King Kong (1976) - Blu-ray Forum

retrodad · 12-23-2013, 11:26 AM

I would kill for a decent restored version of this film which ive loved since I first saw it back when it was released. I noticed it was released on blu in FRANCE...has a couple good extras but they are unfortunately in PAL so its not compatible here in the states. So I would love to see another release here. PLEASE RELEASE MY GUILTY PLEASURE!!!!

#Darren · 12-26-2013, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retrodad

I would kill for a decent restored version of this film which ive loved since I first saw it back when it was released. I noticed it was released on blu in FRANCE...has a couple good extras but they are unfortunately in PAL so its not compatible here in the states. So I would love to see another release here. PLEASE RELEASE MY GUILTY PLEASURE!!!!

I bought the AUS release recently but haven't watched yet.

It has the original poster art which I have always loved.

Pirate King · 12-26-2013, 05:59 PM

I have always liked the 1976 version of King Kong and would purchase this on Blu-ray. Maybe this year???? (fingers crossed)

benricci · 12-26-2013, 06:19 PM

I have the French release. Looks and sounds fine.

omenboy · 01-01-2014, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retrodad

I would kill for a decent restored version of this film which ive loved since I first saw it back when it was released. I noticed it was released on blu in FRANCE...has a couple good extras but they are unfortunately in PAL so its not compatible here in the states. So I would love to see another release here. PLEASE RELEASE MY GUILTY PLEASURE!!!!

I have the French release too and it looks great. You could always get an all region player - there are so many great movies that never get a US release (or take forever to get here).

OI8T12 · 01-01-2014, 01:44 PM

I'm in for this one.

Socko · 01-01-2014, 01:46 PM

Studio Canal (European company) released this. Maybe they own the rights?

Specifications
Disc size: 29.8GB
Movie size: 26,2GB
Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS surround and Castellano DTS Stereo 2.0
Subtitles: Dutch, French, Castellano, Portugese, Chinese
Runtime: 2hr 14 minutes

Bonus features:
- Making Kong (SD, 22:17)
- Deleted Scenes (SD, 13:51)
- Trailer (SD, 2:23)
- Audio/video configuration

Picture is very grainy, but a good transfer

CinemaScope · 01-01-2014, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omenboy

I have the French release too and it looks great. You could always get an all region player - there are so many great movies that never get a US release (or take forever to get here).

Yeah, I have the French disc, get it from Amazon France, it's not expensive & the feature is region free, so you'd only need a multi-region player to see the extras. It's only the night stuff that's very grainy, & I'd rather have that than DNRed to death, I'm very happy with it.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...76_blu-ray.htm

goathunter · 03-29-2014, 05:10 AM

If you select Japanese as the language on the French BD, you can play all of the extras in the U.S. There are both PAL and NTSC versions of the features. It just takes a little guesswork to figure out where they are.

Hunter

Alfredlynch · 03-30-2014, 03:20 PM

I've been hoping for this for a long time. It's really one of my all time favorite movies. Bridges, Lange, and Grodin all great, and I love the cinematography. It's underrated.

Todd Tomorrow · 03-30-2014, 06:00 PM

I have the French release and it looks pretty good. I was in my teens when it came out and have fond memories of it. Somehow it played more like the disaster movies popular at the time than a creature feature. The effects are pretty terrible, especially for what was a huge production, but I like how they developed the relationship between Kong and the girl, where she actually cares for him. The film nearly ended Jessica Lange's acting career before it even took off, but she is actually terrific in the film, easily my favourite blonde of the three films. Most critics didn't seem to get that she was supposed to be funny, in a screwball ditzy blonde sort of way.

goathunter · 03-30-2014, 06:53 PM

That's because the producers saw it as a disaster movie. Rick Baker discussed that in an interview I just read last night that appeared in issue 11 of Starlog from back in the day.

Hunter

JackKnightStarman · 03-31-2014, 12:20 AM

I DVR'ed this off of HDNet movies recently. Thought it looked good for 1080i. This was a childhood favorite. Would love for this to get a domestic release on Blu. Anybody know if that black cover Studio Canal version is the French? Would like to stay with the original cover if possible.

goathunter · 03-31-2014, 03:36 AM

Yes, this is the French Studio Canal release:

The Australian Blu-ray has the original cover art, but I don't think it has the NTSC extras (and I think it is region-locked).

Hunter

Brett C · 03-31-2014, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goathunter

Yes, this is the French Studio Canal release:

The Australian Blu-ray has the original cover art, but I don't think it has the NTSC extras (and I think it is region-locked).

Hunter

The original Australian BD release of this film is identical to the French release in every way down to the cover art. Not sure how easy it is to come across now though.

goathunter · 03-31-2014, 03:46 AM

Was there a second Australian release? I've seen the one pictured in post #2 of this thread on eBay several times. I based my guesses about content from eBay posts, which are rarely accurate.

Hunter

Brett C · 03-31-2014, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goathunter

Was there a second Australian release? I've seen the one pictured in post #2 of this thread on eBay several times. I based my guesses about content from eBay posts, which are rarely accurate.

Hunter

The first BD release in Australia was the Studio Canal disc from Universal which is the identical disc to the French. The second release is from Umbrella and that is the one with the original WTC artwork.

Race Bannon · 03-31-2014, 08:34 PM

Concur with the wish for this film. I liked it. I saw it as a kid in first run, and thought Kong looked really good in it.

warrian · 03-31-2014, 08:40 PM

The french version from StudioCanal is region free and looks and sounds fantastic.

