King Kong (1976)

Two Geeks and a GIT Classic Movie Reviews

This pairing was seeded by a request from one of our Patreon supporters, Flat Doug, who asked us to look back at this first film. Directed by Dino De Laurentiis, and written by James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose, and Merian C. Cooper, 1976's "King Kong" was a record-setting special effects marvel and the first big-budget re-imagining of the original 1933 classic! The film follows Petrox oil executive Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin) who, along with his scientific advisor Bagley (Rene Auberjonois), are headed for a mysterious fog-shrouded island in search of oil. Just before their ship departs, however, a paleontologist named Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) sneaks on board, convinced that there's more than oil to be found at their destination. Along the way, they find a young woman named Dwan (Jessica Lange, in her first film role) unconscious abort a raft, drifting in the ocean. After rescuing her, she joins the expedition to Skull Island. When the company arrives, however, they discover that Prescott was right, and that something even bigger than a massive oil depository to be found on the island! Also starring John Randolph, Julius Harris, and Jack O'Halloran!