I know it's not a popular choice but I actually like the 1970s version the best.

It's colourful human characters, adventurous vibe, and good-natured sincerity just appeal to me more than the retrospectively rather unpleasant original or the bloated excess of the 2005 film.

(Although I will say that the finale of 2005 is the best scene in any of the three films and had me literally shedding tears in the cinema)

I've only seen the 2005 Peter Jackson film, and Kong Skull Island. I loved the 2005 one, didn't like skull Island.

The emotions in the 2005 one, especially in the latter third of the movie, were excellent.

So was it exciting watching King Kong in 1933 ? .

Almost as exciting as playing stick ball in the streets!

I like and appreciate them all in their own way. I grew up with the 1976 King Kong, but if Skull Island were included, I might be inclined to choose that. The helicopter scene where they first encounter Kong has become my all time favorite Kong action sequence.  If not, I probably would have to stick to my childhood favorite.  I enjoyed the Peter Jackson film, but there's something about the full standing anthropomorphic Kong that makes him more menacing I think.  I still find it ironic that the 1933 King Kong remains the most recent film I have seen in a movie theater thanks to a Fathom event right before the shutdowns in the US.

The only King Kong movie I didn't enjoy was King Kong Lives (1986). And, I was so hyped for that as a 10 year old when it came out since Kong was my favorite of the giant monsters. I begged my father to take me to see it even as it was rapidly exiting theaters. My father found one that was well out of the way of our normal theater trips and took me to see it. Huge disappointment. On the subject of sequels/prequels/spinoffs, I don't count the King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) by Toho as a Kong film.
I refuse to accept this abomination as Kong:

The only one I've seen is the 1976 one. Not sure why, but I didn't get excited by a Peter Jackson King Kong movie. Maybe it is all of those Godzilla movies. I've seen a ton of different Godzilla movies in my life and most of them were disappointing.

:(

If Skull Island was included it would probably be my choice as well, I really enjoyed that film.

And yeah, even as a diehard Godzilla fan who owns every movie in the series, the 1962 Godzilla vs Kong is trash.

I think if I had to rank them I'd go: (Skull Island >) 1976 > 2005 > 1933

I recognize the original's place as a breakthrough work of technology and cinematic craft, but I feel it really doesn't hold up well nowadays, and I don't mean in terms of its special effects, more that the attitudes of society at the time are quite ugly and a bit unpleasant in the 21st century.

I've only seen the Peter Jackson version and it was good but you could easily cut an hour from the movie and it would be much better.

Agreed, I feel like it'd be much better as a two hour movie as opposed to a three hour one. Cut some of the CGI scenes short and a few of superfluous ones aboard the ship.