King Kong

As for the film itself, what more can one say that hasn’t already been said. I first caught it on TV as a kid back in the 90s and have had a massive soft spot for it ever since. Sure it has its fair share of flaws, and the tongue-in-cheek tone (courtesy of the writer who gave us Adam West’s Batman and the 1980 Flash Gordon no less) may not be to everyone’s tastes, but for me it more than holds it’s own as a worthy reinterpretation of the classic tale (and who can resist that John Barry score?….gets me every time). I had read quite a few reviews elsewhere for this new 4K presentation that mentioned a yellow and teal push to the colour grading that, while problematic, was not as heavy as previous StudioCanal releases (i.e. Cats Eyes). When I finally viewed it I found that although the image was magnificently detailed compared to my Blu Ray copy, the yellow/teal grading was still too prevalent for my liking, and kinda soured the experience. BUT, soon afterwards I had to replace my 4K display after it broke down and once my new one was set up I decided to test some discs on it. Seems my old TV can’t have been a great model, as the difference was like night and day! When viewing the Kong 4K again I found the yellow/teal mix to be far less prevalent - in fact I’d go as far as to say that although it IS still there if I really looked for it, it now hardly registered at all. So, my advice would be to temper your expectations depending on how your 4K display handles its colour. If, however, your TV is anything like mine (Panasonic), then you’re on to a winner…….easily the best the film has ever looked on home media.

This a 1976 remake of the much-acclaimed 1933 Fay Wray version.Starring Jeff Bridges as Jack Prescott, a primate paleontologist, along with love interest for both he and indeed Kong Jessica Lange as Dwan. A well-trodden story-line which sees the great-ape cruelly exploited after being captured on the previously undiscovered Island and shipped to New York.Although I did enjoy the viewing, I have to say that compared to the 2005 Jack Black version this was indeed in my view, badly scripted, with some dreadful acting performances throughout despite JeffBridges being one of my favourite actors, and frankly the graphics of Kong were shoddy, totally unrealisticPOIGNANT REMINDER OF THE TWIN-TOWERS IN CLOSING SEQUENCESWant to watch a good Kong movie ? ..watch the 2005 version.

This Jeff Bridges / Jessica Lange version of KK has been all but forgotten, especially after it was upstaged by Peter Jackson's epic 2005 remake, but it's as good as I remember it being when I saw it in the cinema in '76 or whenever.The events are pretty much as per original film, but the action is moved to the then-present day, hence the final attack on him is not by biplanes atop the Empire State Building, but by helicopter gunships atop the World Trade Center - poignantly now. I wonder if the Kong: Skull Island opening encounter with Kong, where he swats every helicopter down, is a nod back to this film?Kong himself is an impressive bit of miniatures filming and the whole thing stands up very well, and holds its head up alongside the other versions.

a great film, great quality and a great deal.

Watched this film on its first release at local cinema(long gone) decent retelling of king kong had blu ray for a while now, dont watch my films straight away as i can recall decent effects lookout for jessica langs boob slip

Having previously owned this movie on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray, I purchased this fairly recently.First of all, to say, it's great that they include a lengthened version of this movie - not in 4K (blu ray only) - I have yet to watch this version, but thought this was a good addition.Anyway, the transfer to 4K is excellent - I think it was Paramount Pictures who did this (a scan of the 35mm negative).The colours are vivid, sharpness (as you'd expect) is top-notch. Of course, with older movies, you will get a fair bit of film grain from time to time, but just adds to the 'filmic' quality.Love the movie, love the transfer! Well done Paramount!!

This one of the older Films about the King Kong main character, it follows several human actors in the film as they try to capture the king Kong character , and bring him to New York for further study ,only King Kong escapes and causes havoc and destruction across New York in the 1970s.This is a film that features quite a lot of old style special creature effects not much CGI stuff in this film. They also seem to use a lot of model work to great effect too. This is a 1970s, film with heavy character development scenes in it too. I believe Scream Factory did a special edition of this with extensive special features. A very well made film indeed that features a lot of stuff in it too enjoy. This is not really a traditional action picture though!

Great remaster of a childhood favourite!

Different format, it's on 4k

My single star is for the new 4K remaster, UHD edition. Not for the movie itself, which is, needless to say, a childhood favorite. I have the previous blu-ray edition, where the image is gorgeous HD with natural colors. What happens with the new, remastered UHD version? Well,in my opinion there are pluses and minuses:Pluses: greatly improved resolution; celluloid grain intact, much more detail; TV version, one hour longer, included, in panoramic 2.35:1 format and sort of stereo-ish sound.Minuses: the color management is utterly wrong; the HDR and standard blu-ray have an unbeareable green hue that is so completely unnatural the movie is unwatchable without color correction of your own in the TV set (if you can manage to do it). The Dolby Vision has a different hue, in this case it is turned towards magenta. In all cases, contrast is excessive and bright unsufficient, both have to be re-set via your TV settings. Gee, this is a real mess!!People at L'Immagine ritrovata, what is wrong with your color perception? Your color management is just wrong, simply unbearable.Don't you see the image is just unnatural? Whoever in Studio Canal greenlighted this should be fired.So, for me, minuses won. The real plus of this UHD edition is the TV version, which has a lot less resolution but 100% natural colors (only available in the UHD, by the way, it is not included in the blu ray). I will stick to my previous blu ray edition, with natural original colors, and watch the 4K version only after strong contrast, brightness and especially color correction on my TV.So, this is it. Just for you to decide.Oh, yes, the artwork is awful. That of the steelbook is even worse.

I saw this in a theater when it was released in 1976. It was the first time that I heard surround sound in the back of a theater and I thought that was super cool. It made me smile. Besides that, I liked the movie very much and for me, it's the best version of King Kong. I've heard someone say regarding this movie, "it's just a man in a suit." That's a one sided view. Look at the genuine, human like, facial expressions and emotions that Kong has during the course of the movie, (courtesy of make up man Rick Baker). Not only that, Baker did an ace job with the body movements. He is the best "man in a suit" that I've ever seen. To know that he did this with raw talent alone gave notice to the make up industry. It was also emotional to see Kong's demise in a foreign land far away from his home. He wasn't a evil type of monster that needed killing like a Godzilla. He was a smart, big ape, captured and exploited for money and then killed for not going along with the script.The film score by John Barry (James Bond) is the icing. His Kong music ranges from brassy and majestic, soft and pretty, thematic, African, and action. All of it stands out. The African music that plays during the wedding of Kong and bride, with it's repeated chants of "Kong, Kong" and it's sharp flute notes and jungle drums is mesmerizing.Owning a movie that you like and that is in 4k with it's sharper picture, deeper colors and the best (lossless) sound is the best. Paramount did a great job of transferring this movie to a even higher level of picture and sound.

Decent color correction and transfer. I little bit of graininess but it's a film that's almost 50 years old. It includes the extended TV version. It's a shame I had to order it from the UK considering it's an American film.

I already have the Shout Factory 1080P version and it looks and sounds incrediblebut this 4K audio remix for 5.1 actually looks better and I recommend even if you already ownShout Factory 1080P version - the blue teal is really not bad when you watch it and the contrast is true black and the sound kicks your subs butt when Kong walks onto the screen...I love the 1976 version - there is something about it that just feels right !Barry's score, Jessica Lange - The Dude the list goes on and one and I just love the look of this version of King Kong... If you can cgi this version and improve on his movement but keep his size and amazing designit might be better than the 1933 Version !