top of page
New York. The Beating Heart of the World
Sezione 1
Sezione 2
Empire State Building
Merian Caldwell Cooper. 1935
PLAY ME
Ernest Schoedsack and I
imagined a horror film
that we never thought would become one of the most important in the history of the film industry. I am talking about the story of the giant gorilla King Kong, seen as a creature who dies trying to capture a beautiful young woman. One of the scenes that made the film famous was the one in which King Kong climbs to the top of the famous New York building,
the Empire State Building, to escape the US army planes trying to shoot him down. The film was made two years ago, in 1933, just a couple of years after the Empire State Building was completed. This building, as I said, is one of the most important in New York City, the result of competition between the skyscrapers of the Wall Street Bank and Mr Chrysler,
which were beaten in height by General Motors, the company that submitted the project to build the Empire State Building in 1929. Despite the colossal design, planning and construction itself, it took only twenty months to finish! Amazing! It was first intended for offices only, but the plan failed due to the financial crash of 1929.
Its name comes from the nickname for New York State, which is linked to the city's cultural, architectural and financial importance.
Sezione 3
bottom of page