The 1976 remake of King Kong was one of the first monster movies that I had ever watched. It was a movie that I had watched before I viewed the timeless original 1933 King Kong and some of the Godzilla movies from the 1960s and 1970s which I am a huge fan of. I will always remember that infamous poster of Kong standing over the twin towers.
King Kong stars iconic actor Jeff Bridges, which was the only film I had seen him in for decades. I was not nearly as familiar with him as I am now, having seen several of films starring the tremendous actor including Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and Bad Company. Another legendary star, actress Jessica Lange made her debut in King Kong and is still probably the only film I have seen her in!
Just before this review, I had learned that legendary actor Charles Grodin recently passed away. He was a marvelous actor, starring and having great supporting roles in many films and television programs over the past fifty years including King Kong!
In this picture, the late Charles Grodin plays Fred Wilson, an executive of the Petrox Oil Company who oversees an expedition to go to a hidden island which is protected by a huge fog bank. Wilson has reason to believe there is a vast amount of oil on that island, which could land him and his company millions of dollars. Primate paleontologist Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) has snuck aboard the ship because he has heard about a legendary creature who lives on the island and wants to see it up-close. As they continue onward on the ship, the crew finds and saves a woman floating in a raft, Dwan (Jessica Lange). She takes a liking to Jack immediately and they spend time together on both the ship and the island.
From there it is the similar plot as the original where Dwan, who is this film’s Ann Darrow (played by Fay Wray) is captured by island natives who offer her to their God, King Kong. He carries her around various parts of his lair. She eventually escapes after Jack rescues her while Kong is fighting a gigantic snake. Kong, in pursuit, is captured and brought to New York as a special attraction which goes horribly wrong. Kong finds Dwan again and takes her to the World Trade Center. At this point in the film, Dawn realizes that Kong cares for Dwan, as he protected her from all the dangers from the island and is not going to be a meal or even hurt by the big ape, also has feelings for him. Because of this she tries to save him against attack planes. Dwan urges Kong to keep her in his giant hand so the planes wont shoot at him.
I still thoroughly enjoy this version of King Kong after all these years, despite some of the idiosyncrasies and flaws that the film has. This was not director John Guillermin’s finest hour, including some of the worst dialog coming from Jessica Lange calling Kong a “male-chauvinist ape” among other quirky lines. This was not her best performance, but it was her first film and had no acting experience at the time. Among the biggest flaws of King Kong is how she got down from the twin towers so quickly after Kong takes the plunge. Despite all the problems and inconsistencies this film had being made, it was and still feels like an epic, and was a huge box office success.
King Kong lacked something that made the original so much better (and more fun) and that was all the cool dinosaurs in the film along with the big ape. In the remake, Kong fights a giant snake and that is it! One of the reasons why there were no other dinosaurs is because producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted more focus on the romance between Kong and Dwan. I would rather have seen more dinosaurs than watch Kong walk around the island holding Dwan and giving her the grand tour.
Another reason for the lack of dinosaurs in this movie is De Laurentiis did not want to use stop-motion animation, which was done to perfection in the original movie. This was certainly a time and budget issue, as stop-motion effects would have taken years and cost more money than intended. Rather than stop-motion, practical Kong special-effects chores went to Carlo Rambaldi and Rick Baker. Even though neither were too proud of the ape suit, I did not think Kong looked that bad for 1976, an age where there was no CGI. Kong has looked a lot worse in films, take for example, King Kong Escapes where he looks goofy and atrocious, but we love it anyway!
Screen legend John Agar has a small but key role in King Kong. Many may recall some of the films from the 50s and 60s that John Agar was in, such as The Mole People and The Brain from Planet Arous, and his cameo appearance in this picture was a nice little treat.
Scream Factory has given the 1976 edition of King Kong its first ever Blu-ray release in North America. This is a Collector’s Edition meaning it comes with a slipcover for a limited time, at least for three month. This release a 2-disc set containing both the theatrical and extended television cuts. The theatrical cut looks outstanding with a strong, clear image with rich colors and great details to the scenery. Outdoor scenes, especially on the island and the ship with panoramic views of the clear blue ocean are especially vivid. Skin tones look accurate and film grain is present throughout, mostly visible during nighttime scenes. Richard Kline’s brilliant cinematography for King Kong does shine in high definition, with deep rich textures to the beautiful scenery.
The extended television cut of King Kong also looks fine, with an overall excellent presentation. The additional footage has also been given a 2K scan from the internegative. It does come with a note from Shout Factory explaining certain framing issues that they encountered with the letterboxed 2.35:1 aspect ratio when they were using footage shown in 1.33:1. The picture quality is still easily more than passable.
Scream Factory offers a pair of audio soundtracks for this release. We get an English DTS-HD master audio 5.1 track which comes in perfectly. Spoken lines from the actors, Kong’s roars (borrowed from the T-Rex in The Land Unknown), and the epic musical score by John Barry coming in flawlessly with no drop-offs or hissing.
There is also an English DTS-HD 2.0 master audio track which as billed by Scream Factory as a “new restored theatrical stereo track”. This track I felt was stronger, more potent and aggressive when it came to the Kong’s roar, music and other action sounds.
Optional English subtitles are available for this release
Scream Factory has provided a wealth of extras to keep you busy for a long time. There are a pair of audio commentaries. One is with author Ray Morton while the second commentary is with King Kong special-effects guru Rick Baker, who also wore the ape suit!
In addition to the commentaries there are several other featurettes with the cast and crew talking about their experiences during the making of King Kong.
On Top of the World is an interview with production manager Brian Frankish and assistant director David McGiffert.
When the Monkey Dies, Everybody Cries is a video conference interview with production messengers Jeffrey Chernov and Scott Thaler.
Maybe in Their Wildest Dreams is another video conference interview with sculptor Steve Varner.
Something’s Haywire is yet another video conference interview with actor Jack O’Halloran (Non from Superman 1 and Superman II)
From Space to Apes is one more video conference interview with photographic effects assistant Barry Nolan.
There’s a Fog Bank Out There is an interview with second unit director Bill Kronick.
King Kong ’76 is a panel discussion (recorded at the Aero Theater in 2016) of the 1976 King Kong with author Ray Morton, actor Jack O’Halloran, cinematographer Richard H. Kline, special effects specialist Rick Baker, Dino De Laurentiis’ widow Martha De Laurentiis, and John Barry’s assistant, Richard Kraft.
NBC Promos has an accumulation of intros and commercial bumpers from television showings of King Kong.
Finally, there are four image galleries for your viewing enjoyment, television and radio spots, and two theatrical trailers thrown into the mix as well.
King Kong ’76 after being stuck in DVD purgatory for years and only available on Blu-ray overseas, has finally get a domestic Blu-ray release from Scream Factory and I feel this will be the holy grail for this movie on home video for years to come. Highest recommendation!
King Kong (1976)
Director- John Guillermin
Cast- Jeff Bridges, Charles Groden, Jessica Lange
Country of Origin- US
Distributor –Scream Factory
Number of Discs – 2
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date-5/26/21