King Kong

Summary

“Well… here’s to the big one!”

I grew up in the Nineties. As a child, my main source of entertainment was the television channel Nickelodeon. After watching shows like Double Dare or All That, Nickelodeon would mention that the shows were filmed at Universal Studios. Sometimes the prizes featured on their shows would show clips of the backlot tour which featured an encounter with King Kong. This was the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis produced King Kong that attacked subway cars as the trolly drove by. As a kid, this movie aired fairly frequently on AMC and TNT, so I remember seeing it, but not since I was a child. When I saw that Shout! Factory was releasing a Collector’s Edition of the Blu-ray, I was excited to revisit the film and see how it would hold up forty five years after being made. 

In Surabaya, Indonesia, longhaired paleontologist Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) stows away aboard the Petrox Explorer. Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin) has chartered the boat with the hopes of hitting a huge oil reserve. Their ship is heading towards a bank of fog that has hovered in the same spot for thirty five years. Scientist Roy Bagley (Rene Auberjonois) explains to the gathered crew that there is an island that has been perpetually hidden in that fog. Jack reveals himself to the group. He explains that he is a paleontologist that is interested in the island that they are approaching, because of a diary he had found mentioning a gigantic beast. He is interested in discovering an unknown creature for scientific study. The Petrox Explorer stumbles upon a lifeboat with a beautiful woman passed out onboard. Her necklace reveals that she is from Beverly Hills. Her yacht she was aboard, the Cynara, had crashed. She says her name is Dwan (Jessica Lange.) Dwan had been on the deck while the other passengers had been below deck watching a dirty movie when their boat sank. Dwan and Prescott immediately hit it off and she wows the crew with her beautiful looks. Arriving at the island draped in fog, the crew go ashore. They first discover a huge wooden wall. Fred tries to say that it must be an ancient wall and that the island is abandoned, but Jack explains that the wall is fairly recently built. Then they begin to hear tribal drums nearby. They interrupt a native ceremony. The natives repeatedly scream “Kong! Kong! Kong!” Despite their language differences, Jack can intuit what the natives say. He explains that the natives want Dwan. As they approach, the men fire their guns to break up the crowd and head back to their boat. That night, Prescott plans to go ashore and explore. He then plans to come back for a romantic rendezvous with Dwan. Dwan is stolen by the natives off the ship. The natives dress her up in ceremonial garb, and the gigantic ape King Kong arrives to carry her away. The rest of the story leads towards a climax that takes place in New York.

The 1976 King Kong is for the most part a very enjoyable creature feature. The script by Lorenzo Semple Jr. gives the audience a well thought out reason for why Wilson and his men would be interested in the fog covered island, and the characters’ motivations all make sense. The film is inherently ridiculous due to its subject matter, but that doesn’t mean that it is not well thought out. The only downside to the film’s script is that some sequences in the film probably play out better on paper than in the film. One sequence that sticks out in particular is when King Kong begins to blow air on Dwan. The sequence comes across as odd. The direction by John Guillermin, with the assistance of skilled cinematographer Richard H. Kline, succeeds at drawing solid performances from the actors involved and in creating the large scale film it aimed to make. The film was shot in 2.35:1 aspect ration with wide angle lenses for good reason. The film was swinging for the fences to reach the levels of spectacle that an audience would expect for their ticket cost. The film was produced for $25 million and was a gigantic success at the box office, raking in over $90 million.

The makeup effects by Rick Baker and Carlo Rambaldi still look great. While the men argued frequently regarding the ape costume itself, (which Rick Baker wore to portray the Ape) the ape’s emotional range in facial expressions is very impressive. The film benefits from some of the best miniature effects of that decade, including the truly amazing sequences that take place in New York as Kong breaks free and terrorizes the town. While it may not look completely “real,” neither does all of the computer generated mayhem featured in films today. I personally am a big fan of practical effects, and this film delivers a lot of good old fashioned movie magic. I lament the death of that part of the industry whenever I watch movies now. The miniature makers and matte painters were such incredible craftsmen and that skill is continuing to fade into obscurity.

The cast of the film is stellar. Jessica Lange is drop-dead gorgeous in the film in her debut role. The film doesn’t really tap into her acting talent which is immense, but it does do a great job of making her look beautiful in nearly every shot. Jeff Bridges is always enjoyable to watch onscreen and he does well in the role, but his dialogue is not exactly Shakespeare. The two actors are definitely an attractive coupling. My favorite acting in the film was facilitated by Charles Grodin. Grodin has always been an underrated actor in my opinion and he does justice to the role of the opportunistic and selfish Fred Wilson. The cast is supported by other respectable actors such as Rene Auberjonois and John Randolph.

The film is not absolutely perfect, but I think it accomplishes its goal of bringing King Kong into the Seventies. On the whole it is an enjoyable adventure film that brings the gigantic ape to life in a way that appeals to me.

Video

Shout! Factory presents King Kong in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 utilizing an MPEG-4 AVC codec. The transfer comes from a 2K scan. There is a decent amount of flicker and some moments of heavy grain, but this is certainly the best the film has ever looked by a good amount. Noise is present frequently, but I can’t imagine for a second that fans of the film would be disappointed even if the film does not look quite as good as might be possible in a 4K upgrade. For the Television Cut, the additional footage was also scanned in 2K. Fans should be pleased.

Audio

King Kong features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track that sounds pretty great. The score by John Barry shines through and comes across the sound field well. The numerous action scenes benefit from the surrounds, even if the sound design is not as robust as more recent creature features. Clarity is for the most part very good. 

Supplements:

Theatrical Cut

• Commentary #1 features author Ray Morton.
• Commentary #2 features King Kong performer Rick Baker.
• “On Top of the World” – an interview with production manager Brian Frankish and assistant director David McGiffert
• “When the Monkey Dies, Everybody Cries” – an interview with production messengers Jeffrey Chernov and Scott Thaler
• “Maybe in Their Wildest Dreams” – an interview with sculptor Steve Varner
• “Something’s Haywire” – actor Jack O’Halloran
• “From Space to Apes” – an interview with photographic effects assistant Barry Nolan
• “There’s a Fog Bank Out There” – an interview with second unit director Bill Kronick
• Image Galleries
• T.V. Spots
• Radio Spots
• Theatrical Trailers

Extended T.V. Broadcast Cut

• The Extended TV Broadcast Cut features additional footage that has also received a 2K scan
• “King Kong ’76” – this is a panel discussion featuring author Ray Morton, actor Jack O’Halloran, cinematographer Richard H. Kline, makeup artist Rick Baker, Martha De Laurentiis, and Richard Kraft.
• NBC Promos

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

King Kong is an enjoyable creature feature that capably updates the gigantic ape for the Seventies. The cast is stellar and the script for the most part works. There are a few minor pacing issues and a few scenes that seemed to work better on paper than onscreen, but the miniature work and the creature effects by Rick Baker and Carlo Rambaldi are fantastic. Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray features a good looking new 2K scan and some great new supplements including the restored Television Cut. Fans will want to purchase immediately!