King Kong (1976)

King Kong is 1976 retelling of the 1933 RKO classic. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and was the film debut of then model Jessica Lange. The film does not attempt to be an exact remake of the 1933 classic but a re-imagining for a more modern audience. Instead of following a film-making huckster, the film is about an oil company who stumbled across satellite images of Skull Island and believes the perpetual fog bank to be caused by petroleum deposits close to the earth's surface. The Petrox company headed by Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin) set off to exploit the rich oil deposits on what they believe to be an uninhabited island. Jeff Bridges, plays Jack Prescott, who is a zoologist who stows away upon the ship because he believes that there is a mythical creature that inhabits the island, and he believes that there are natives who inhabit the island and he wants to stop the oil company from destroying the natural habitat. While trying to lock Jack in the brig he notices a life raft drifting, and in it they find the beautiful, yet very ditsy Dwan (Jessica Lange), who is a model who was about to be in her first acting roll (much like Lange in real life), and is the sole survivor of a ship wreck. When they find out that the island is inhabited, and the oil isn't viable for use, the oil company decides to exploit Kong for profits.

The theme of the greedy oil company was a very relevant them in the 1970s when the USA was facing an oil crisis with a shortage of fuel. The theme is honestly still relevant today, with the greedy wars fought over oil in the middle east and in other oil rich parts of the world. So in that aspect the story and theme hold up and remain relevant more so than the original 1933 film did. The film, does however seem to struggle with tone, and is often time too silly and lighthearted, almost cheesy with such a potentially serious subject matter, and in that way I feel like the movie failed to hold up over the years and comes across a little hokey. While in other parts the film attempts to be overly dramatic, causing an inconsistency in the tone.

The character of Fred Wilson, who leads the expedition, seems to be overly obtuse to the point that it is comedic, and sadly I just don't feel like it works. I feel like the best performance in the film was by the young Jeff Bridges as the hippy zoologist, who is attempting to simultaneously study the native people, and save them from the greedy white capitalist who want to exploit their land.

The basic plot line remains from the 1933 classic, with the expedition, the visit of the island, the stealing of the girl, the marriage to Kong, the rescue, the capture, and then climactic and tragic concluding in New York City (swapping out the the Empire State Building, for the World Trade Center).

There are things that do work really well in this film though. One is the updated theme as I discussed previously, also the the special effects were breathtaking, not only by the standards of 1976 practical effects, but even hold up pretty solidly by today's standards. The film really does look good, the costumes the sets, the effects all come together to make a beautiful film. I remember being very impressed by the first time Kong came on the screen. Also please remember that I am a massive fan of the original, and feel like it would be impossible to top that must see masterpiece.

The film did quite well in the box office and won several awards, however the critics seemed to be quite torn on the film, especially critics like myself who love the original film. The original is a film that I will never forget and one that I will always cherish in my heart, where as with this one, if I go long periods without watching it, it doesn't feel that memorable to me. I mean I like that they tried a new direction, but i wish that they would have took that direction more serious. This is a film that doesn't even attempt to be a horror film, and instead opts for being a bizarre almost rom-com/drama. Other than Jeff Bridges and Kong himself I was left with a distaste for the rest of the characters, and found myself not really being hatched to any of them. Dwan was a character that was so wrapped up in her own world that she felt almost useless. But watching it right now, and seeing Kong, stomp though that forest, and her first meeting with him, damn is that a great looking effect. Kong himself almost looks best in this film than any of the other King Kong films made. I know he is a man in a suit and an animatronic arm/hand, but he looks really good. These are some great effects. Kong was also done well throughout the film, with a great humanity to him.

As a side not unrelated to anything of the film really, is that I love seeing Ed Lauter who played Christian Slater's dad in one of my favourite films, the 1989 skateboarding film Gleaming The Cube. Also in the film is Rene Auberjonois who starred in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 as Odo, as well as in a great many other films and television shows.

Would I recommend this film? Yes, I highly recommend this film. I don't place it as a must see, like the original King Kong, or even the Son of Kong, but I would definitely say that if you get a chance to see it that you definitely should. I added this to my collection because my best friend Summer and I were having film nights were we would make a homemade soup and watch a King Kong movie together, and I remember her commenting that she liked the effects more in this one than in the originals, which makes sense because she didn't grow up with the classics. I feel like that is the thing, if you are not a fan of the stop-motion animation effects of the original films, then this is the film that would actually look the best. The practical effects in this film are quite life like, and look really good. I also like that the DVD wasn't in high definition, and still retained a bit of its original grainy look, which I feel makes the effects look even better. I really can't say enough how much I love how the effects look in the creation of Kong for this film. So if you ever find this in a bargain bin, or in a used video shop, don't pass it up, it is definitely worth watching, and has a decent rewatchability.