If only a battle with a gigantic ape had been the worst thing to happen at the World Trade Center...Anyway, take the time today to remember. And never forget to make love, not war. For all our sakes.
Friday, September 11, 2009
EIGHT YEARS LATER
Today is the day to remember the dead and while doing just that I remembered this classic John Berkey movie poster:
If only a battle with a gigantic ape had been the worst thing to happen at the World Trade Center...
Anyway, take the time today to remember. And never forget to make love, not war. For all our sakes.
If only a battle with a gigantic ape had been the worst thing to happen at the World Trade Center...Anyway, take the time today to remember. And never forget to make love, not war. For all our sakes.
I know it's off-topic, but I had that poster in my room as a kid and I could never figure out what he was holding in his right hand! It looked like a rocket ship to me, but that made no sense. My friend said it was a subway train, but I still can't see it. Please clear this matter up for me.
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was supposed to be the remains of a jet fighter plane. Berkey's style was always a bit sketchy when he rendered any kind of technology; just look at any of his spaceships, and especially his STAR WARS art to see what I mean. His stuff for STAR WARS always looked like the assorted ships were molting or shedding scales or something.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered the same thing. I'm happy to see I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteI caught the ending of that film by accident a few months back. MAN, it's bad - so bad it even makes vintage '70s crap look good.
ReplyDeleteI recall what Forry Ackerman wrote about the 1977 Kong in Famous Monsters of Filmland: "I hope 20 years from now it's a lost movie that stays lost." Amen, Forry. We haven't forgotten it, but at least it's been largely relegated to the dustbin of film credibility.
Now if only we could send a few other 9/11 offenders to their much-deserved oblivion...
OK so its not a masterpiece, I agree..but there are many films more deserving of vitriol than this one.
ReplyDeletepoints for Kong '76:
-Terrific John Barry score.
-Jessica Lange in a state of partial undress.
-Welcome presence of character actors(Ed Lauter, Julius Harris, Rene Auberjonois)
-Rick Baker's F/X
As for the poster, it's certainly evocative, but Kong wasnt big enough in the film to stand on both Towers at once. If you recall, he jumps (barely) from one to the other. I also dont remember any jet fighters in the film, just attack choppers.
Am I being too forgiving of Dino DeLaurentiis' monsterpiece? Perhaps, but my view is shaded by memories of seeing it when it first came out. I was eleven, and I thought it was great back then.
I also saw the Dino version of KING KONG when it came out and I thought it sucked, but then again the original is my favorite movie. Rick Baker is a genius, but his Kong suit bit the big one and wasn't 1/10th as good as the gorilla suit he provided a year later for THE KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE on what was probably a considerably smaller budget.
ReplyDeleteAnybody remember this?
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Godzilla-megalon-us.jpg