King Kong
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Movie Reviews of King Kong
Movie Review: Outstanding
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an outstanding film. What a remake! It is just a real powerhouse of raw energy. It reminds me of a Sam Fuller style of direction. In your face. You know what I mean? It's all emotion. I can't say enough.Movie Review: Very pleased with this movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Had'nt seen this movie in a long time. It's a great movie and we would recommend it if you like sad movies.Movie Review: Great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
My son loved this movie and I enjoyed it very much, you never get tired of seeing a King Kong movie.Movie Review: The most exciting original motion picture event of all time.
Summary: 4 Stars
PLOT: A mysterious young man (Jeff Bridges) stows away aboard an oil exploration ship called the Petrox Explorer as it prepares to set sail from Surabaya, Indonesia, on a classified journey to a top-secret destination. The ship later runs into a terrible storm. The radio operator receives a mayday call, but is unable to determine its origin. The next day, Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), the Petrox Oil Company executive in charge of the expedition, meets with the crew. He shows eveyone a photograph taken in 1941 of a fog bank in the Indian Ocean. He next shows them all a picture of the same fog bank, except the new picture was taken in 1976. Since the fog bank is in the same place 35 years later, he believes that there is an uncharted island there which contains a large oil supply. Suddenly, the stowaway slips into the meeting and introduces himself as Jack Prescott, a primate paleontologist from Princeton University. He theorizes that the fog is not caused by petroleum vapors, but rather by massive amounts of animal respiration. He thinks that there may be some sort of giant anthropoid living on the island. Convinced that Jack is actually a spy for a rival oil company, Fred has him locked up. Later, a raft is spotted in the ocean; inside is an unconscious, beautiful woman (Jessica Lange). Once she is revived, she introduces herself as Dwan. She is an aspiring actress who was on a yacht headed for Hong Kong, but it was detroyed in the storm. The crew promise to get her to Hong Kong as soon as their voyage is over. Eventually, the Petrox Explorer finds the island inside the fog bank. Fred finds out that Jack really is a professor after all, and makes him the expedition's photographer. On the island, they discover a massive wooden wall that looks as "old as the pyramids of Egypt." Jack notices repair work on the wall and decides that there must still be people on the island. After hearing the sound of some drums, the group find some natives are having some sort of ritual. Many of the men are dancing around and yelling, "Kong! Kong!" The natives are also adorning a young girl with flowers and jewelry. Next to her is the chief, who is dressed as a gorilla. Jack proclaims that the girl is a bride, but the chief in the gorilla costume is the groom's stand-in; the real groom is on the other side of the wall. The native chief spots the group, so they decide to show themselves. Jack understands enough to know that the natives are angered by their visit. Suddenly the chief gets a look at Dwan, whom he thinks is a much better choice for Kong's bride than their own native bride. He offers the group six native girls in exchange for Dwan, but they refuse. The natives try to take Dwan by force, but the men shoot their rifles into the air and the natives scatter in fear. Later that night on the Petrox Explorer, Jack and Dwan begin to express their feelings for one another. Jack leaves to get some supplies for a night trip to the island, so he can take some pictures. Suddenly, Dwan is kidnapped by a group of natives that canoed to the Explorer. Jack later finds a native bracelet on the deck and realizes that Dwan was kidnapped. Back on the island, the natives open up the gate at the wall and leave Dwan on the other side. They blow into some large horns to summon the mighty Kong. Kong finally emerges from out of the jungle and reveals himself to be a giant gorilla. He grabs ahold of Dwan and proceeds back into the jungle. The oil expedition then get to the wall and take control of it from the natives. Fred falls into what he thinks is a hole, but Jack identifies it as a large footprint. Does Dwan have any chance of survival?
