KING KONG (1976) on 4K UHD

[AndyDursin]

Well that artwork is...ummm....different, but at least the TV version is going to be present as a special feature, as seemingly are most of the Shout extras.

Some people don't care for the Hiventy restoration house's color grading on some of these Studio Canal restorations because it leans warm towards yellow, though the actual grain management and detail is usually top notch. We'll see how it turns out!

[AndyDursin]

French steelbook (I preordered here as I had a larger order to make and if you consolidate items, their quality of shipping to price ratio is the best):

https://www.fnac.com/a17211881/King-Kon ... Blu-ray-4K

Trailer:

[BobaMike]

That trailer almost makes it seem like a pretty good movie!

Instead of a film that has this:

kong_crown.jpg (50.33 KiB) Viewed 1506 times

[AndyDursin]

But beyond that particular effect, is it really that bad? I rewatched both this and the Jackson remake last year and I was surprised how well the 76 version holds up. Some of the lambasted effects aside, the score, central performances, cinematography and general tension of the DeLaurentiis version far out class anything in that bloated, rambling 3 hour wreck.

[BobaMike]

Yeah, I was just kidding- I actually do prefer the movie over Jackson's. The score is great, it has some nice location shooting, and the leads are having fun. It's lacking in the dinosaur/monster fight department, as the snake fight is just lame compared to the Trex fight in the original, though

Barry's score is one of his best, especially in the full FSM release.

[AndyDursin]

Though the Kong "articulation" courtesy of Carlo Rambaldi and Rick Baker is effective enough, the overall "Kong sequences" should've been better and a little more fantastic, I agree. Wrestling with the snake, no dinosaurs and the overall "fantasy element" is lacking, but the rest of it is solid and much better than some of the reviews at the time (which REALLY lambasted the film, despite its commercial appeal) indicated. Really with the Jackson movie I showed Theo the big dinosaur stampede sequence and that was it!

[AndyDursin]

Specific extras:

BRAND NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
Extended TV broadcast cut (unrestored)
Audio commentary with film historian Ray Morton
Audio commentary with actor and makeup artist Rick Baker
Interview with Barry Nolan
Interview with Bill Kronick
Interview with Scott Thaler and Jeffrey Chernov
Interview with David McGiffert and Brian E. Frankish
Interview with Jack O'Halloran
Interview with Steve Varner
Deleted Scenes
Original Trailer
Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

[Eric Paddon]

Not sure if I feel like I have to upgrade to an international version just to get a 4K release when there's no difference in the bonus content with Shout.

I revisited it last week on the Shout release (both versions) and I do feel it gets better with age, certainly when compared to Jackson (the only mistake that sticks out is Bridges hippie hair and beard. Even the hippies had moved on from that look in the late 70s!). The film wisely didn't try to compete with the 33 original and tried to be a different film for its time without in any way disrespecting the original. The cinematography and score are outstanding and the critics really missed the boat when judging Lange's performance. They thought she was a ditz when she was giving a great *performance* of a Monroe type starlet. And honestly, it's even more poignant as the years go by to see the footage shot at the WTC plaza and even inside the actual WTC elevator.

Plus, I admit the timing of when this film came out made it the first big "event" film of my childhood. I still have the Kong trading cards and even remember the Kong board game (in which amusingly you are a soldier trying to stop Kong from getting to the top of the WTC!)

[AndyDursin]

Hey if you have a slipcover on the King Kong Shout release you can underwrite your 4K UHD purchase by selling it in advance!

Even less enthused by this Steelbook packaging! UGH

[Eric Paddon]

"Lights, Camera, Kong!" Did the Petrox Company write that copy? (Hmm, maybe it should have said on the back, "Hail to the Power of Kong!")

[AndyDursin]

Quick glance: this new 4K master smokes the old 1080p Blu-Ray. It's not even a contest. The color is terrific, the detail is superior. In case you dont to import, this was restored by Paramount so I would say there's a high likelihood this ends up on UHD in the US as well.

The TV version is included as are the extras from the 1st disc of the Shout release.

[Eric Paddon]

I will wait for a US release to upgrade. I've barely had time to appreciate the Blu-Ray!

[AndyDursin]

It's a really good transfer. The Blu-Ray's master is probably 15 years old. You can see the difference in detail and color on the UHD that it's a remastered presentation.

That said, Paramount did the scan, so clearly it will come out here -- hopefully disc and not just digital. They seem to be tapping the UHD market quite a bit lately and I always thought KONG '76 would be a robust selling catalog title -- then again it took years for it to show up on Blu-Ray and they licensed it to Shout so who knows.

[AndyDursin]

Paramount releasing this in the US in April.

Their UHD's have been real hit or miss, will be interesting to see if it has the "hot" color of the Studio Canal and how its compression compares.

[AndyDursin]

Revisionist font ruins this one. Was this a Sherwood Schwartz production??!

Horrendous!