King Kong (The One From 1976)

King Kong (1976)

Runtime: 134 minutes

Directed by: John Guillermin

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange, Charles Grodin, John Randolph, Rene Auberjonois

From: Dino De Laurentiis Company

This is a movie I hadn't seen in more than 11 years; my memories of it were pretty hazy. Overall, I can say that this was fine, but nothing more than just fine. I attempt to explain why below: 

As Kong: Skull Island is coming out in a month's time, I figured it would make sense to watch this movie and the Peter Jackson Kong (but not King Kong Lives; I have avoided that like the plague as I have heard that is something I am best never ever seeing) so I can finally review them here and also get me in the mood to see the new one... I am not sure if we need another Kong but maybe that will be great and I will look like an assclown for speculating such a thing. In 2015 I saw and reviewed the original; it's still a classic and I don't need to review it again.

This does have plenty of differences when compared to the original version. This time it's an A-hole executive with the Petrox Oil Company who hopes to find a great oil reserve on an uncharted island (this character Fred Wilson-played by Charles Grodin-would be a Trump supporter) but instead discover a giant ape. The rest of it is similar: Kong falls in love with a blonde, he rampages through New York City, although this time he climbs one of the World Trade Center skyscrapers. Yeah, I always feel melancholy seeing the Twin Towers in a movie; they shouldn't retroactively be erased from older movies where they aren't part of the plot, though.

The movie, it's not a classic like the original but I can't say I hate it either. I do have to admit that it is rather ridiculous at times, Jessica Lange's DWAN (yes, not Dawn, but Dwan) is sometimes a frustrating character due to a few befuddling moments-and you could tell that this was Lange's debut performance; she definitely improved since this debut-effects that even by 70's standards don't always look so hot, some overacting, and while they tried their best, it is still a guy in an ape suit tromping around miniatures, even if it's the legendary Rick Baker.

Yet, I still think this is watchable; I did not mind how it was different from the other iterations of the story, for starters. It was a nice cast, from Grodin (his buzz-cut and big mustache was quite the look) to Jeff Bridges (his long hair and beard was also quite the look), Ed Lauter to Julius Harris and others. There are some scenic locations. Despite some uneven, dumb and unintentionally hilarious moments, it is always watchable. How you feel about the obvious attempts to make Lange a sex symbol here, that is up to you. Thus, I can give it a passable rating.