The Lovable Ape climbs WTC

KING KONG (1976)

Reviewed By Jerry Saravia

  1933's "King Kong" contains some bad acting, cruddy dialogue and shapeless characters. But what it does right is contain a level of adventure and sense of escapism, and it has the cinema's favorite giant ape beautifully animated as a puppet by the amazing Willis O'Brien. The love story, or was there one really in hindsight, between the ape and the blonde American girl is nonexistent and the movie is slightly confused about whether we should root for the ape or hope the beast is killed. 1976's lavish, equally silly and slightly campy version of "King Kong" doesn't make that mistake - we side with and root for the ape because he cares for the girl. Although it is clear the silverback gorilla didn't want to hurt the girl in the 1930's, it is abundantly clear that he loves her in this version, and it is much clearer in the 2005 Peter Jackson remake that followed.

There is not much plot in this film - it is a serviceable, connect-the-dots storyline. The giant ape is somewhere on Skull Island. A crew is assembled by an aspiring megalomaniac and greedy Petrox Oil executive (Charles Grodin) who is interested in finding oil and is certain that it exists in this island off the Indian Ocean, until an anthropologist (Jeff Bridges) is more interested in the rumored prehistoric creature on that island. There is also Dwan (Jessica Lange), an actress who is brought aboard after being found in a raft unconscious. Eventually, we are in Skull Island which is full of stereotypical natives who desire the blonde woman - she can be used as bait for Kong. Kong (Rick Baker, dressed as an ape) appears, takes the screaming girl, fights pythons (though disappointingly few others prehistoric creatures) and is gassed and transported back to New York City to use as a sideshow attraction. You know the rest.

Kong is the most impressive facet of this movie and gives the best performance. Baker does a stunning job of making Kong real and is able to facilitate a wide array of expressions - when he snarls and pounds his chest, we are awed. Though this is essentially a man dressed in a gorilla suit, one does miss the herky-jerkiness of those antiquated special-effects that made Kong tactile back in the day. Today, or even in 1976, audiences wanted reality and CGI post-"Jurassic Park" makes that reality real. CGI was not around in 1976 and just as well - Kong is a convincingly vivid, living breathing creature and that is good enough for me (Jackson's creation is twice the marvel to witness and possibly the most realistic depiction of a giant gorilla in film history).

"King Kong" also boasts a memorable music score by John Barry, fine special-effects and the ending is far more tragic than the original. Unfortunately, sandwiched in between all the good stuff are the characters and they do not bear as much scrutiny or personality. Grodin is a one-dimensional businessman who turns into a one-dimensional villain. Jeff Bridges barely exists as nothing more than an occasionally irate puppy dog (his long hair and beard cover up all his best features). Jessica Lange is a good screamer and cries on cue but her character is nothing much to work with (she clearly went on to better things).

"King Kong" has some elements that improve on the original (the ape's emoting, the love story) and does nothing to improve the original's slimly developed characters. I like this version overall (I had seen it in theaters back in the day) but, deep down, I feel for the original O'Brien Kong.