King Kong- '33, '76, '05?

for me, it is no question: 1976, vastly underrated, dismissed as camp, the lush cinematography and top shelf John Barry score elevates this one beyond the pale

 

I'm going ot go with 1933, it is the epitome of high adventure. But I do love the 1976 version mainly for Charles Grodin's performance and Jessica Lange,


But 1933 is the tops! Now '05 is very good, but it's pretty long too and kind of loses it's way at points. But it's still good. O cannot hate any Kong unless it's King Kong Lives.

 

I liked 2005, but 1933 is easily the best. It's still terrific entertainment and has aged shockingly well.

I have some strong nostalgia for the 1976 version: I was 9 when it came out and just loved it back then. As an adult, however, I don't care for it. I think it IS camp, and it's fairly boring camp.

My reviews of all three:

1933 - http://www.dvdmg.com/kingkong1933br.shtml

1976 - http://www.dvdmg.com/kingkong1976.shtml

2005 - http://www.dvdmg.com/kingkong2005se.shtml

 

1933 by 1250 ft. I'm also somewhat partial to King Kong Escapes for it's dreaded cheese effect.

 

1. 1933 is the best overall and is really fun to watch even today. Plus it has such great atmosphere.
2. 2005 gets bogged down in some dramatics but is still exciting and has more emotional reasonance. Does a great 1930s recreation.
3. 1976 is cheesy and dull to me. Looks more dated than the '33 version and the characters are cardboard.

 

I'm with you. 76 is first for me, very closely followed by the 33 version. The new one is a strong but distant 3rd place.

 

'05 ...Naomi Watts

Of course w/o '33, there would be no thread like this.

 

Well put. That's about how I'd rank/review them.

 

The original version is the only one I'd watch again (and again..and again ...)

 

Fay Way baby!

 

The original can't be beat.

 

I King your Kong. I can't believe that anyone can rank the 76 version higher then 3. I regretfully saw it the week it came out and thought it a zero star movie. Didn't Jessica Lang as Kong what his sign was?

 

One of the worst movies ever made. And I did the mastering for this home video release in the 1980s. One of the ugliest, worst-photographed films I've ever seen. Horrible acting, terrible effects, idiotic story... a triple-threat. (I still laugh at the John Belushi SNL sketch where he imitates producer Dino De Laurentiis and keeps saying, "everybody cry when my Kong die!")

Love the 1933 film. You can't criticize a classic of this magnitude.

I think the Peter Jackson 2005 remake is extraordinarily well-done, but I also think it was just too damned long. If they had cut an hour out of it, it would've been far better. Sometimes, more stuff is just more stuff, not better.

 

It was De Laurentiis! I had a vague recollection that it someone of note who produced that turkey.

 

1976. I haven't seen the other versions. I did see a brief part of the 2005 version.

 

1933 all the way. Is this a trick question?

 

Having watched the King Kong movies over 100 times I'm going to let my 5 year old autistic godson do the reviews.

1) B/W King Kong is the best. Skip the first portion and start where they meet the natives. The excitement doesn't stop from there.

2) "05" King Kong great scenes with dinosaurs although a little too scary and too long.

3) "76" King Kong (no dinosaurs)

 

76-Loved it when I was a kid. Haven't seen it in a long time though. Peter Jackson version was o.k. if a little dull. Only seen clips of the original.

 

Can't beat the original from 1933. Sure, doesn't have the flash and the bells and whistles of the othes, but it has THAT appeal. I'll take the classics any day.

 

+1.
Saw the 05 version once....that was enough.
Saw the 76 version once ....that was once too much.

 

Dude, in 05 Kong they make him ice skate
What a heap

 

I actually like the first half of the 1976 version, but once they get Kong back to New York the movie goes straight into the crapper.
Jackson's 2005 version is too long & viciously rips my heart out. The skating scene is so beautiful & tender, but what follows is soooooooo harsh...I just can't watch it.

The 1933 original is untouchable. It contains the perfect balance of all elements required in exceptional cinema.

 

1933 of course. Saw the '76 version on TV once, didn't do anything for me. Never saw 2005 and probably never will.

 

Not the greatest scene. The death scene on top of the Empire State Building that followed was worse. I'm all for pathos, but that was just torturous.

I watched most of the "spider sequence" where the guys fall into the pit, and had to put my hands over my eyes. Nothing scares me more than being threatened by insects the size of small dogs.

 

The original is best, everything about it was good, I think I even have about three different versions of the score.

I like the Jackson, but agree with others that it's too long, if I watch it I tend to skip everything before the island and even then it's still too long.

I liked the '76 version as a kid, I saw it at the cinema, and I'm a big John Barry fan, plus it has Jessica Lange, but I caught it on TV a few years back and it hadn't aged well, I also think a giant gorilla works better in 1933 than in a contempory setting.