Good movie but grossly overrated

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is just a terrible movie. It's slow, at the time Jessica couldn't act worth a damn, had so many fake posters showing things that never happened. I saw this on a double feature with the equally dull Bug (read the book the Hephaestus Plague instead) and nearly fell asleep during both. The so called 'Robot' barely got used, instead falling back on Rick Baker in a beautiful ape suit. Just an abomination.

It's not a popular opinion, but this movie has all the bad effects of Wrath of the Titans and none of the charm. Lange's character is vapid and obnoxious. It's cheesy and over-dramatic, and the movie's only saving grace is its commentary on big oil and Western greed. I did not see the 1930's version, so I can't make a comparison.

I had first seen the outstanding original of 'King Kong', still transcendent and captivating in its then-prescient use of special effects wizardry, then Sir Peter Jackson's recent remake, which was still extremely impressive. I had only heard horrible things about the 70's version, but I have come to admire Guillermin's films that I had watched, and look at that cast, so when I found the blu used, for a good price, I took a chance. It's definitely the runt of the litter, but is by no means a disaster. It's intriguing that they had originally wanted Joseph Sargent to direct with Peter Falk starring, and that Meryl Streep was considered for the role that eventually went to Jessica Lange. The changes they made to update Kong for the seventies were intriguing (as they wanted the script to be completely different from the Cooper/Schoedsack masterpiece), and I'm left curious, had Sir Peter Jackson chosen to make Kong a 21st-century schizoid apeman instead of doing a period piece, how that would have transpired. Even being Canadian, seeing the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center made me wistfully nostalgic. The only part of the film that was excruciating to watch was when Kong is made to perform for the American Bicentennial festivities, and at the ending, I was curious how Lange got down from the rooftop of one of the towers so fast. The answer probably lies on the cutting room floor, and the editing was probably rushed for release date, so no one must have noticed...

1970s style re-imagining of the legendary cinema beauty-and-the-beast story stars Jeff Bridges as Jack Prescott, a hippie-ish paleontology professor who hitches a ride with an oil company's vessel. Their fearless leader, Fred Wilson (a shamelessly hammy Charles Grodin), is convinced that somewhere in the ocean near Surabaya is an island that's just rich with potential. Of course, we all know the story: what the adventurers find instead is an enormous ape, revered by the people of the island. Wilson attempts to salvage something out of the trip by transporting Kong back to NYC and putting him on display, but we know nothing good can come of this.This Dino De Laurentiis production is really not that terrible as its reputation would suggest. It just suffers some from a bit of overlength, an inadvisable campy approach, and its silly, silly characters & dialogue. The special effects (overseen by Carlo Rambaldi, later to create E.T.) are variable - sometimes they work well, sometimes not so well. The treat is watching makeup effects legend Rick Baker don a gorilla costume for some scenes. Although this remake is done in colour and widescreen, it just doesn't quite have the atmosphere of the 1933 film. It might have been nice to see a few more wonders on the island; as it is, we only get to see Kong do battle with a giant snake. The fact that in this instance Kong climbs not The Empire State Building but The Twin Towers may affect how some people respond to the film in this day and age. One obvious asset is the majestic music score by John Barry.Bridges is likable, but there are times when his character might infuriate some people. Grodin performs as if the filmmakers told him to "act more like Robert Armstrong" (Carl Denham in the 1933 production), and the character is so obnoxious and sleazy that you can't help but cheer when he inevitably gets his. Many viewers thought that Jessica Langes' debut film performance was highly inauspicious, but her appeal and beauty are undeniable. There's a very strong supporting cast: John Randolph, Rene Auberjonois, Julius Harris, Jack O'Halloran, Dennis Fimple, and Ed Lauter. It's nice to see 50s sci-fi star John Agar in a cameo as a lying weasel of a city official; John Lone, Corbin Bernsen, and Joe Piscopo have bits.In the end, the love that Kong lavishes upon Dwan (Lange) is still pretty poignant, and you can't help but feel very bad for Kong.Followed by a sequel (!) 10 years later, incredibly enough."King Kong" '76 misses its potential for true greatness, but it's still pretty decent entertainment.Seven out of 10.