I?m sure everyone knows the story of this oversize ape?.right? Ok, well, if you don?t, I?ll run through the plot a little later on. The story itself is not new; the first version of this classic story was filmed in 1933. This is the 1976 remake starring Jessica Lange (in her first starring role) as the damsel in distress with a really crappy name?.Dwan! There ARE lots of cringe-worthy scenes, mainly in the early part of the film pre-discovery of Kong, due to the obviously ditsy ?eye-candy? role that Lange plays. She?s clearly been chosen for her sex appeal! Nothing wrong with that, really, but it?s just that I think the film actually wants us to believe otherwise. I am grateful that they didn?t go ?overboard? and make her character a doctor of anthropology or anything similarly brainy ? she plays the (believable) role of an aspiring young actress. Perfectly fitting, really! Gotta say, Lange has proven herself to be a very fine actress over the years, so seeing her in this role is kinda jarring, as she plays such a na?ve, male-dominated character in this film. Still, for a first outing, you can?t fail but notice her, for which I?m sure her (then) agent, as well as Lange herself, would be eternally grateful!

The film got more interesting as it went along, and even managed an emotional climax that I wasn?t fully prepared for, but was happy to find. The fact that this was mostly due to the ape is quite understandable in this context. The special effects are very impressive, even by today?s standards. I really loved Kong?s facial expressions and overall movement. I?d watch the film again for this reason alone. The human characters are overshadowed (more than just literally) by this hairy freak of nature. I know there?s a psychological term for it ? anthropomorphism I believe! ? which basically means that we (as the human viewer) read human qualities into the behaviour of an animal. Suffice to say that I felt REALLY sorry for poor ol? Kong, enough to bring tears to the eyes. There is a famous scene (no doubt present in the original film version) where Kong climbs the tallest building in New York City (on a moonlit night) because it visually reminds him of a specific place on the island he was taken from. It?s a great image, and makes you feel as if he?s actually ?homesick ? searching for the familiar in a foreign environment. I have a feeling that, in the original film, the building Kong climbs is the Empire State Building in Manhattan, whereas the 70?s context of this film sees Kong climbing one of the Twin Towers buildings. It?s one of those famous film scenes. Given the fact that these amazing towers no longer exist, it makes this scene from the remake special in it?s own right.

I have never seen the original version I am sorry to say, so I don?t have a point of comparison. Often I find originals to be better, but I think it?s the strength of the story that holds it all together, and would kinda mean that you?d REALLY have to bugger up the story elements to make it unwatchable. Fortunately, this version doesn?t bugger it up, it just makes it more sexy ? in that inimitable 70?s style ? and it?s all thanks to Lange.

Plot: A group of ?experts? from an American oil company travel by ship to a remote, fog-shrouded island in Indonesia to plunder what they suspect is a ?goldmine? of untapped oil reserves under the ocean floor. Another ?expert? (Bridges) who is more interested in solving the mystery of what might live on the island ? he has his suspicions! ? stows away onboard to get a closer look. En-route, they discover a life-raft floating in the middle of the ocean with a lone female onboard. They rescue her, and all hightail it to this ?island of mystery?, each with their own agenda. They encounter the natives who have built a massive wall to section off the island, and witness a ritual that seems to be sacrificial in nature. Well ? stuff happens, and the hapless Dwan (Lange) is ultimately kidnapped by the locals, transported outside the walls, and tied to an altar to await her fate. By the time the US oilmen get their ?rescue? act together, she?s nowhere to be found. So the hunt begins, but they?re not sure what they?re hunting! All they find is a trail of destruction that doesn?t look good for Dwan. Yada, yada, yada, the next thing you know, they?ve found Dwan alive, captured a massive ape, and ship them all back to America to unveil their ?prize? to the civilised world. In the great tradition of all ?monster? movies, things go horribly wrong (AGAIN!), and the rest of the film busies itself with resolving the problem. It takes 130 minutes in all to do this.

THE EXTRAS

Basics are chapter selection. The menus are better than average. Subtitle options are: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish.

CONCLUSION

A very popular and classic tale (originally filmed in 1933) gets re-worked for a 70?s audience with Jessica Lange, Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin. It?s definitely a ?sexed up? version thanks to Lange (in her first starring role), and the filmmakers do a good job of making this decent and watchable. If you?re a fan of monster/sci-fi/horror/adventure movies, you could do worse. Some bits made me cringe, but overall there is an emotional impact because the original story is good, as are the special effects. SO if you like the idea of a massive ape rampaging through New York in search of his human ?girlfriend?, you?d want to see this. I was pleasantly surprised. No real extras other than a few European subtitle options.