There are some movies that should not be remade. King Kong falls into this category. The original is a combination of horror and a tragic love story. It is well made, with extraordinary special effects for its time. This one features two future academy award winners in Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange. They would have benefited from a good script, and possibly better direction. This was Jessica Lange’s first film role. It shows. She was able to work again, a few years after this movie.
The movie changes location from the original. King Kong’s home is now an island in the Indian Ocean. The man in charge is the owner of an oil company, Fred Wilson. The actor in this role, Charles Grodin, is the best thing about the film. Fred Wilson’s motto is if life give you lemons, make lemonade. He is on his way to a remote island to get oil for his company. He gets along the way, a stowaway, Jack Prescott, (Jeff Bridges), and a shipwreck survivor, Dwan, (Jessica Lange). Bridges character is a primate paleontologist. He heard stories of a great ape on the island. Fred Wilson is undeterred by this. He proceeds with an expedition to the island including Prescott and Dwan.
They encounter natives who worship Kong. Their chief is wearing a ridiculous ape mask. He doesn’t care about the expedition. His goal is to take Dwan and make her Kong’s bride. He is turned down, but doesn’t understand the meaning of the word, no. Later, when night falls, the chief and members of the tribe, abduct Dwan, taking her back to the island. Fred Wilson has learned that the oil on the island has impurities, and can’t be used. This is where his philosophy is used. He goes to the island, not just to get Dwan, but to capture Kong. This is done, but at the cost of crewman’s lives.
Kong is secured in the ships hold. He has a temper tantrum, nearly sinking the ship. Dwan talks to him and calms him. The ship makes it back, with the great ape. Fred Wilson has now gone from an oil baron to a would be showman. Kong is secured in Shea Stadium. The large crowd is assured that they are very safe. The results are predictable, and the ape escapes, wreaking havoc on the biggest city in the country.
Kong having made his escape, seeks his only friend and his hoped for lifetime companion, Dwan. He captures her and is lured to his final stand,climbing atop the twin towers. He battles military helicopters this time. He does manage to stand his ground, but has difficulty fending off large rounds of ammunition. It is the same ending with a different twist.
John Guillerman was responsible for this disappointing take, on the original story. He directed a couple of modern Tarzan movies. Even the lord of the jungle, couldn’t save the great ape from a lousy movie. It was heralded as a blockbuster, and money was spent on location, mainly Hawaii. There was also the ape design, by Carlo Rambaldi. He won an academy award for his work. It was the film’s only Oscar. Rambaldi would go on to receive two more for his work.
There are always reasons given for a film’s failure. It is possible that Dino Delaurentis, involvement tanked it. He was a master of producing and directing very bad movies. It is hard to say no to financing. Most of this movie looks like it was made for television. That has to do with how it was shot, by Richard H. Kline. It mainly goes to the editing of Ralph E. Winters. It is surprising, since he won an Oscar for Ben-Hur. King Kong may have been a good movie, if the original script was followed. Dino Delaurentis, said people would cry when the ape dies. They may have cried, but not because of that. The people in the audience may have wept, because they spent their money, on a lousy film.