In the mid-1970s a kid could go to the movies with his friends with nary a parent around— I remember Saturday afternoon showings that were little more than a food fight with a movie playing through the stream of popcorn and juju fruits soaring through projected image flickering on the screen.
My friends and I got excited by a preview that played both in theaters and on TV Screens— it showed us that on Dec 17th KING KONG was coming. As a kid I’d stay up to watch the original KING KONG (1933) on TV usually late at night— and there was even a time when Worcester Public Library showed it on the big screen. So when they announced a color movie coming soon I created a countdown clock in my head and couldn’t wait.
To say we loved the movie is an understatment. In my 10 year old mind it was the greatest piece of cinema ever created and I couldn’t understand why it didn’t dominate the 1977 Academy Awards. My friends and I got an 8mm movie camera and started making our own version of King Kong. Thankfully none of that footage still exists.
Today- the movie doesn’t hold up, in fact I have a hard time getting through the whole thing— but there is a small part of me that appreciates the merch from the movie and the music— which was by John Barry and it was incredible.
The movie made a deep enough impression that I remember the date deeply.
Good times.