Kong '76 coming from Scream Factory - Review Up

[AndyDursin]

Yeah that's how we've always viewed the TV cut. It's nice to have and a couple of the scenes are worthwhile, but it's not as useful as the SUPERMAN TV cut in terms of its overall content. Not that I wouldn't still choose the theatrical cut of Superman too -- but that 3 hour version is much more watchable than King Kong. KK is more like a 2.5 hour TV cut with a lot of padding.

[Monterey Jack]

KK is more like a 2.5 hour TV cut with a lot of padding.

Somewhere, Kong is STILL smashing down the wall.

[Eric Paddon]

Charles Grodin has passed away at 86. It's too bad he wasn't well enough to offer any contributions to the recent release. I always associated him so much with this film when I was young that it took me awhile to get used to him without that villainous moustache he wears in the film. And then I came to enjoy how hilarious he would be as a guest on Carson and Letterman.

[Monterey Jack]

"Brought to you by the power of Kong! And PETROX...!"

R.I.P.

[AndyDursin]

When I was a kid my exposure to Grodin was KING KONG and THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER. Didn't realize how multi-talented and funny he was until much later, once he was in MIDNIGHT RUN and had his cable talk show.

I've enjoyed watching his many Carson spots in the rerun episodes -- those will worth returning to again. RIP.

[Eric Paddon]

The TV version really was taken right off a broadcast master which was assembled in widescreen then cropped for TV. There are blackouts for commercial breaks and it stops for Part 1 and reuses the credits for Part 2, just as it did on NBC.
There is a disclaimer they reused footage (as we know) and these recycled shots and scenes were completely cropped to 1.33 when they ran (I guess, their disclaimer is weirdly worded). For this they kept the cropping so it stays 2.35 but it apparently has 1.33 content inside it, when those recycled shots run...so I think what they are trying to say is when you see the 2.35 frame in those recycled scenes, you aren't seeing the full 2.35 content you'd ordinarily see but rather 1.33 cropping inside the wide frame, because that's how it is in the TV master. I dunno, maybe someone can figure out what it means lol.

Either way they maintain they did no editorial work for it, and presented it as it is on the master at Paramount. So another good find just like the TV cut of Superman.

I was revisiting this tonight and I think I figured out what this means. It means that as part of the padding, shots were reused involving close-ups of characters that in their full original widescreen version would have shown other characters talking but because the talking characters would have been out of the frame on the TV broadcast it would have made no difference then. But for this, we're seeing the shot used on TV and we'll be seeing characters in the frame who weren't seen on TV talking but with no dialogue coming out.