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The part where Kong picks up the wrong woman then just tosses her over his shoulder was simultaneously hilarious and terrifying.
You should see the original.
Is this the one with Jeff Bridges? Yeah, this movie doesn't get enough attention at all. I remember seeing this movie on TV one day a long time ago, and was like, wow! The effects were pretty decent at the time.
I think it was nominated or even won best visual effects at the Oscars, too. It's such a weird movie but I dig it.
The effects were done by Carlo Rambaldi who at the time was arguably one the best makers of prosthetic effects (along Stan Winstone). He even managed to do a giant puppet of King Kong that sadly was used just in few shoots.
It and Skull Island are great I didn't like the Peter Jackson one.
The original 1933 is still the best.
It's ironic that Jackson's was the most technically accomplished, and yet the least compelling version.
Jackson became too enamoured with Cgi post-Return of the King, and went hog wild with the creature scenes. It all sounded pretty great on paper but the execution was all wrong. A lot of the action scenes were too goofy to be taken seriously, a call back perhaps to his amazing early splatter films, but in Kong those effects just seemed weightless and unsubtanial (ironic considering the giant creatures). And the "love" story between Naomi Watts and Kong was a little overly syrupy as well.
That apatosaurus run... ugh
I forgot about this movie until just now but reading your post made me remember my opinion about it lol totally agree
There's a scene where Kong steps on a guy, then when he lifts his foot there's a footprint with just that guy's hat. For some sick reason 5-year-old me thought that was hilarious, so for months afterward when I'd be on the floor playing sometimes my dad would come stomping up, put a foot on me, then lift me up and drop my hat where I'd been. I always got a kick out of that.
lol yep that was Charles Grodin, playing the Carl Denham character (or whatever the 1976 equivalent was). Made no damn sense for him to disappear Obi-Wan style like that.
He's the Denham equivalent, but his character is very different from the likable rogue from either the original or the Jackson version. In this he's a greedy oil exec who you can't wait to get squashed (and he does).
Isn't the gag that he's stuck on the underside of Kong's foot?
Oh, wow!
There was a similar scene with Hank Azaria in the 90’s Godzilla movie. Was one of the few good scenes in that film.
Fun Fact: Legendary Makeup Artist Rick Baker is actually the one in the King Kong suit. The movie was sold on a giant King Kong animatronic—and it barely worked. If you can find videos of Rick talking about working on the film, it’s pretty great.
Edit: Here’s a video of Rick Baker on Kevin Smith’s podcast. He talks about King Kong at 59:00 but I’d really watch the whole interview (starting at 50:00). Rick Baker is such a genuine person and him getting a little candid is great.
The Rick Baker interviews he did with Smith and Rogan were a high point of my year. Essentially the same stories but such a blast!
Ooh, I’ll have to watch the Rogan one! Rick Baker is just the best!
I am greatly looking forward to the Shout Factory release. I remember watching this on a Sunday night at the movies, and anything with Charles Grodin being an ass is automatically tops in my book.
I remember as a child being super excited to watch King Kong(1933) then realizing that it's King Kong(1976). Definitely not as many monsters as the original, and no that giant snake didn't fit the bill.
The movie poster was so misleading. It showed Kong straddling the twin towers, crushing a fighter jet in one hand. That did not hapen in the film :(
Yeah. I remember that! As an 8 year old when I first saw the film I was very upset at that. I wanted to see Kong crush a fighter jet damnit 🤣
The score by John Barry is absolutely amazing
It's an alright movie in my opinion. I wouldn't say its bad, but it's definitely not an amazing film like some people claim it to be. The effects were good, aside from the giant Kong animatronic that could barely move. I always liked the scene where Kong fights that big rubber snake and rips its jaws open and all the blood gushes out. This film would have been much better if it had some dinosaurs in it. It's just not the same without there being some sort of dinosaur. Some people claim that the giant snake is really a titanboa, but that doesn't count as a dinosaur in my opinion. Overall, decent movie, but hasn't aged all that well.
This reads like a sentence best spoken in a tree fort. And I agree.
The last thing you wanna do, as a fan of horror, is to listen to what critics have to say.
Jessica Lange's first movie!
It's kind of amazing her career survived this debut, let alone would win 2 Oscars.
I'm in the crowd scenes!
The giant robot Kong was impressive in person because of the height. But it did not work. The animatronic hands were wonderful.
Yes and most of the hype about it turned out to be the usual Dino de Laurentiis bullshit. Mostly it's just Rick Baker in not one of his better ape suits.
gotta love the classics!
Which this isn't. At all.
Although "King Kong Lives", the belated sequel, is a classic so bad it's good film.
I saw this when I was a kid when it came out, and like a dorky little kid does, I think I spent the next two weeks flexing about the fact that I saw it to all the other 7 year-olds at school.
I happened to watch it again a couple weeks ago and for the most part, it holds up well enough. The part where Kong blow-dries Dawn is definitely cringe, but outside of that, it's a solid watch.
This is literally the first thing I think of whenever this movie is mentioned.
Snuck in to see it with my sister when We were kids. Loved it , but we both had nightmares about the crowd stomp scene! All those crushed. Disfigured people he stomped. Freaked me out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk34RXMFgM0
The only part of this movie that ever stuck with me is Kong blow drying Jessica Lange with his mouth as she leans back and enjoys the luxurious ape breath
This movie has always made me cry like a baby.
No it really isn't. Stick with the original classic. Or the Jackson film. Or "Kong: Skull Island."
Especially egregious is that there are no dinosaurs in this. Instead Kong fights a giant snake. Deeply lame.
this is true.
If you are willing to watch this one, Then Please Watch the original 1933 King Kong. "Still the most amazing show on any screen." I've always felt this movie has been losing interest over the years. I know it's a well known movie, but most people haven't seen it. I highly implore all of you to find it and watch it. Youtube has it for rent for 4 bucks.
This is a great “Turn your brain off and just enjoy yourself” movie
I was among the first in line for this. I love the original - it one of my very favorite movies of all time.
So disappointed. Then and still.
It had a great Rick Baker monkey suit but that 40-seconds of the full-sized-robot-Kong was embarrassingly bad.
I always fantasized about having 1976 Kong in a Movie with 1985 Godzilla as a kid.
Special effects did not age well. It’s really hard to make a fake gorilla. The remake with Naomi Watts had a pretty decent gorilla in terms of actually looking like a gorilla. but that whole movie was a cgi catastrophe. Why is it so hard to make animals move like they have weight and are subject to laws of gravity?