10 Best Film Remakes Of All Time

The 1933 version of King Kong is one of the most famous archetypal movies of all time. It’s one of those films you would show to aliens to explain what movies are. In its time, it was revolutionary - the visual effects on display were the most ambitious a film had ever been, the equivalent of Avatar for the 1930s. And its story is resonant, showing a gentler side to the giant ape, with the final scene on the Empire State Building as one of cinema’s most iconic images.

But the film is extremely dated by today’s standards. The advance of visual effects in the 1960s alone made the legendary Kong look cheap and rubbish, so Peter Jackson decided to make a newer version that might better stand the test of time - and, so far, it has.

Staying faithful to the original but with the best CGI money could buy (the film cost over $200 million to make), the film was also praised for its performances and action, and reignited interest in the gigantic ape that would lead to a new franchise in Kong: Skull Island and the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong.