Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

King Kong 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has released the 1976 film 'King Kong,' starring Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange, and directed by John Guillermin, to the UHD format. This package includes two cuts of the film. The extended TV cut, which is on Blu-ray only, runs at a whopping 3:12:47, while the theatrical cut, which runs at a more manageable 2:14:32, appears on UHD. The Blu-ray is presented at 1080p and the UHD at 2160p with Dolby Vision color grading. The Blu-ray features a 2.0 lossless soundtrack and the UHD a 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Beyond a trailer on the Blu-ray, no supplements are included. At time of writing this release ships exclusively in SteelBook packaging.

King Kong 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the extended TV cut 1080p Blu-ray disc.

The Blu-ray disc contains the lengthy TV cut of the film, presented at a theatrical 235:1 aspect ratio rather than the original broadcast 1.33:1 ratio. Fans might be divided on the presentation's chosen aspect ratio, but this does see the film in a more theatrical exhibition presentation (though an alternate version at 1.33:1 would have been welcome, if possible). The image is fine, though certainly not one for the record books. Grain is dense and coarse, with a snowy appearance rather than a more refined look about it. Fine detail suffices, lacking the absolute crispness and intricate definition elements that define the best of film-based Blu-ray images, but the picture is definitely sharp and robust enough thanks to the 1080p muscle. Whether faces, island environments, ship interiors, or various examples of attire, the picture proves capable enough of capturing essential elements with suitable definition and detail. Colors are fine, certainly lacking intense boldness and absolute integrity, but there's enough depth to natural greens, colorful clothes, and even fire to satisfy. Black levels struggle to hold true, looking thin and pale in places and teetering on crush in others, sometimes even in the same scenes and sequences (look around the 68-minute mark for some stark fluctuations from shot to shot). White balance is decent but hardly notable, and skin tones are much the same: sufficient but lacking real authenticity. There are a few stray print anomalies, a pop here and a stray vertical line there, but overall the print appears to be in decent shape. The encode seems fine, too; there are no obvious compression issues to note, even at the 3+ hour runtime

The UHD, which holds the film's theatrical cut, looks quite nice. It's a substantial improvement over the Blu-ray, certainly helped by housing a shorter cut but also because of the greater resolution opportunity and color enrichment process via Dolby Vision. First, the picture is much more filmic on the UHD. Grain is vastly superior, losing that spiky, snowy look and finding a much more subtle and satisfying presentation where density is even and light but still evident and flattering. The picture is very sharp, certainly not as sharp as other images but capturing a very good depth and definition to the film-based elements that reveal much finer and crisper skin, clothing, and location detail beyond what the Blu-ray can achieve. The Dolby Vision color grading stabilizes black levels, resulting in much more even accuracy without the massive fluctuations between paleness and crush as seen on the Blu-ray. Certainly, they remain imperfect here, but they do exist much closer to perfection. Whites are brighter and crisper and skin tones look more convincingly real. Natural greens are a joy, bright clothing excites, and various supports, like flares and balloons and bright signage in the final act, offer wonderful pop that is not found on the paltrier Blu-ray. There are no obvious signs of print wear here, and the encode appears to be in top shape. This is a much better image than the Blu-ray.

King Kong 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blu-ray opens with the following on-screen text: "the best available sound and picture elements were assembled for this widescreen King Kong extended broadcast TV cut. This presentation's intent is to preserve the theatrical 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio, however this revealed sequences where audio anomalies are present (loose sync and missing dialogue) that were cropped out of the original 1.33:1 TV broadcast and cannot be remedied. We hope you enjoy this Paramount classic film."

The Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack is of limited means and meager output quality, resulting in a listenable, but certainly imperfect, presentation. The essentials are in decent enough working order, with dialogue imaged well enough to the center and playing with suitable clarity. Music, likewise, enjoys adequate front side stretch and a baseline clarity that satisfies basic needs, but there is a clear lack of greater range and precision details. Additionally, the track certainly struggles with the finer points, including some lip sync issues. Look around the 27:40 and 33:07 marks, and numerous other spots throughout, for examples.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack accompanying the UHD presentation is much the superior next to the 2.0 track on the Blu-ray. It's fuller, obviously, with more channels at work, but it is also crisper, more efficient, more satisfying for clarity and immersion alike. Action scenes are taken to another level of excellence with broader engagement and more precise placement, offering greater spatial opportunities and therefore greater net impact as the listener feels more involved in the action. This is definitely not a surround extravaganza or a tight track with laser accuracy, but the greater sense of fulfillment and surround immersion leads to greater satisfaction. Musical clarity is improved as well, and the track makes use of the surround elements to increase musical engagement. Dialogue is clear and centered for the duration.

King Kong 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Only the Blu-ray contains the film's Theatrical Trailer (480i, 2:33). That's it. There's nothing else on the Blu-ray or the UHD. The old Studio Canal disc included a trailer in addition to a making-of and deleted scenes.

The SteelBook is glossy and depicts Dwan in Kong's open palm, hovering high above the city, a high up view leading to a horizon mid SteelBook with a blue, cloudy sky above. The film's title appears in orange letters, center. Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange's names are in white block letters above the title. The rear panel depicts Kong bursting through a high tribal community wall with humans fleeing at the bottom and a bold blue sky behind him. The spine features the cloudy blue sky with the film's title, again in orange, center. A white Paramount logo appears at the top. Inside, the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The two discs, one UHD and one Blu-ray, are situated on the right in staggered-stacked formation. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features Kong and the giant snake in combat. The SteelBook also ships with a transparent plastic slipcover with additional artwork. A J-card with all the usual back matter is also provided.

King Kong 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I watched the longer cut first and the theatrical cut second and found the latter to be the much better experience. The longer cut mostly adds fluff and needlessly lengthens scenes and sequences, and the net increase in content is not worth the hour add. The theatrical cut, which is quite lengthy in its own right, is not just leaner but a more capable storyteller, hitting the highlights without missing anything that the longer cut offers. Kudos to Paramount for offering both! The Blu-ray is decent enough, but the UHD really shines, especially for its video, which is imperfect and not the best looking on the market but certainly very satisfying as it is. The 5.1 track in accompaniment is a winner, too. It's a shame that the supplements are limited to a trailer, but the SteelBook packaging is very nice. Recommended.