Barry’s score reflected the range of emotional angles of the film…
John Barry (1933-2011) was a film score composer responsible for some amazing scores, including several James Bond films, The Black Hole, Dances with Wolves, and a whole bunch more. His score for the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis remake of King Kong gave the controversial film an emotional weight that is impossible to miss. Whether or not you dislike the film itself, it’s easy to still find the score clutching at your heart.
Below, you’ll find a playlist featuring the entire film score…
John Barry – King Kong (1976) – Soundtrack
King Kong was a 1976 remake of the classic film starring a giant ape that is captured and taken to New York—where he escapes from his captors and finds himself lost in the strange city. (Yes, it’s a sympathetic giant monster movie.) Starring Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange, the remake changed the story of the humans in the film to be about an expedition to find oil—as well as the man seeking answers, and the woman seeking rescue.
Barry’s score reflected the range of emotional angles of the film—tropical experience, the love story at its center, and the danger that comes for them all. If you do enjoy this version of King Kong, it’s in no small part because Barry carries it.
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