Warning though. The 1080p upgrade really reveals the all the rear projection effects used throughout.

Todd Tomorrow · 03-31-2014, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrian

The french version from StudioCanal is region free and looks and sounds fantastic.

Warning though. The 1080p upgrade really reveals the all the rear projection effects used throughout.

They used blue screen rather than rear projection, but it's so clumsily done in this case, the optical effects even looked terrible on VHS.

12-23-2013, 11:26 AM	#1
retrodad Member Member since:Mar 2008 Location:i live in massachusetts 4K collection:20 Blu-ray collection:282 DVD collection:39	King Kong (1976) I would kill for a decent restored version of this film which ive loved since I first saw it back when it was released. I noticed it was released on blu in FRANCE...has a couple good extras but they are unfortunately in PAL so its not compatible here in the states. So I would love to see another release here. PLEASE RELEASE MY GUILTY PLEASURE!!!!

12-26-2013, 05:59 PM	#3
Pirate King Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jun 2008 Location:Texas Home Theater Gallery:25 Blu-ray collection:1851 Blu-ray reviews: 4	I have always liked the 1976 version of King Kong and would purchase this on Blu-ray. Maybe this year???? (fingers crossed)

12-26-2013, 06:19 PM	#4
benricci Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Sep 2008 Blu-ray reviews:1	I have the French release. Looks and sounds fine.

01-01-2014, 01:44 PM	#6
OI8T12 Blu-ray Archduke Top contributor Member since:Aug 2013 Location:Boston,MA. 4K collection:156 Blu-ray collection:1087 DVD collection:466 MA collection:23 Digital collection:234 iTunes collection:180 Blu-ray reviews: 41 Trading Score:275	I'm in for this one.

01-01-2014, 01:46 PM	#7
Socko Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jun 2009 Location:Netherlands Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:314 Blu-ray collection:1016 DVD collection:46 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:10	Studio Canal (European company) released this. Maybe they own the rights? Specifications Disc size: 29.8GB Movie size: 26,2GB Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS surround and Castellano DTS Stereo 2.0 Subtitles: Dutch, French, Castellano, Portugese, Chinese Runtime: 2hr 14 minutes Bonus features: - Making Kong (SD, 22:17) - Deleted Scenes (SD, 13:51) - Trailer (SD, 2:23) - Audio/video configuration Picture is very grainy, but a good transfer

03-29-2014, 05:10 AM	#9
goathunter Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Blu-ray collection:192 DVD collection:16	If you select Japanese as the language on the French BD, you can play all of the extras in the U.S. There are both PAL and NTSC versions of the features. It just takes a little guesswork to figure out where they are. Hunter

03-30-2014, 03:20 PM	#10
Alfredlynch Expert Member Member since:Jul 2013 4K collection:76 Blu-ray collection:1083	I've been hoping for this for a long time. It's really one of my all time favorite movies. Bridges, Lange, and Grodin all great, and I love the cinematography. It's underrated.

03-30-2014, 06:00 PM	#11
Todd Tomorrow Blu-ray Knight Member since:Nov 2008 Location:Berlin, Germany Blu-ray reviews:1	I have the French release and it looks pretty good. I was in my teens when it came out and have fond memories of it. Somehow it played more like the disaster movies popular at the time than a creature feature. The effects are pretty terrible, especially for what was a huge production, but I like how they developed the relationship between Kong and the girl, where she actually cares for him. The film nearly ended Jessica Lange's acting career before it even took off, but she is actually terrific in the film, easily my favourite blonde of the three films. Most critics didn't seem to get that she was supposed to be funny, in a screwball ditzy blonde sort of way.

03-30-2014, 06:53 PM	#12
goathunter Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Blu-ray collection:192 DVD collection:16	That's because the producers saw it as a disaster movie. Rick Baker discussed that in an interview I just read last night that appeared in issue 11 of Starlog from back in the day. Hunter

03-31-2014, 12:20 AM	#13
JackKnightStarman Power Member Top contributor Member since:Aug 2008 Location:San Fransokyo 4K collection:41 Blu-ray collection:1781 DVD collection:39 Trading Score:14	I DVR'ed this off of HDNet movies recently. Thought it looked good for 1080i. This was a childhood favorite. Would love for this to get a domestic release on Blu. Anybody know if that black cover Studio Canal version is the French? Would like to stay with the original cover if possible.

03-31-2014, 03:36 AM	#14
goathunter Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Blu-ray collection:192 DVD collection:16	Yes, this is the French Studio Canal release: The Australian Blu-ray has the original cover art, but I don't think it has the NTSC extras (and I think it is region-locked). Hunter

03-31-2014, 03:46 AM	#16
goathunter Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Blu-ray collection:192 DVD collection:16	Was there a second Australian release? I've seen the one pictured in post #2 of this thread on eBay several times. I based my guesses about content from eBay posts, which are rarely accurate. Hunter

03-31-2014, 08:34 PM	#18
Race Bannon Special Member Member since:Mar 2013 4K collection:102 Blu-ray collection:1050 DVD collection:242 Digital collection:1	Concur with the wish for this film. I liked it. I saw it as a kid in first run, and thought Kong looked really good in it.

03-31-2014, 08:40 PM	#19
warrian Power Member Top contributor Member since:Feb 2013 Location:American Midwest Blu-ray collection:2630 DVD collection:311 Blu-ray reviews: 5 Trading Score:2	The french version from StudioCanal is region free and looks and sounds fantastic. Warning though. The 1080p upgrade really reveals the all the rear projection effects used throughout.

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