Plot
Famed producer Dino De Laurentiis tries to steal the thunder from Jaws, then the top-grossing film of all-time, in this big budget remake of King Kong. (De Laurentiis related his tactics to Tom Snyder: "When Jaws dies, nobody cries. When Kong dies, they all cry.") Updated to the 1970s, the original Robert Armstrong character is now Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), a big-shot oil magnate from Petrox Oil, looking for new petroleum deposits on a recently discovered Pacific island. Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) is a counter-culture paleontologist, stowing away on Wilson's ship, who warns that they are headed for "Skull Island," where prehistoric monsters still live and roam free. Also along for the ride is Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her film debut), a down-on-her-luck starlet, shipwrecked in the ocean after the sinking of a yacht. She really becomes down-on-her-luck when the group lands on the island and a giant ape, Kong, takes a shine to her. Kong kidnaps her and Dwan takes umbrage when the ape tries to remove her clothes by shouting, "You male chauvinist ape!" But Prescott comes to her aid and rescues her from the gorilla's big mits. Wilson, seeing money to be made on Kong, locks him in the cargo hold of his ship and transports him to New York City. Once there, Kong manages to escape and wreak havoc upon the beleaguered town, before being compelled to climb up the World Trade Center for sanctuary. ~ Paul Brenner, RoviReview
The movie Dino De Laurentiis wanted to sell with the line "When Kong dies, everybody cries" is a camp-infested update of the 1933 classic. With a script by Lorenzo Semple Jr., creator of the similarly tongue-in-cheek Batman television series, this version of Kong is loaded with silly dialogue and situations. On this occasion, the sea voyage is reconfigured as executive Charles Grodin leads his crew in search of oil deposits. Star Jeff Bridges, as well as the big ape's love interest, Jessica Lange, and the rest of the cast all seem to be in on the joke. Special effects artist Rick Baker certainly succeeded in his efforts to give the face of Kong some emotive qualities, and at the time of the film's release, the special effects were state-of-the-art. Considering the extraordinary development in the last quarter century, the effects here are nevertheless likely to underwhelm contemporary viewers. Although King Kong did fairly well at the box office, earning a place as the third highest grossing film of 1976, it was not the blockbuster De Laurentiis hoped for, especially in light of its high budget. ~ Michael Costello, RoviCast
- Jeff Bridges - Jack Prescott
- Charles Grodin - Fred Wilson
- Jessica Lange - Dwan
- John Randolph - Capt. Ross
- René Auberjonois - Bagley
Credit
Robert Gundlach - Art Director, Archie J. Bacon - Art Director, David A. Constable - Art Director, Carlo Rambaldi - Consultant/advisor, Glen Robinson - Consultant/advisor, Eddie Surkin - Consultant/advisor, Don Chandler - Consultant/advisor, John True - Consultant/advisor, John Barry - Conductor, Moss Mabry - Costume Designer, Anthea Sylbert - Costume Designer, Arnold M. Lipin - Costume Designer, Amy Lipin - Costume Designer, Fern Weber - Costume Designer, David McGiffert - First Assistant Director, Kurt Neumann - First Assistant Director, John Guillermin - Director, William Kronick - Second Unit Director, Ralph Winters - Editor, Christian Ferry - Executive Producer, Frederico de Laurentiis - Executive Producer, John Barry - Composer (Music Score), Del Acevedo - Makeup, Dale Hennesy - Production Designer, Mario Chiari - Production Designer, Richard H. Kline - Cinematographer, Terry Carr - Production Manager, Dino de Laurentiis - Producer, Christian Ferry - Producer, John Franco, Jr. - Set Designer, Rick Baker - Special Effects, Joe Day - Special Effects, Barry Nolan - Special Effects, Carlo Rambaldi - Special Effects, Glen Robinson - Special Effects, Harold E. Wellman - Special Effects, Frank van der Meer - Special Effects, Jack Solomon - Sound/Sound Designer, Wiliam L. McCaughey - Sound/Sound Designer, Aaron Rochin - Sound/Sound Designer, Harry W. Tetrick - Sound/Sound Designer, Dan Wallin - Sound/Sound Designer, Bill Couch, Jr. - Stunts, Jesse Wayne - Stunts, Bill Couch - Stunts Coordinator, Lorenzo Semple, Jr. - Screenwriter, Merian C. Cooper - From Idea By, Edgar Wallace - From Idea By, Ruth Rose - From Screenplay by, James Ashmore Creelman - From Screenplay by| King Kong (1933 Film), King Kelly of the USA (1934 Film) | |
| King Kong (2005 Film), King Kong Escapes (1967 Film) |
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