The original “King Kong” is a classic untouched by time and now antiquated special effects.
The 2005 remake by Peter Jackson delivered dizzying visuals but suffered from a serious case of bloat.
So where does that leave the 1976 version, the one which gave us a nubile Jessica Lange and the image of a great ape astride the Twin Towers?
The first remake, heralded as the blockbuster to beat all blockbusters during its release, is both better and much worse than you remember.
“Kong” follows the rough template forged by the original, but this time it’s an evil oil executive (played with gusto by Charles Grodin) who drags his crew to an uncharted island looking for petrol.
Along the way they pick up the survivor of a shipwreck, a lovely wannabe actress/ditz named Dwan (“Introducing Jessica Lange”). Also on board is Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges, nearly as hairy as the titular ape), a researcher out to keep the oil ship honest about its mission.
They converge on the island in question but quickly realize they’re no match for its biggest, baddest local.
King Kong himself is both remarkably effective and hopelessly cheesy, depending on the sequence. The many close-ups serve the F/X team well, but whenever the Man in the Ape Suit appears the spell is thoroughly broken.
That said, the scene in which Kong blow dries Dwan remains a camp classic.
Bridges treats the material seriously, while Lange looks alternately stunning and distracted in her screen debut. Grodin, a screen presence sorely missed these days, is near perfect. He’s as oily as required, but several scenes allow him to flash a trace of humanity that makes his ultimate fate all the more effective.
“Kong” rushes through certain key moments, like the carnival style atmosphere surrounding the ape’s New York City debut. Meanwhile, we get labored sequences in which the brainy Jack falls hard for Dwan’s inane banter.
They’re an odder couple than Dwan and Kong.
“King Kong” offers some stunning island vistas, a few wonderfully campy moments and an ape who despite a bigger budget and years of technological advances, couldn’t compete with his 1933 predecessor.
Related posts:
on 
on 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
When this movie came out Dino DiLaurentis’s claims about how the movie was made were just plain idiotic – and completely swallowed by the then news media. Remember, this was supposed to be a completely giant robotic Kong – hardly any mention of Rick Baker. To me, at the time, it reflected the complete stupidity of 70s Hollywood excess and hucksterism.
And the pathetic portrayal of oil exploration – just stupid faux environmentalistic crap for the easily gullible. Bah, this movie should rot in a dumpster.
Sick one morning, I was treated to a Kong double-feature on HBO while out of school. First, the Jeff Bridges/Lange Kong followed by the Linda Hamilton sequel. I didn’t feel any better.
I remember growing up as a kid having a lunch box with King Kong on the cover astride the Twin Towers crushing a Saturn V rocket in his hang. Imagine my surprise when I finally saw this film almost 10 years later that at no point does the lunch box picture appear in the movie.