Following the completion of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as New York City's tallest and most Iconic structures, it was obvious that filmmakers were going to involve these two buildings in a monster movie somewhere along the line, and most likely have the monster climb the towers, jump from one tower to the other, or stand on both towers at the same time, you get the idea. Being one of the most famous monsters to ever rock Manhattan with his presence, King Kong was certainly one for the running and so in 1976, King Kong made another appearance in the City that Never Sleeps. Starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange, the film I find is quite good in some aspects but falls down in others.
The story is the basic Ape Escape drama, a group of explorers come across a backwater island where native's attempt to sacrifice Jessica Lange's character to King Kong who forms a relationship with the girl only to find himself fighting a giant snake or dinosaur which allows Jeff Bridge's character to save Jessica Lange's character which leads Kong into a trap set by a wealthy businessman who wants to exploit the towering beastie in order to add millions onto the millions he's already got but Kong escapes and goes on a rampage in New York eventually leading to the capture of Jessica Lange's character which results in Kong climbing the tallest building around and eventually being shot down by aeroplanes or helicopters which results in the emotional death scene at the end...
So that's the story, what about the rest. To be honest, the acting is quite good even though it has been made really very 70s with some of the essentially 'hippee' undertones by Jeff Bridges character. Jessica Lange is the pretty air-headed damsel in distress who really can't keep out of harm's way for more than five or six minutes. The model work is pretty good, especially with King Kong taking
Subway Trains and throwing them through the air before beating up Military Helicopters and the soundtrack is also fairly good as well. Although many people have panned this film because it's been considered a cheap knock off of the 1933 masterpiece, I don't think so to be perfectly honest, it's quite quirky in it's own way and remain's pretty faithful to the story. I'd recommend it as a Wet Saturday
Afternoon sort of film, but apart from that, it's nothing superbly special.
The story is the basic Ape Escape drama, a group of explorers come across a backwater island where native's attempt to sacrifice Jessica Lange's character to King Kong who forms a relationship with the girl only to find himself fighting a giant snake or dinosaur which allows Jeff Bridge's character to save Jessica Lange's character which leads Kong into a trap set by a wealthy businessman who wants to exploit the towering beastie in order to add millions onto the millions he's already got but Kong escapes and goes on a rampage in New York eventually leading to the capture of Jessica Lange's character which results in Kong climbing the tallest building around and eventually being shot down by aeroplanes or helicopters which results in the emotional death scene at the end...
So that's the story, what about the rest. To be honest, the acting is quite good even though it has been made really very 70s with some of the essentially 'hippee' undertones by Jeff Bridges character. Jessica Lange is the pretty air-headed damsel in distress who really can't keep out of harm's way for more than five or six minutes. The model work is pretty good, especially with King Kong taking
Subway Trains and throwing them through the air before beating up Military Helicopters and the soundtrack is also fairly good as well. Although many people have panned this film because it's been considered a cheap knock off of the 1933 masterpiece, I don't think so to be perfectly honest, it's quite quirky in it's own way and remain's pretty faithful to the story. I'd recommend it as a Wet Saturday
Afternoon sort of film, but apart from that, it's nothing superbly special.