King Kong 1976 Blu-ray will include 2 cuts of the film, Rick Baker interview

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Last month, we shared the news that director John Guillermin's 1976 version of King Kong (watch it HERE) will be getting a special edition Blu-ray release courtesy of Scream Factory on May 11th (you can pre-order a copy at THIS LINK), and now the details on the bonus features that will be included on the release have been revealed.

The sweeping '70s remake of the classic tale comes home in a 2-disc definitive collector’s edition set including both the theatrical cut with a new restored theatrical stereo track and an extended TV broadcast cut with a new 2k scan of the additional TV footage from the internegative.

Special Features:

DISC 1: Theatrical Cut

– NEW Audio Commentary with film historian Ray Morton (author of KING KONG – THE HISTORY OF A MOVIE ICON)
– NEW Audio interview with special makeup effects wizard Rick Baker
– NEW Something’s Haywire – an interview with actor Jack O’Halloran
– NEW On the Top of the World – an interview with assistant director David McGiffert and production manager Brian Frankish
– NEW Maybe in their Wildest Dreams – an interview with sculptor Jack Varner
– NEW There’s A Fog Bank Out There – an interview with second unit director William Kronick
– NEW From Space to Apes – an interview with photographic effects assistant Barry Nolan
– NEW When the Monkey Dies, Everybody Cries – an interview with production assistants Jeffrey Chernov and Scott Thaler
– Audio: DTS-HD 5.1 and NEW restored theatrical DTS-HD 2.0 stereo track
– Theatrical Trailer
– TV Spots
– Radio Spots
– Still Galleries: posters, lobby cards, behind-the-scenes photos

DISC 2: Extended TV Broadcast Cut

– NEW 2K scan of the additional TV footage from the internegative
– KING KONG panel discussion from the Aero Theater (2016)

Scripted by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Batman '66), King Kong 1976 has the following synopsis: 

The Petrox company's search for new oil reserves on a strange island unleashes a terror unseen by civilized man – KING KONG! The timeless story of a beauty (Jessica Lange, making her feature film debut) and a beast comes to the screen in this ambitious production from Dino De Laurentiis. Charles Grodin is the scheming oil company shark out to exploit the giant beast to his fullest. And Jeff Bridges is the desperate hero, Jack Prescott, who attempts to wrest the beautiful heroine from King Kong's grasp. New York City trembles with each echoing footstep of the towering ape set loose in the streets!

It is very cool that the extended TV cut is going to be included in this 2-disc release, because it features 45 minutes of footage that wasn't in the theatrical cut. A cut that different definitely should be preserved on Blu-ray.