Kong walks in NYC

Kong has aged well and continues to earn millions of dollars.

King Kong is the story of Carl Denham, a maverick filmmaker determined to capture images that have never been seen by civilization. He and his crew hire a boat and head to remote Skull Island, where they encounter natives worshipping a mysterious god.

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Click for the slide show and hear August Rogane, author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters" explain why King Kong is important to the science fiction, horror and fantasy film genres.

Kong, who is struck by Ann's beauty, takes her back to his lair, fighting off prehistoric beasts who would like to make a meal of her. Denham and set out to get her back alive and capture Kong. Once in New York City, Kong breaks free, finds Ann and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building, where he faces machine guns from fighter planes buzzing overhead.

He tumbles off the building to his death on the streets below. As a crowd gathers, Denham provides newspaper reporters with their perfect headline: "'Twas beauty killed the beast."

RKO released King Kong in New York in 1933. Audiences and critics were amazed, and King Kong went on to earn more than $1.7 million at the height of the Depression, about $25 million in today's dollars.

The original may be the ultimate movie for New Yorkers, according to jaunted.com. Think about it for a second. When you remember the film, do you see an image of Kong on the Empire State Building, or do you see Skull Island?

In 1976, producer Dino De Laurentiis created a new version of King Kong. The film was dismissed by critics, but managed to earn an Oscar for its visual effects.

Heckler Spray, a music and movie fan website, says the 1976 version is seventh on its list of the seven least scary movies.

Nearly three decades later, Peter Jackson, hot off making The Lord of the Rings trilogy, decided to try for his own remake. Jackson didn't want to just remake the 1933 classic; he wanted to pay homage to it.

Jackson's film was released in 2005 to enormous critical praise. Like the 1933 original, Jackson's film took special effects to a new level. The results were three Oscars and a domestic gross of more than $200 million. In 1933 dollars, Jackson's movie would have grossed $12 million.

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