The work that established the infant art of dramatic scoring, Max Steiner's <I>King Kong</I> (1933) marked the first time that music played an important role in sustaining atmosphere, storytelling, and characterisation. The film is a variation on the beauty versus beast theme, as a 50-foot ape found on an island is unwisely transported to New York with predictably chaotic results. Fay Wray stars as Ann Darrow, the ape's five-foot, blonde, love interest. Marinated in late-19th-century eclecticism, Steiner's scores draws heavily upon Wagner's <I>leitmotif</I> design. Highlights include "A Beat In The Fog", which features kinetic island drumming music, and "Entrance Of Kong", wherein low brass and winds anticipate the ape's first appearance. Period marches and fanfares greet Kong's arrival in the Big Apple, while the actual motif for the simian suggests both the ape's might and his eventual downfall. Then there is the bravado scoring of his ascent to the top of the Empire State Building with Darrow in hand. Assembled from Steiner's original sketches, this disc presents the complete score along with unused moments. With the limits of 1930's engineering removed, Steiner's depth of menace and power is now fully exposed. The influence of <I>King Kong</I> continues to be felt today--John Williams drew inspiration from Steiner's masterpiece in his score for Steven Spielberg's <I>Jurassic Park: The Lost World</I> (1997). --<I>Kevin Mulhall</I> from Amazon
