Conversation with Ray Harryhausen and The Chiodo Brothers” (22分52秒) 『 チーム★アメリカ/ワールドポリス 』で、人形を制作したスティーブン、チャールズ、エドワードのキオドー兄弟によるハリーハウゼンとの対談●”Ray Harryhausen and Mighty Joe Young” (11分57秒) ハリーハウゼンがスティーブンとチャールズのキオドー兄弟に語る『猿人ジョー・ヤング』製作の裏側●予告編 (1分41秒)本Blu-rayは、北米盤ながら、日本同様、R-A仕様なので、日本のBlu-rayプレーヤーで問題なく視聴可能だ。日本では、RKO作品の権利を持っているのが、IVCということで、『 原子怪獣現わる 』と『 放射能X 』が発売された一方、本作の日本盤Blu-rayは発売されていない(ただし、TCメディアが、DVDを発売したことからもわかるように、日本ではパブリック・ドメイン扱いになっているので、日本のワーナーが発売しても、法的には何の問題もないのだが…)。今後も、米ワーナーのHDマスターを使った日本盤は期待出来そうもないので(IVCのDVD用マスターは、米ワーナーに劣るWorld Wide Filmというヴィデオ会社のもの)、本作のファンは、本盤を手に入れるべきだろう。大満足の一枚！ マイティ・ジョーSpecial Effects CollectionMighty Joe Youngチーム★アメリカ/ワールドポリス原子怪獣現わる放射能X

Blitzartige Lieferung, toller Film, angenehmer Preis. Alles prima. Herzlichen Dank.