COMMENTS: This big-budget remake of the classic King Kong (1933) was produced by Italian film mogul Dino De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis decided to remake the classic film after seeing a Kong poster in his daughter's room. After De Laurentiis picked John Guillermin to direct the film, he decided to make the film with Paramount Pictures. Paramount obtained the rights for the remake from RKO Pictures, even though it was no longer a film studio. Universal Pictures starting an on-going war with De Laurentiis, claiming that they too had the right to remake the film. Ultimately, Paramount won the legal battle. The filmmakers hired special make-up effects master Rick Baker to create King Kong after being impressed with some ape-like creatues he created for Schlock (1973) and The Thing with Two Heads (1972). Baker immediately said that he didn't want to use make-up appliances because they had been done to death in the Planet of the Apes films (1968-1973). Baker decided to create Kong through the use of a realistic gorilla costume which featured mechanisms in the mask to give the face proper expressiveness. The filmmakers also wanted to build a full-scale Kong mannequin as well as full-scale robotic hands. Robotics specialist Carlo Rambaldi was brought in to do this job. Besides being able to make the mechanisms for Baker's Kong mask, Rambaldi claimed that he would be able to create a full-scale Kong robot that would be able to do most of the acting for the film. Rick Baker's role in the creation of Kong was suddenly downroled. The robot, however, was not finished when shooting began, so the filmmakers decided to film Baker's Kong suit until the robot was complete. Baker originally wanted to make a quadroped gorilla suit, but the filmmakers wanted Kong to be more of a bipedal ape-man. These decisions, along with their favoritism of Ramboldi, caused Baker to quit the production. De Laurentiis later convinced Baker to come back to the production. Baker ultimately played Kong himself. After several months of filming, the full-scale robot was finally completed, but by then most of the movie was finished. They would only need the robot for the presentation scene. During filming, the Kong robot would work for a little bit and then something on it would break. The robot was used for 4 nights of filming, and every time something inside of it would break and then it wouldn't work. The robot turned out to be a huge waste of money and it worked no better than the full-scale mannequin which the filmmakers had originally intended to build. It ultimately was used for only six brief shots during the presentation scene, as well as publicity shots. During its quick glimpses in the film, it is painfully obvious that it is a robot and not the Baker Kong suit. The only other item that was used for making Kong was a full-scale styrofoam duplicate of the Kong robot. This was used in the final scene to show Kong's dead body after he fell from the sky. Quite a few changes were made from the original film: all of the character names were changed, the expedition going to Kong's island was an oil crew instead of a film crew, Kong doesn't fight any dinosaurs, and Kong is killed on the Twin Towers instead of the Empire State Building. Ultimately, the film received some mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, but it was very successful at the box office. De Laurentiis and Guillermin paired up again for a sequel, King Kong Lives, in 1986. The film was a financial flop and considered by fans to be "the worst King Kong movie of all time." Today, most people don't even know it exists. Rick Baker went on to be arguably the most in-demand special make-up effects man in the film industry. He won the first Oscar for special make-up effects for An American Werewolf in London (1981). He made several other ape and ape-like costumes for films like Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and Planet Of The Apes (2001). Carlo Ramboldi went on to do other robotic effects for films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1978), Alien (1979), and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). This DVD presents the film in its original widescreen theatrical ratio. The only special feature is the theatrical trailer.
Movie Review: High adventure and... Jessica Lange
Summary: 4 Stars
The first time I saw this '76 version of "King Kong" (in the 80s) I was very disappointed that the numerous dinosaurs contained in the original were no where to be found; and the giant snake just didn't cut it. One of the best features of the original is the thrilling Skull Island sequences with numerous dinosaurs; these sequences hit you one right after another -- BAM, BAM, BAM! The Skull Island part on this '76 version is lethargic by comparison (I'm talking about AFTER Kong appears and kidnaps Dwan).
I saw it again back in the mid-90s and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the film. You gotta respect the fact that the filmmakers went for something different than the original. It's like they said, "Dinosaurs? We don't need no stinkin' dinosaurs!" What they went for, instead, was to highlight Kong's human-ness and how awestruck he was by Dwan's beauty.
For instance, Kong walks more like a human than an ape. Apparently Rick Baker, the man in the Kong suit, wanted to walk like an ape but wasn't allowed. This is fitting because, again, the film attempts to emphasize Kong's human-ness.
