King Kong 1976!

I've seen this movie in the theater and I've had it on VHS for a long time. But last year I got hold of it on widescreen in DVD format. This reviled remake was my first version of the 8th Wonder of the World (if you don't count King Kong Versus Godzilla and the Gold Key comic), and it would be a few years before I was able to see the 1933 original. That said, I've a nostalgic affection for the '76 Kong out of all proportion to its merits. That said though, it's not as bad a movie as some would suggest.

The Good:

It's a pretty decent cast. Jeff Bridges as "Jack Prescott" is worthy as the hero though I find his rooting for Kong in the finale to be crass. Charles Grodin is delightful as "Fred Wilson"a greedy man with few redeeming qualities. Jessica Lange as "Dwan" is a beautiful beautiful woman and when she's not talking she demands your attention. The locations for this movie are outstanding. Beautiful scenery, both in the jungle and city scenes. Rick Baker in the ape suit is pretty good in places, especially the early facial acting. There's a lot of personality in that mug. The movie has a solid supporting cast with visually interesting guys spread throughout the crew.

The Bad:

There is way too little of Skull Island to make Kong work. The snake just isn't a worthy opponent, and we need dinosaurs darn it! The giant robotic Kong is one of the most laughable creations in all of film, and it's a shame it gets top billing over Rick Baker at the film's end. Baker is on screen as Kong almost all through the film, with the giant hand doing good work too. But the giant Kong is just ludicrous and only gets a few seconds of screen time. Dwan's dialogue is hard to swallow, it's so tied to the 70's culture. I'm still puzzled by the end of the movie, is she supposed to be trapped by fame, or is Jack just being a pain by abandoning her?


The Curious:

The biggest problem with this movie is that there is too much up front sympathy for Kong. Both Dwan and Jack actively root for him against human beings who are shown as so much fodder for Kong's destruction. That is a problem I often have with Kong movies, and it's that he's only partly a sympathetic creature. He's more like a tornado, a destructive force of nature and despite our desires it's sometimes necessary to quell such potential threats. Like a mad dog, Kong does need to be "put down" after his NYC rampages in all the movies. It's not pleasant, but it's necessary. The first movie gets that tension, the '76 remake is too sentimental, and the most recent remake strikes something of a middle ground if tending towards too much sympathy.

It's also interesting to see the Twin Towers being celebrated, still so new and emblematic of a civilized world order. The context of the modern world gives a fresh poignancy to the movie it couldn't possibly achieve on its own.

I really enjoy this flick, if only to see Lange. It's a fun and diverting movie. I adore the original Kong, but that doesn't stop me from finding things to like about this sequel. It is possible to like them both, I'm proof of that. I give King Kong 1976 three monkeys out of five!


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