King Kong (1976)

KING KONG (1976)

and Extended TV version



Since my childhood days, I was always attracted to the subgenre of fantasy, horror and science fiction involving, and featuring, monsters. I remember Cyclops, Terror Strikes and its prequel, and many other movies, including the original Godzilla. But of all the films I have watched belonging to this subgenre, what most stuck in my mind is the time I first saw the 1933 version of King Kong. It had me really stuck to my seat, not even batting an eyelid. From that day I was firmly entrapped in the web of the Monster Movie. I was hooked. That was all of fifty years ago!

After the 1933 version of King Kong - 3 years later - The Son of Kong was produced. I bet that King kong was really rolling in his grave at this one, but who cares? Son was an adventure in its own right, and a very entertaining film. After a lapse of 15 years, we then had Mighty Joe Young from the hands of Ray Harryhausen. This was another milestone in stop motion animation.

Then, in the early 60's Japan took over with its own version of King Kong. Here in Malta, in those days, we could only see American, English and Italian movies. Watching films in other languages (like Japanese films for example) involved watching it through an embassy or other cultural entity. Their only worry was that they couldn't kill Kong for copyright reasons and - I guess  -franchise. Movies like King Kong Escapes, King Kong vs. Godzilla are now part of the whole King Kong myth. Other movies followed, not necessarily from the US or Japanese stables: Konga, the awfulAPE, Queen Kong were some of these.

In 1976, De Laurentiis wanted to have a finger in the pie too and so the 1976 version of King Kong was born. The success of the film depended on the animatronics of Carlo Rambaldi (later of ET fame) but, regretfully, the Kong robot for De Laurentis'King Kong was not up to the job. In fact it only appreas for a few seconds in the movie - something which the viewer cannot help but notice. At the time, there was a great hype about the movie! But was it worth it?

In my opinion the 1976 Kong is in a class of its own for its man-in-the-suit monster. Godzilla (Gojira) was a man in a rubber suit. So why not Kong? Rick Baker (Kong) gives the gorilla its realism and flexibility. The body language is all there: even the facial expressions and gestures. Of course the animatronic KOng was also used to bring out an inter-relationship with the actors and actress. But that doesn't deter from the real (sic) Kong.

The story was further developed for this version and made to fit in comfortably with the more modern times. The back-ground story was all about oil exploration, so introducing the element of consumerism. The story, in itself, was a copy of the 1933 version, but set in modern times and with some alterations. Gone were the prehistoric monsters. Of course this was due to financial reasons and time. Another thing which I really liked about this movie is the John Barry soundtrack. It was catchy, and at times melodic. What I liked were the soundbytes from the movie most.

The locations where some of the scenes were shot, on the island of Kauai, were marvellous to behold and the soundtrack really complemented the scenery. But the music really came into its own when King Kong goes after the, gets caught and escapes again in the Big Apple.

This movie, as happens to all other movies, was edited down to just about 120 minutes, to obtain a maximum screen time at the box-office. For TV purposes, nearly an extra 60 minutes were edited back.  I guess, though, that at 123 minutes, King Kong is at its best. It's fast-moving and never boring. With an extra hour added on for TV ... well, that's another story. The scenes which were edited in again did not add much to the story.

At the time, the critics panned down the movie, and so did most of the public. But don't let this put you off from watching the movie. By all means watch it and enjoy! Kong is never so alive and "real" as he is in this movie. Forget the sequel -  King Kong Lives. Just say it didn't happen! After watching this movie, and Peter Jackson's King Kong, you will that De Laurentiis' King Kong has a soul and a heart which beats. Of course, here in Malta, its competition was another blockbuster, Jaws. In the end, Kong did well in Maltese cinemas.