All 10 King Kong movies ranked from worst to best

3. King Kong (1976)

The first remake of King Kong came out in 1976 and it reimagined the movie icon’s story in a more modern way. While the basic outline of the story is the same, Kong is discovered by oil company Petrox, who set out to Skull Island in search of rare, money-making oil. The woman he falls in love with is named Dwan, a star-that-never-was, and she’s portrayed by the legendary Jessica Lange in her first ever role.

It’s something of a divisive picture that feels a little more dated now than its predecessor, but there’s a nostalgic charm in King Kong ’76 that makes it a very enjoyable movie. It tries something different, and even though all of it doesn’t hold up, it was a triumph for its time, with the special effects used by Rick Baker to bring Kong to life being nothing short of revolutionary.

The movie is also notable for Dwan’s growing affection for Kong. She’s still terrified of him, but she grows quite fond of him before the end of the movie, and this is something that later King Kong stories would adapt as well, marking a striking change from Fay Wray’s terrified Ann Darrow.

King Kong ’76 is definitely a product of its time, but it’s an entertaining one at that – one that has fun with the effects of that time – and we don’t talk about it enough.