Pre-Order King Kong (1976) (4k UHD Combo SteelBook) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[B-ROLL]

Not just any man. Rick Baker, and his work as a "man in a monkey suit" is arguably one of the best things in the movie.

As I understand in one of Baker's rejected suits found it's way into that early masterpiece of intentional comedy:

Kentucky Fried Movie

...

 

[Jack P]

Storage wise I just made sure to get a standards 4 disc ultra HD case at the same time so the two discs from this and the two discs from the Shout! release go into the same case with the proper Shout! poster art inside an Ultra HD case. The steelbook was a waste and is getting tossed by me. (and you'd be crazy not to keep both Shout! discs for the extras that are not ported over)

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have never been a fan of this 1976 movie; however, I bought it during one of Target's sales in which the final sale price for me was less than $16.00 after using some Target GCs. I received it in my mail yesterday:

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I have never been a fan of this 1976 movie; however, I bought it during one of Target's sales in which the final sale price for me was less than $16.00 after using some Target GCs. I received it in my mail yesterday:

View attachment 219350

...now, sadly, you have to watch it.

I never minded this film. I think it was my first Kong movie. Saw it before the original. I was also infatuated with Jessica Lange who is just gorgeous here.

 

[Robert Crawford]

...now, sadly, you have to watch it.

I never minded this film. I think it was my first Kong movie. Saw it before the original. I was also infatuated with Jessica Lange who is just gorgeous here.

I have to admit that I haven't watched it since it was released theatrically and that I watched the first Kong film many times beforehand which might be the reason why my opinion about the 1976 film was skewed in comparison. The 1933 film used to play on Channel 9 in NYC Metro all the time. I grew up watching that movie more times than I can remember.

 

[Garysb]

Interesting to me that the cover shows the Empire State Building in the background, which the 1933 Kong climbed. Not surprising they do not show the World Trade Center from the original poster. While in college, I worked at a movie theater which played this film during it's original release. They gave away free Kong peanut butter cups with the purchase of a large popcorn.
Never could figure out the connection peanut butter cups had with Kong but I still remember the promo. This was a popcorn movie. The theater made a ton of money at the refreshment counter. In fact they set up a temporary 2nd candy stand to handle the crowds. The movie did very well at the theater where I worked though I understand the film was not a big money maker overall.

 

[Jack P]

The film failed to be a "Jaws" type blockbuster but it was a success, grossing $90 million overall so those who would call it a flop are rewriting history (yet that stigma seemed to follow it for quite a few years).

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Interesting to me that the cover shows the Empire State Building in the background, which the 1933 Kong climbed. Not surprising they do not show the World Trade Center from the original poster. While in college, I worked at a movie theater which played this film during it's original release. They gave away free Kong peanut butter cups with the purchase of a large popcorn.
Never could figure out the connection peanut butter cups had with Kong but I still remember the promo. This was a popcorn movie. The theater made a ton of money at the refreshment counter. In fact they set up a temporary 2nd candy stand to handle the crowds. The movie did very well at the theater where I worked though I understand the film was not a big money maker overall.

I have a distinct memory of the radio commercials that ran on AM radio filled with Kong's roars.

It was a big movie for me at the time. I think that is why I like it better than most. I had the opposite experience that Robert Crawford had. Since the 1976 film was my first Kong, I had problems liking the 1933 version because I felt it looked inferior. It took some time for me to recognize the 1933 film as the masterpiece it was.

And, I have never liked any of the Kong reboots since the 1976 film especially since one of them featured Jack Black.

 

[Robert Saccone]

I have the Shout release and I have the 4K from overseas. I am curious to see if there is a comparison between the two 4K versions.

 

[Bryan^H]

My first King Kong move, and possibly why I like it so much.
Great 4K release, I think it looks fantastic.
I like the packaging, although without the slipcover it is a really strange looking steelbook.

 

[Malcolm R]

The movie did very well at the theater where I worked though I understand the film was not a big money maker overall.

It was profitable ($24M budget vs. $91M worldwide gross), but it did not meet expectations of the producer or studio: "DeLaurentiis claimed that the film would outgross the previous year's Jaws and Paramount expected it to gross $150 million." (Wikipedia/NYT)

I've never really warmed to this film, somewhat due to the marketing which showed a massive Kong standing atop the WTC, his stance spanning both towers (or his arms nearly spanning the width of the building while climbing), then we get this barely visible furry lump on the corner of a single tower:

Plus, I always thought the using the name Dwan was really dumb. The first time I read it in print I thought it had to be a typo.

 

[jayembee]

I have to admit that I haven't watched it since it was released theatrically and that I watched the first Kong film many times beforehand which might be the reason why my opinion about the 1976 film was skewed in comparison. The 1933 film used to play on Channel 9 in NYC Metro all the time. I grew up watching that movie more times than I can remember.

Same here. I saw this Kong in its theatrical release, didn't much care for it, and have never seen it since (and thus have never gotten any previous home video format releases).

There are some movies that I haven't liked that I've nevertheless decided to give another try years or decades later. I don't feel compelled to with this one. But I'm happy that people who like it love this are happy with this release.

 

[jayembee]

It was a big movie for me at the time. I think that is why I like it better than most. I had the opposite experience that Robert Crawford had. Since the 1976 film was my first Kong, I had problems liking the 1933 version because I felt it looked inferior. It took some time for me to recognize the 1933 film as the masterpiece it was.

The same is true of one of my nephews.

And, I have never liked any of the Kong reboots since the 1976 film especially since one of them featured Jack Black.

The aforementioned nephew loves the Peter Jackson film the most out of all the Kong films. His mother -- my older sister -- felt the same way. I like it, definitely more than the 1976 film, and definitely less than the 1933 film.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I may be wrong about this, but it's based on my personal experiences...

The first version of a movie you watch is generally your favorite. The same goes for the first version of a song you hear.

So many songs I grew up listening to in the 70s, I had no idea were remakes from the 50s and 60s. I liked the newer versions better. One exception that immediately comes to mind is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." The Tokens did it much better than Robert John...

...but I digress

 

[John Sparks]

I was in the arena crowd scene when they unveiled Kong on one of the nights filming. The ticket to be there was given to me by my friend Forrest Ackermen. The giant Kong was awesome looking. The wind was blowing lightly, so the horse hair that was covering him was moving. I so wanted Kong to be alive, at least the giant one....48 years ago and I still remember like it was yesterday.

I tried freeeze framing the DVD but I could never pick me out. When I finally got the BD, every guy looked just like me...dark hair and dark moustache to go with the hair. Should have worn a shirt that I could pick out.

Maybe with the 4Ker, I'll have better luck.

 

[Bryan^H]

I liked this one way better than the film from Peter Jackson.

 

[John Sparks]

The Jackson one was tops for me...it had everything IMO

 

[Robert Saccone]

I was in the arena crowd scene when they unveiled Kong on one of the nights filming. The ticket to be there was given to me by my friend Forrest Ackermen. The giant Kong was awesome looking. The wind was blowing lightly, so the horse hair that was covering him was moving. I so wanted Kong to be alive, at least the giant one....48 years ago and I still remember like it was yesterday.

I tried freeeze framing the DVD but I could never pick me out. When I finally got the BD, every guy looked just like me...dark hair and dark moustache to go with the hair. Should have worn a shirt that I could pick out.

Maybe with the 4Ker, I'll have better luck.

Would that Forejrct J Ackerman of FMF?

 

[jayembee]

Would that Forejrct J Ackerman of FMF?

I can't imagine there would be two Forrest Ackermans.

 

[John Sparks]

Yes it was!