As far as comparisons to the original film and the 2005 version, if we're honest about it this '76 version, albeit flawed, is better or just as good in many areas. Although the original is a masterpiece considering its era, let's face it, it has quite a few obvious flaws aside from its datedness, e.g. Jack's premature declaration of love for Ann, the blandness of the characters (except Fay), the natives' kidnapping of Ann (Why sure!) and the goofy appearance of Kong himself (all the dinosaurs look great but they couldn't come up with a better, more authentic look for the film's star monster, even though they had apes in zoos to compare with?). As for the 2005 version, it's a fun film but seriously marred by cartooney overkill. It plays out like a Road Runner cartoon more than anything else. It's just impossible to suspend disbelief while watching it.
So what's so good about this '76 version?
WHAT WORKS:
- The film has a serious vibe of high adventure. The ship scenes and the initial island sequences with the tribal people are all great. Take, for instance, when they discover the great wall, ominous music and all.
- The score by John Barry is exceptional.
- The three main characters are both memorable and likable -- Jack (Jeff Bridges), Dwan (Jessica Lange) and Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin). Bridges in particular makes a distinctive long-haired protagonist. This wasn't the case in the original. Although Fay Wray was fine, the two male leads are bland and forgettable. Even though Fred (Grodin) is a greedy opportunist in this '76 version he's still kinda likable. For instance, he could have kept Jack locked up the entire trip but chooses to give him a job instead. Also, he could have tried to hog all the profits from Kong's capture but shares the 'success' with others, including Dwan and Jack (even though Jack ultimately declines).
- Of all three films, Jessica Lange is the best in the Ann Darrow-Dwan role and, by far, the most beautiful. As a matter of fact, the film's worth watching just to catch Jessica in her curvey physical prime. The scenes of her after their initial arrival to the mysterious island are unforgettable! Lange is dressed in skimpy jean shorts and a striped billy shirt and, guys, you just have to see her -- she's incredible! Check out the feminine muscle tone on her legs! No wonder Kong became fascinated with her.
- The Kaua'i, Hawaii, locations are magificent! The other two versions don't hold a candle to these breathtaking locations, including Jackson's cartooney CGI jungles.
- Kong looks best in this version. Yes, it's just a guy in an ape suit but it works. His facial expressions are great. Kong looks so much better in this version compared to the original that there really is no comparison. Of course, Kong looks great in the 2005 remake as well, but Jackson basically just made Kong out to be a gargantuan gorilla. By contrast, in the original and '76 version Kong is a huge ape with human qualities. I prefer the huge human-like ape over the (mere) giant gorilla.
- This version is more adult-oriented and believable. Skull Island is a mysterious island with large animals but no dinosaurs. This makes more sense. The thilling dino-scenes have been omitted in favor of sequences of a more dramatic nature. I prefer the thrilling dino-encounters but have to respect the risk-taking originality and believability of this version.
- This is the only version that shows Kong being transported from the island to the U.S.A. Quite a bit of runtime is devoted to it, in fact.
- The World Trade Center (RIP) is featured and the ending is pretty gorey; you can't help but sympathize with Kong.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
- The giant ape hand/arm gets the job done but that's about it. It's used too often and moves too slow.
- Likewise, the giant snake is okay but that's about it. This sequence required a thrilling battle between two colossal creatures and what we get is pretty weak and forgettable.
- The studio sets for the island look fake; they're not much better than the sets seen on the original Star Trek tv series. They should have stayed with the great Kaua'i locations instead of lame studio sets.
- The footage of the 40-foot mechanical ape prop shown in the last act for about 4 seconds should have been left on the cutting room floor. It's horrible.
Some have criticized that this version is campy but, really, the only remotely campy aspect is the Charles Grodin character. Besides, is he all THAT campy? I've met people like him in real life (take, for instance, when he steps out of the boat on the island to the vainglory of the camera's eye -- it rings true).
Aside from Jessica Lange, what I like most about this film is its spirit of high adventure. If you're in the mood for serious high adventure you can't go wrong with this version of "King Kong."
GRADE: B+ (I'm in a generous mood, but it's at least a B or B-)