October Horror Movie Challenge: King Kong (1976)

 King Kong, the original from 1933, holds a very special place in my heart. I watched it with my dad when I was very young and it was the start of a love affair with "monster movies" that lives on to this day. I have seen it honestly hundreds of times. Anytime it was on and my dad and I were near a TV we would watch it. 1976's remake, the first also holds a special place for me, but not for all the same reasons. It was, even in my young mind then, supposed to be "my" King Kong, the one I was watch and think back on when I was older. Did it do that? Well...not really. I am watching it tonight for the first time in many years, decades even.

King Kong (1976)

This first remake features many stars who were not quite big, well, at least not yet: Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, René Auberjonois, Jack O'Halloran, Ed Lauter, and a newcomer, Jessica Lange. This remake takes an environmental angle with an expedition by an oil company, Petrox; they suspect there is an island in the middle of an uncharted sea, and that island is filled with oil.

The rest. Well, it pretty much follows the original movie and movies after that. 

There are a few unique things about this movie. First, WOW, Jessica Lange was really young here. Her acting is not great, but it is much better than I remembered.  Though they do spend a lot of time on her in the early part of the film. Granted, she is the only woman in the film. 

Seeing the Twin Towers again in a movie is really odd. 

The film was produced by the legendary Dino De Laurentiis for Paramount, which got them into some issues with the original Kong studio Universal. 

Rick Baker, the special effects genius of the 1980s, had an uncredited role in the Kong suit. 

Rewatching the movie now, so many years later, I judged this one unfairly. Jessica Lange, too. In some ways, it is better than the 2005 Peter Jackson remake.

It has been so long that I forgot a lot of details. Lets be honest, though, there are three remakes, I have seen this one a lot.

Featured Monster: Giant Creatures, Dinosaurs

There is no doubt that the original King Kong had a huge effect on the monsters found in D&D. Module X1 The Isle of Dread, is practically Dave Cook and Tom Moldvay's love letter to King Kong.

The notion of a lost island filled with monsters is such a compelling one that D&D did it again with WG6 Isle of the Ape. It might be well-trodded ground, but it still works.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024
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