10 Famous Movies That Ruined The Reputations Of Classic Films

5. King Kong Remakes Imply The Original Sucks

With the recent announcement of Skull Island (likely prepping for a Godzilla showdown), we now live in a world where there are five different iterations of King Kong; it joins the 1933 original, the Japanese Toho take which had him take on their monsters, the 1976 remaining and Peter Jackson's never-ending remake. Always a bastillion how good creature effects are, each new iteration of Kong (Toho aside) has marketed itself on the effects. The 1976 version, which brought the story to the modern day and replaced the Empire State Building with the World Trade Centre (hence why it's a little-seen curio nowadays), made a big deal of a giant mechanical Kong that had been made for the production.

Although it was only in a few scenes, it was a brilliant marketing tool that really got audiences amped for a retread. The 2005 take likewise pushed their new groundbreaking effects; the mo-capped Andy Serkis would bring the ape completely to life. All this focus on a realistic ape suggests that there was something weak about the animation to begin with.

Of course that's not true - Willis O'Brien's Kong could easily stand tall next the works of Ray Harryhausen decades later - but that doesn't stop the newer films subliminally giving off that message.