Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Madilyn Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Eric Stevenson It's hard for me to hate this movie because there really isn't anything to hate. There isn't anything to love either. This is the first remake of the 1933 classic and it's mostly forgotten as we have the much superior 2005 remake. This film holds a candle to neither, but it's not too bad either. It's basically just King Kong with nothing new put in. There is one part where it actually improves over the 2005 version. That movie didn't even show how King Kong got to New York City. This movie shows him down below on board a giant ship.The worst thing about this movie is the lack of monsters. All we see is just one giant snake and that's it. That's nowhere near as cool as Kong fighting a dinosaur. It was so cool to see all the other inhabitants of the island in both other versions. This was just mostly dull. We do get some pretty good scenes with the woman trying to communicate with Kong. Yes, it's very weird to see Kong climbing the World Trade Center. Would this film be banned from TV now? I mean, I certainly haven't heard of it being on network TV. **1/2

nuoipter termer I consider this my favorite movie. I first saw it when I was 4 or 5, I think. It's the first remake of the 1933 version, which is the original. This is light-years better than the original and the 2005 version. A guy stow aways on a ship that is bound to look for oil. The ship heads off. He reveals himself during a presentation and tells a story of a person hearing the roar of the Kong species on the island, I think centuries earlier. As he is taken to be confined somewhere for being a stow away, he sees a raft in the ocean and a woman is unconscious in it and is rescued. She is the only survivor of a boat disaster. She is revived and says her name is Dwan and says what happened, and becomes friends with Jack, who is the stow away. The ship reaches the fog that surrounds the island. Some of the people, including Jack and Dwan, go to the island in a smaller boat. They explore the island and see the wall and the villagers. The villagers are dancing in a ceremony. They see what they think is oil bubbling in a pool in the village. The chief sees them and stops dancing and makes the others stop dancing. They confront each other and the chief sees Dwan and offers to trade six of his women for her. They refuse, of course, and the villagers attack them and are scared away by them shooting in the air. That night, Dwan is kidnapped by some of the villagers and forced to drink a drug which puts her in a dazed state so she doesn't resist. Jack discovers that she's gone and he and others go after her. Dwan is taken through a gate in the wall and tied to two poles by two villagers. They then go back through the gate and it is closed and locked. The villagers make noises and Kong comes and stands in front of Dwan. The villagers become quiet. Dwan looks up and sees Kong. Kong roars and beats his chest. Dwan screams. Kong picks her up and she screams no. He sniffs her and roars. She passes out and he takes her back to the forest. Jack and the others arrive as the villagers celebrate. The villagers are scared away with fireworks and gun shots. The gate is opened and they go through and see fallen trees from Kong. Fred falls into a footprint of Kong, mistaking it for a normal hole. Jack tells him it's a footprint. I'll get less detailed now. There are scenes such as Kong messing with Dwan, Fred finding out that the black liquid won't be workable oil for maybe about 10,000 years so he decides to try to bring Kong back instead, people falling off a tree into a canyon from Kong turning it back and forth, Kong escaping in New York City and other stuff there. Some differences from the original are, in the original, there are several monsters other than Kong on the island, and in this, there is only one, which is a gigantic snake that goes after Dwan and Kong kills by tearing it open. Another thing is, in the original, the guy who falls in love with the main woman is the first mate of the ship, and in this, he's a stow away. Another thing is, Kong climbs to the top of the Empire State Building in the original, and in this, he climbs to the top of one of the twin towers. Another is, in the original, the ship is a film making expedition, and in this, its an oil expedition. Another is, in the original, the main woman is a poor woman that the filmmaker meets, and in this, she's a woman found floating unconscious in a raft. Another is, in the original, there is nothing of the journey from the island to New York City, and in this, there is. There are many other differences, of course. The visual and sound effects in this are amazing. It's a scary and very entertaining movie. It totally blows the original and 2005 versions out of the water. It's rated PG, but it was made before the PG-13 rating existed and by today's rating system standards, it's a PG-13 level movie. There's a sequel to this called King Kong Lives which was released in 1986, and that's really good. Not as good as this, though.

a.lampert King Kong 1976 is a film I've always avoided up until now due to some bad reports about it since it first came out. It came up on TV recently and I watched it tonight and it really was the most pleasant surprise of a put-down movie I've seen since Waterworld, which I enjoyed equally. Two movies then that are very misjudged. King Kong not only looks great, it looks big in every way, not just the gorilla, but the sets, the scope, the stunning scenery, big in every way. Jessica Lange in her first picture is amazingly good (in fact I just read she won the Golden Globe for best newcomer) and Jeff Bridges is his usual reliable hero, so two strong leads here. I did spot John Agar right at the end who I haven't seen since his 40's heyday so that was a surprise. I know the picture is now 41 years old but it just looked terrific to me so seven stars from me. I love the original and also the Naomi Watt's more recent one but this stands up extremely well against the others which I really didn't expect. Highly recommended if you, like me, have been avoiding it.

blackkatbone It's not a popular opinion, but this movie has all the bad effects of Wrath of the Titans and none of the charm. Lange's character is vapid and obnoxious. It's cheesy and over-dramatic, and the movie's only saving grace is its commentary on big oil and Western greed. I did not see the 1930's version, so I can't make a comparison.