MovieChat Forums > King Kong (1976) Discussion > This film is EPIC!

This film is EPIC!

posted 9 years ago by Tiberius27-1
12 replies | jump to latest

I saw this as a kid of 7 and I remember not only being completely blown away by it but it being one of the very few films that ever had the power to make me cry. The end really got me.

It may be something on the order of cinematic blasphemy to say but I honestly never got that much out of the original King Kong and the less said about Peter Jackson's borefest the better (My young son when watching it with me asked about 45 minutes into it "Is King Kong even in this movie?"). To me those 2 versions lack what this film has in great abundance, the sweeping score, the masterful directing, the crisp & witty writing, the energetic & layered performances, the imaginative set pieces, the innate reality, & the utter and complete EPICNESS that such a story demands!

Everything about this film grabs the attention and won't let go!

This was an event picture back before event pictures were the order of the day!

To me it's one of the great travesties of film history and pop culture that this film is so unfairly reviled when sludge like Jackson's version is inordinately praised.

THIS is and will always be KING KONG to me!

"Be nice until it's time to NOT be nice."

[–] herbsuperb 9 years ago

The end really got me.

Absolutely. Despite its flaws, I really enjoy this version, and always will. The end really is fantastic. The cold, mechanized, brutal manner in which the people of New York dispatch Kong is very difficult to stomach, and gave the movie a purpose beyond that seen in the rest of the picture. Made the whole thing work I think. I choke up when I hear Jessica Lange desperately pleading to deaf ears not to kill Kong as they chop him to ribbons with those dreadful miniguns.

I also very much enjoy the score. John Barry never disappoints. I love the performances by Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin. Grodin was handed a VERY over-the-top, not very realistic type of villain. Blame the writers for that if you must, but Grodin played the roll was well as one could expect. I enjoy his performance. Yeah, the Ape costume kind of sucked, but again, the end of the film makes the whole thing work (except the effect of Kong falling off the WTC, could've done without that).

That being said, both the 1933 film, and the 2005 film had strengths and weaknesses. I enjoy them both, but in my mind, there still has not been a 'definitive' treatment of this timeless story on film. I hope to see it one day, because it will be one HELL of a movie. At the end of the day though, I honestly think I enjoy watching the 1976 version the most. I won't say it's the best, but for me, the most enjoyable experience of the three.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] herbsuperb 9 years ago

Just more entertaining all round, although the original is an undoubted classic. The fact that Fay Wray never felt any affection for Kong is a big black mark against it, sadly for me.

Excellent point, and I wholeheartedly agree. The 1933 version was a minor masterpiece, and very ambitious for its time. But its fatal flaw is that Kong is a pure villain in that version. What the 1976 and 2005 versions really improved upon was giving the character of Kong more depth, and making him more of a tragic character, as opposed to a villainous one. I have to say, Peter Jackson captured that angle of the story magnificently. Because I consider that (the relationship between Kong and Darrow) the most important aspect of the story, I think the Peter Jackson version succeeded, though held back by a few problems.

All in all I enjoy all three films, and none of them were 'bad'. All had strengths and all had weaknesses, and nobody has gotten it quite right yet. I hope (and I'm sure) that filmmakers will keep trying.

[–] davek22 8 years ago

It's my fav version of Kong too. I can't listen to that music of him climbing the WTC without feeling upset to this day. It also gave me a great love of animals and as a kid a better understanding of how they work. Sounds daft but it did.
I watch it every few months and still find new things to enjoy in it. John Barry's score is simply one of the best ever in my opinion.
I saw the new Komg film is set back in the 70's. Found it interesting they chose to do that. Wonder if our generation who watched this as kids are now calling the shots on the film and also like it as much as us. I hope so, can't wait to see how the new one comes out

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] motter25420-153-699254 8 years ago

What sucked about the ape costume? It is one of the best suits/animatronic heads I've ever seen. You must have grown up in the CGI era.

[–] herbsuperb 8 years ago

You must have grown up in the CGI era.

I grew up in the very early days of the CGI era. Born 1982. I grew up with the Disney Renaissance films and the early Pixar stuff, the 80's family classics (Explorers, Flight of the Navigator, Labyrinth, Neverending Story, Princess Bride, Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Don Bluth stuff, and the like). I appreciate excellent practical effects, stunt work, and hand-drawn animation (HUGE fan of Don Bluth and Hayao Miyazaki fan) FAR more than CGI which costs 10 times as much, and is not nearly as effective, for the most part.

The Ape Suit in Kong did what it needed to do, and did work on the whole. Still seems fairly primitive to me even by the standards of the time. I think most people would admit that Peter Jackson's motion capture Kong was FAR more effective than the animatronics in the 1976 version. Say what you want about CGI. It can work, and has worked many times. It's overused by lazy artists, sure, and that gives it a bad reputation. But like any tool, it can achieve wonders in the hands of talented and dedicated artists.

Yoda, for example. I thought the 'Hensonesque' puppet Yoda was FAR more effective, and worked SO much better in the Star Wars OT, than the CGI Yoda in the Star Wars PT. Talent, care, and devotion are a far larger piece of the puzzle than technological advancement alone. So please refrain from passing such judgments until you know better. Thanks.

[–] motter25420-153-699254 8 years ago

I think most people would admit that Peter Jackson's motion capture Kong was FAR more effective than the animatronics

1. I never said CGI cannot ever be used, I don't like when it's overused (as you said), which it most certainly was in the PJ film.

2. You say PJ's Kong was more effective, I disagree. People don't understand Kong was never supposed to be just a big silver back gorilla. From RKO:

"While gorilla-like in appearance, he had a vaguely humanoid look and at times walked upright in an anthropomorphic manner, neither beast nor man."

So, if the aim was to just make a big silver back gorilla, sure, the '05 film did that, but he was boring, it's just another CGI animal in CGI backgrounds.

There are moments in the '76 film that do look downright ridiculous and I wonder why they didn't cut out, but as a whole the film was exciting, Kong looked amazing.

It's not a presumption to say you don't understand the times because "Godzilla", "Giant Robot", "Ultraman" and a host of other giant monster movies had the man in suit, it's kind of a defining characteristic of the era, and people loved it.

[–] motter25420-153-699254 8 years ago

Agree on everything except the writing, that is the one huge downfall of this film. The 2 leads were just terrible, not their fault, both good actors, just horrible dialogue.

[–] MetalHead13 8 years ago

Agreed! I think this is my favorite King Kong movie--watched it recently and was pleased I enjoyed it as much as I did as a kid. Definitely enjoy it more than the 2005 version. I hated he was made into a big silverback instead of a true ape-like monster.

[–] clutch2827 8 years ago

Like DeLaurentis said, "Nobody cry when Jaws die. When monkey die, everybody cry."

[–] Hannibal_Manhunter89 8 years ago

I love all the Kong films, even the much maligned sequel to this one. I do agree this film is epic in a number of ways; for me, it just has a much more likeable cast who all give great performances, especially Bridges and Lange, who is stunningly gorgeous, awesome atmosphere during the time on the island, and the ending was just as good as the first time I saw it (its even more tragic these days, when you remember the World Trade Center towers no longer stand, so thinking of that the last time I watched it choked me up). It may also be nostalgia as well, as this was the first Kong film I saw as a kid, and its the one I remember growing up with, so I have more fond memories of this one than the others, though I enjoy them as well.

This one, for me, has the most majestic feel to it.

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