King Kong

Not as bad as other imply. Simple movie, not trying to be anymore or any less than what it is. And for that, okay movie. Saw this as a kid.

This film gets bashed, but it was very well made for its time, and it still holds up today. The gorilla effects were done by the genius of Rick Baker and Carlo Rambaldi who often clashed, but the end result is a great remake with a great cast and great effects. The 2005 Peter Jackson remake was done as well. I absolutely love Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin which make the film a great ride. The classic 1933 will always be the best, but this version is a solid film on its own.

Yes, it is a bit campy. Yes, the Gorilla suit is dated (although Baker does a good job). Why the five stars? It's a good time. It features one of the best scores composed by legendary John Barry (he scored many of the classic 007 films, plus Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves among others) and it stands with the best adventure film soundtracks. It's even a bit subversive (the final scene alone is surprisingly cynical as we see one character milking the moment of tragedy). It's not the overlong over cgi'd product Jackson created (although that one does have it's merits in Serkis's excellent Kong performance). Most importantly it has interesting characters and at least one guy you want to root for. Jackson's film was pretty much devoid of any likable characters, with zero chemistry between Watts and the woefully miscast Brody. The '76 version features the always watchable Jeff Bridges as a idealist hero, Grodin memorable as a scenery chewing opportunist and Jessica Lange in a memorable and offbeat debut performance that begins endearing, becomes amazingly sexy and ends very pessimistically...true to 70s subversive cinema. And this is an ambitious spectacle as well. A full sized Kong was created for some long shots that even had limited movement, as well as a very articulate giant Kong hand and not only a massive walled set for the native village but to scale replicas of New York streets and subway tracks as the giant gorilla rips through the city looking for his muse. While nowhere near as great as the original classic it’s an adventure and a morality tale with giant monsters battling it out in the jungle, an excellent cast filled with great character actors and of course the giant ape loose in New York finale. It also has the benefit of not having a bizarre cutesy interlude where Kong plays on the ice while evading captors seen in Jackson’s remake. Nostalgic blockbuster fans should dig this, fans of Bridges and Lange will love seeing them early in their carrels and adventure fans not too spoiled by over use of cgi should love it too. All others may want to spend their hard earned dollars elsewhere.

I just don’t understand why people hate the 1976 remake of King Kong.

I grew up with this king kong and I really enjoyed the movie. Yeah it's not perfect but it doesn't deserve all the hate it's getting. I recommend it if your a fan of King Kong.

This film is one of the two remakes of the King Kong film of 1933. This film has a thinly written story, which is a 70's steroid pumped, trashy version of the original King Kong. Some may have another opinion, but, MY word of advice, this isn't a film I'D recommend.

No movie is ever going to live up to the original 1933 legend. Just like no movie will ever live up to Citizen Kane. Even without comparing it to other versions, I enjoy this film and always have. It does what any good remake should do. Take the basic premis of the original and do its own thing. That's what De laurentiis' King Kong does, something new with the story. Something relevant to the era in which it is made and totally unexpected. There are 2 major strikes against it though. Jessica Lang's character Dwan is totally insane and annoying. Though she is fun to look at. The lack of dinosaurs is also a let down because there's nothing that allows Kong to demonstrate his full strength. Still, I love this version. I love how Rick Baker portrayed Kong as walking upright. It gave him a Sasquach kind of feel and made him seem like moire than just an oversized gorilla. He's King Kong, dawg! If you're a Kong fan, you should really check this one out and go into it with an open mind.

This movie is ok, he climbed the twin towers at the end.

I am well aware that this is the worst of the three versions. I don't care. It's the most fun. Jeff Bridges as the hero is hysterically over the top, Charles Grodin is terrifically funny as the villain and the image of Jessica Lange in those tank tops and denim shorts was forever burned into my brain as the epitome of Hollywood screen siren. This movie is a gaudy blast!

The Peter Jackson KING KONG is horrible. This one is fun, and decent. The original is the best. That's that. This movie, again, isn't a masterpiece. In fact, the second half, after Kong and Jessica Lange, who's gorgeous here, meet, goes a bit slow. But the first fifty minutes, establishing the characters and the journey to the island, is fantastic.