KING KONG (1976)
Updated: Dec 12, 2022
Looking Back at the Misunderstood Monster Remake
Grade: B+
Dino De Laurentiis’s large-scale remake of the 1933 classic King Kong has a deeply troubled legacy. Although financially successful and generally well-received by critics at the time of its release, its reputation plummeted rapidly to the point that the public thought it was actually a flop. To look at King Kong ’76 today, one must keep in mind that it goes in a very different direction from its inspiration, and that it was actually made by people who loved the original. The passion that went into Kong ’76 and the sheer magnitude of its production make it an entertaining and even powerful film.
King Kong is a modernized version of the original. The first half centers on an expedition led by a greedy oil executive named Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), who is convinced that a remote island is situated on top of a massive oil deposit. A paleo-anthropologist named Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) stows away aboard the expedition’s ship, believing the island to be home to a gigantic creature. Along the way, the crew picks up a beautiful woman named Dwan (Jessica Lange in her film debut) who is adrift in a raft after her ship blew up in a storm. Upon arriving at the island, the crew encounters a tribe of natives who kidnap Dwan and offer her to as a bride to Kong, a gigantic gorilla who immediately takes a liking to her. While Prescott and a search party head into the jungle to find Dwan, Wilson decides to capture Kong and use him as a mascot for his company upon learning that the island's oil is useless. This ultimately leads back to New York City, where Kong climbs the World Trade Center and meets his doom at the hands of a squadron of attack helicopters.
The three main actors are excellent in their respective roles. Jeff Bridges is quite convincing as Prescott, who sympathizes with the big ape and is against his exploitation. When Kong is being attacked by the helicopters at the climax, the horror on Prescott’s face looks genuine. As Wilson, Charles Grodin puts on an eccentric performance that falls short of being over-the-top. He is always putting his priorities above others', and his sinister demeanor provides an interesting contrast to his counterpart in the original film, Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), who was a much more sympathetic character. Jessica Lange’s character Dwan is somewhat ditzy and fun-loving, sometimes annoying, but also confident. When Kong is holding her shortly after capturing her, she copes with her fear by babbling (“I’m a Libra. What sign are you?....I bet you’re an Ares, aren’t you? Of course you are! I just knew it!”). Unlike the original beauty, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), who never liked Kong, Dwan ultimately cares for him and even weeps when he is killed.
As with Superman (1978), the technical aspects of King Kong vary in how well they hold up. The cinematography in the film provides images that are beautiful (when the crew arrives on the island, they are visibly dwarfed by the beach and surrounding cliffs) and spectacular (i.e., the image of Kong roaring as a wrecked elevated train explodes behind him). The musical score, composed by John Barry, is absolutely breathtaking, conveying romance when Kong falls in love with Dwan, suspense when Kong approaches the village during ritual, and danger during the log bridge scene.
The special effects, which won a special Oscar, are the most uneven. Since producer De Laurentiis did not want to use stop-motion animation (the primary special effects technique used in the original), Kong is portrayed by makeup artist Rick Baker in an ape suit. In some scenes where he is interacting with humans, a bluish hue can be seen on them, signifying that they were recorded in front of a blue screen. And it is obvious that the scene where Kong twists a log bridge and sends sailors falling to their deaths was filmed on a soundstage, which contrasts sharply with the actual locations of much of the island.
Where the effects succeed the most is in giving Kong a personality, which is arguably their most important job. The masks for the Kong costume were designed in part by special effects maestro Carlo Rambaldi, who would go on to win Oscars for his work on Alien (1979) and E.T. (1982). Here he has provided Kong with a series of expressions ranging from love and anger to sadness and pain. In this way, Kong is more than just a monster: he is every bit as much of an identifiable character as the human cast.
The story of Kong ’76 is one of the film’s biggest strengths. One might be disappointed (as this reviewer was upon first viewing the film) by the lack of certain elements that made Kong ’33 so popular, such as the dinosaurs and the Empire State Building finale. But by going in a different direction from the original instead of being a straight remake, Kong '76 actually respects it. While Kong ’33 was a grand adventure, ’76 is more of a romantic drama with greater emphasis placed on the tragedy of Kong’s situation. His death at the climax is the most gruesome and shocking of all three major versions of the King Kong story (the third being in 2005), with geysers of blood spurting from his torso as the helicopters fire mercilessly. And all the while, a sobbing Dwan begs Kong to hold her and screams at the helicopters to stop their attack. It is a horrific moment and a worthy counterpart to the original finale.
King Kong may not have the most convincing effects or the staying power of the original classic, but it has a lot of heart and emotional power at its center. The tragic elements that were more subtle in the original are on full display and are felt by the characters as well as the audience, and they can still be felt long after watching the film. For this reason, Kong ’76 deserves more attention than its reputation allows.
Director: John Guillermin
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Screenplay: Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (Based on the screenplay by Ruth Rose and Joseph A. Creelman, from an idea conceived by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper)
Cast: Jeff Bridges (Jack Prescott), Charles Grodin (Fred Wilson), Jessica Lange (Dwan), John Randolph (Captain Ross), Rene Auberjonois (Roy Bagley), Ed Lautner (First Mate Carnahan), Julius Harris (Boan), Jack O'Halloran (Joe Perko), Rick Baker (Kong)
Rated: PG
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