King Kong (1976)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Merian C. Cooper (idea) and
Edgar Wallace (idea) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The most exciting original motion picture event of all time.

Plot:

A petroleum exploration expedition comes to an isolated island and encounters a colossal giant gorilla.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Oil | Gorilla | King Kong | Ape

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Thur. July 16

12:15 PM

AMC

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	Jack Prescott
Charles Grodin	...	Fred Wilson
Jessica Lange	...	Dwan
John Randolph	...	Captain Ross
Rene Auberjonois	...	Roy Bagley
Julius Harris	...	Boan
Jack O'Halloran	...	Joe Perko
Dennis Fimple	...	Sunfish
Ed Lauter	...	Carnahan
Jorge Moreno	...	Garcia
Mario Gallo	...	Timmons
John Lone	...	Chinese Cook
Garry Walberg	...	Army General
John Agar	...	City Official
Keny Long	...	Ape Masked Man

Also Known As:

King Kong: The Legend Reborn (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

134 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-12 (cut) (1977) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1998) | Argentina:13 | Iceland:L | Canada:14A (Ontario - 2005) | Australia:M (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Seven different masks were created by Carlo Rambaldi, and molded by Rick Baker to convey various emotions. Separate masks were necessary as there were too many cables and mechanics required for all the expressions to fit in one single mask. The masks were comprised of a plastic skull over which were placed artificial muscle groups activated by cables which entered the costume through Kong's feet, with the outer latex skins molded by Baker were placed over the top. The masks used hydraulics to provide movement, so much like the mechanical Kong and hands, the facial expressions were controlled by the team of operators working off-set with the control boards. To complete the look of a gorilla, Baker wore contact lenses so his eyes would resemble that of a gorilla's.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Dwan makes a toast to Jack, she says "Here's to all the future sons and daughters of Kong." As per this movie, Kong is described as being a unique animal, the last surviving member of his species, and therefore unable to reproduce.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Joe Perko: OK, Boan, how much you got here?
Boan: About eighteen hundred.
Joe Perko: Eighteen hundred? What's going on?
Boan: There's Bagley.
Joe Perko: Hey, Mr. Bagley! Something's haywire. They only loaded me enough pipe to push one test hole. Less than two thousand feet.
Roy Bagley: Yeah, that'll be enough.
Boan: Are you kidding? On Bagatan, we didn't come until we were past twenty-six thousand feet.
Roy Bagley: You take my word, fellas. This hole proves out within two thousand, or it's a write-off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2006-02-02)" (2006)

A GUILTY PLEASURE FOR SURE- I LOVE IT!

Another poster called this Kong a guilty pleasure. I agree. It's flawed and the special effects are not very special by today's standards and there's a lot of silly stuff. I won't argue about any of that. It's all true. And so what? I LOVE THIS MOVIE! I love the flaws and the not-so-special effects and all of the silly stuff. I enjoyed Dwan's comment about telling Prescott's sign by his ears and all of her silly lines to Kong. Jessica Lange is beautiful, lovely, and wonderful. Jeff Bridges is excellent too and how can ya not hate Charles Grodin in this? He's the character I most love to hate! Great work! King Kong himself is always entertaining in this even if he is incredibly goofy at times depending on which special effect they used. The giant robot Kong just kills me! LOL! I loved it! When they use an actor in a costume it works better and dammit this Kong has got the most soulful eyes! My heart strings were tugged by this sweet and silly movie. POOR KONG! HE'S JUST LOOKIN' FOR LOVE! WHY CAN'T THEY JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE?! I guess if they did there'd be no movie. No this isn't a perfect movie but I agree with the poster who said this movie is an old friend. All of the flaws are part of it's charm and I've had a wonderful time with this Kong.