King Kong

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King Kong

PG

Released Dec 17, 1976

2h 14m

Adventure

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

55%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

32%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

When a research ship is sent to explore an island thought to be rich in oil, paleontologist Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) sneaks aboard, having heard strange rumors about the island. En route, the crew rescues Dwan (Jessica Lange), the sole survivor of a shipwreck. When they arrive, they find native people living in fear of a monster called Kong. The natives kidnap Dwan and sacrifice her to what turns out to be an enormous ape. Dwan is eventually rescued, and the ape captured for a gala exhibit.

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Critics Consensus

King Kong represents a significant visual upgrade over the original, but falls short of its classic predecessor in virtually every other respect.

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Rocco T. Thompson

Slant Magazine

The Dino De Laurentiis-produced remake of King Kong is a beautifully aged 1970s gem, uniting old-fashioned spectacle and contemporary concerns.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 17, 2024

Full Review

Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

It's a romantic adventure fantasy -- colossal, silly, touching, a marvelous classics-comics movie.

Jan 22, 2024

Full Review

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

Kong is attacked with flame throwers and military helicopters, evoking Vietnam War imagery that had been playing out on America’s small screens till its end in 1975 – and that had divided audiences in their sympathies for ‘our side’ and ‘the Other’.

Dec 13, 2022

Full Review

Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

The funny thing is, the love story works! What isn't funny is that all the horror has gone out of it; to make Kong lovable, they've made him too human, the most three-dimensional character in the story.

May 9, 2023

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...an excessively erratic blockbuster...

Rated: 2/4

Jul 24, 2022

Full Review

David Reddish

Queerty

Lange shouting Good monkey and Chauvinist ape will have viewers in stitches.

Rated: 1/4

Mar 13, 2022

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Rob A

I'm sorry, but I liked it! Charles Grodin is hilarious, Jessica Lange is gorgeous and a young Jeff Bridges stirs the pot. An upright walking Kong gets trapped atop the World Trade Center in this version. I used to own the VCR tape and would pop it in late at night; campy fun from back in the day.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/14/25

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Gerald H

This is beyond bad. Every scene, every word, every written line, every expression gives the impression that there was only time for one single take. God oh God does Lange act badly. Oh my God.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/13/25

Full Review

Josh D

This two hour movie felt like a four hour movie. There’s not much that was terribly bad about it, but there’s not much that was good either. It was just a slog. It reminds me a lot of the Disney live action remakes. The characters are bland and static. The story doesn’t add anything noteworthy to the original. They set it in the present (1976) but don’t do anything interesting with the time period. The only compliments I have for the movie is that the actors do a fine job and the Kong suit doesn’t look bad.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Deron G

I saw this cinematic gem when I was 10 years old in, 1976... I was always a wide eyed little kid that loved sci-fi. I grew up with the classics. Universal Studios and the legacy monster films of days ago... King Kong, though, 1933 RKO. Is my always, and forever, most favorite, monster movie of all time... I wanted to do make up effects when I was growing up. I mean, my goodness... All the great stuff that was then, was ground breaking. But, my oh my... Here we see a new and improved way of special effects. Rick Baker. My special effects hero. He and Stan Winston. Both, the greatest of all time. The musical score by John Barry was amazing... The great acting talents, established talent, and future academy award winning actors and visual effect artistry... Is a trestament to how wonderfully underrated this gem of a movie really is... It's worth a look.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/06/25

Full Review

Rich A

Jessica as Fay classic waterfall scene needs to be seen Jeff Bridges classic performance! I call this squirrel Kong must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Ethan G

The 1976 remake of "King Kong" is the original redone but without the necessary ingredients which made the 1933 classic a classic in the first place.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/02/24

Full Review

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John Guillermin

Director

Jeff Bridges

Jack Prescott

Jessica Lange

Dwan

Charles Grodin

Fred Wilson

John Randolph

Captain Ross

Rene Auberjonois

Bagley

King Kong: Official Clip - Don't Kill Him!

2:04

King Kong: Official Clip - An Escape-Proof Cage

2:13

King Kong: Official Clip - The Ape Had the Right Idea

1:14

King Kong: Official Clip - Trapping the Beast

2:12

King Kong: Official Clip - A Violent Encounter

2:13

King Kong: Official Clip - Snake vs. Kong

1:24

King Kong: Official Clip - Showering Dwan

1:59

King Kong: Official Clip - An Offering

2:11

King Kong: Official Clip - Put Me Down!

2:13

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Synopsis

When a research ship is sent to explore an island thought to be rich in oil, paleontologist Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) sneaks aboard, having heard strange rumors about the island. En route, the crew rescues Dwan (Jessica Lange), the sole survivor of a shipwreck. When they arrive, they find native people living in fear of a monster called Kong. The natives kidnap Dwan and sacrifice her to what turns out to be an enormous ape. Dwan is eventually rescued, and the ape captured for a gala exhibit.

Director: John Guillermin
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Screenwriter: Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, De Laurentiis
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 17, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 20, 2007
Runtime: 2h 14m

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