I first spotted this image on the always-excellent This Isn't Happiness Tumblr, who, in turn, had cribbed it tastefully from The New York Times' own Tumblr, The Living Morgue. It's a photograph that instantly resonated with me for several reasons. For a start, the photograph -- shot by one D. Gorton of the Times -- is just a beautiful New York City picture. Secondly, the work of Paul Chin, the billboard-painter whose work is profiled, is indeed amazing ... especially given the scale and risks he was working with. Thirdly, it's a great vintage shot of Times Square (my old MTV News office at 1515 Broadway is over on the right there, largely unchanged today). Lastly, the photo pays homage to a somewhat largely forgotten film, the 1976 remake of "King Kong."
I was about nine years old at the time, and this was all pre-"Star Wars," you have to remember. My imagination was otherwise ruled by the swiftly-aging "Planet of the Apes" series (a narrative that would also be abortively revived decades later). But, being rapturously enthralled by monster movies, the notion of a contemporary remake of "King Kong" completely thrilled me. I don't remember who was responsible, but some relative or other gave me a movie poster of "King Kong" in advance of the release (although it was not this version, rather a more painterly version of the same theme; Kong bridging the gap between World Trade Center towers ... a scene that sadly never really materialized in the film). I put that poster the door to my room in rapt anticipation of seeing the movie.
The movie itself -- produced by Dino De Laurentiis (grandfather of Giada) -- ended up being pretty half-baked, despite a now-impressive cast featuring a hirsute Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin and the cinematic debut of Jessica Lange. I don't remember Kong being especially convincing. I think the scenes on the island were quite cool, but the rest of the film -- especially Kong's untimely demise from the top of the WTC -- were nothing very special. I haven't seen it in ages, but I'm reminded of one ludicrous scene wherein Kong is out wreaking havoc around Manhattan with Jessica-in-paw, and Bridges is trying to divine where the beast might be headed. He looks up a the Twin Towers and has a flashback of a similarly (and strikingly unlikely) rock formation back on Kong's island and has what can only be described as a "eureka!" moment. Yeah, it was that type of movie.
The movie was basically a dud (despite the purple prose in the trailer below about being one of the "most exciting and original motion picture event of all time"). "Star Wars" came out shortly afterwards and re-defined "blockbuster," and everyone basically moved on. While I haven't seen it very many times since that first viewing as a wide-eyed nine-year-old, I do retain a soft-spot for 1976's "King Kong," although probably less so for the actual film and more for the atmosphere that led up to it -- an atmosphere encapsulated in that photo above.
More recently (well, 2005 ... if you can call that recent), a variation of the 1976 Kong was painted on the eastern-facing wall of Katz's delicatessen on Ludlow Street, although you'd be wasting your time looking for it now. Here it is below.
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