MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 1,055 this week

King Kong (1976)

5.7
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 5.7/10 from 14,825 users  
Reviews: 191 user | 67 critic

A petroleum exploration expedition comes to an isolated island and encounters a colossal giant gorilla.

Director:

Writers:

(idea), (idea), 3 more credits »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 1500 titles created 1 month ago
 
a list of 28 titles created 30 Jan 2012
 
a list of 239 titles created 27 Apr 2011
 
a list of 500 titles created 21 May 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: King Kong (1976)

King Kong (1976) on IMDb 5.7/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of King Kong.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Adventure | Fantasy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A Victorian Englishman travels to the far future and finds that humanity has divided into two hostile species.

Director: George Pal
Stars: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux
Superman II (1980)
Action | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to marry Lois, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

Director: Richard Lester
Stars: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Ned Beatty
Adventure | Fantasy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

A shipwrecked survivor discovers a remote island with a mad scientist.

Director: Don Taylor
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Nigel Davenport
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay.

Director: Luc Besson
Stars: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm
Action | Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X  

A desert warrior rises up against the evil army that is destroying his homeland. He captures the enemy's key sorcerer, takes her deep into the desert and prepares for a final showdown.

Director: Chuck Russell
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Action | Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.6/10 X  

Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Stars: Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Linden Ashby
Next (2007)
Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A Las Vegas magician who can see into the future is pursued by FBI agents seeking to use his abilities to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack.

Director: Lee Tamahori
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel
Action | Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.1/10 X  

A life-action feature film based on the popular cartoon kids show about a prince turned warrior named He-Man.

Director: Gary Goddard
Stars: Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster
Legend (1985)
Fantasy | Adventure | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from both destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry
Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5/10 X  

Set in a non-existant past when humans and dinosaurs lived together, a small tribe is struggling to survive by giving a sacrifice of a blond woman to their gods in return for protection ... See full summary »

Director: Val Guest
Stars: Victoria Vetri, Robin Hawdon, Patrick Allen
Predator (1987)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A team of commandos, on a mission in a Central American jungle, find themselves hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior.

Director: John McTiernan
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo
Total Recall (1990)
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

When a man goes for virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real, or does he?

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
Capt. Ross
...
Julius Harris ...
...
...
...
Jorge Moreno ...
Mario Gallo ...
...
Chinese Cook
Garry Walberg ...
Army General
...
City Official
Keny Long ...
Ape Masked Man
Edit

Storyline

An expedition of the "Petrox" company, is exploring in search of petrol. A strange island where they arrive is the home of a giant ape, King Kong, that is captured by the expedition in order to make money exhibiting it to the world. When in the U.S. the huge gorilla becomes restless, trying to return home... Written by <lcarvach@lascar.puc.cl>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

island | king kong | gorilla | oil | ape | See more »

Taglines:

The most exciting original motion picture event of all time.


Certificate:

PG | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

17 December 1976 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

King Kong: The Legend Reborn  »

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$52,600,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (2 part television premiere)

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Seven different masks were created by Carlo Rambaldi, and molded by Rick Baker to convey various emotions. Separate masks were necessary as there were too many cables and mechanics required for all the expressions to fit in one single mask. The masks were comprised of a plastic skull over which were placed artificial muscle groups activated by cables which entered the costume through Kong's feet, with the outer latex skins molded by Baker were placed over the top. The masks used hydraulics to provide movement, so much like the mechanical Kong and hands, the facial expressions were controlled by the team of operators working off-set with the control boards. To complete the look of a gorilla, Baker wore contact lenses so his eyes would resemble that of a gorilla's. See more »

Goofs

(at around 1h 28 mins) When Kong reaches the gate and starts pounding on it there is a short scene where he roars. As he roars the bottom part of the mask/neck piece can be seen right above the black area of his chest. It appears that the neck part came unglued to the rest of the suit and lifts up a little. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Perko: OK, Boan, how much you got here?
Boan: About eighteen hundred.
Joe Perko: Eighteen hundred? What's going on?
Boan: There's Bagley.
Joe Perko: Hey, Mr. Bagley! Something's haywire. They only loaded me enough pipe to push one test hole. Less than two thousand feet.
Roy Bagley: Yeah, that'll be enough.
Boan: Are you kidding? On Bagatan, we didn't come until we were past twenty-six thousand feet.
Roy Bagley: You take my word, fellas. This hole proves out within two thousand, or it's a write-off.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Good Times: Love Has a Spot on His Lung: Part 1 (1977) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Guilty Pleasure
11 August 2004 | by (Chicago) – See all my reviews

I hate to admit this having read many of the reviews but I can't help but enjoy "King Kong". Yes I realize it is silly and yest I realize the special effects aren't.... well, special. But I was 11 years old when this came out at Christmas in 1976. The hype was huge. The posters screamed that it was "The Motion Picutre Event of Our Time". I was caught up in it all and the film has a lot of fond memories for me.

On the positive side I think John Barry's score is one of his best. The lack of an Oscar nomination was a crime. Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin (playing a bad guy for a change) are acceptable in their roles. Jessica Lange didn't exactly hint there was a two time Oscar winner present but she looked awfully good. And the supporting cast featuring character actors (Ed Lauter, John Randolph, etc) we've seen over and over again.

It's no classic. It may not even be that good. But every time it's on I watch it and enjoy it despite its flaws. I guess that's what a guilty pleasure is all about. And this may be my guiltiest pleasure.


51 of 64 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
One Scene chubbalubbadingdong
Who saw this in theatres? stanwoodcraig
Smokin aps722
Question about ending between Jack and Dwan keliezimmer
Paramount get your *beep* together! Manfonse
Universal's 1975 Bo Goldman Script inception040610
Discuss King Kong (1976) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?