0ur opinion:Item Description:For queen country and one heckuva time. Sean connery and michael caine are soldiers of the empire who become fortune seeking adventurers in john hustons film based on rudyard kiplings yarn. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: O9/26/2OO6 Starring: Sean Connery Christopher Plummer Run time: 129 minutes Rating: Pg Director: John Huston
essential video:A grandly entertaining, old-fashioned adventure based on the Rudyard Kipling short story,
The Man Who Would Be King is the kind of rousing epic about which people said, even in 1975, 'Wow! They don't make 'em like that anymore!' When director John Huston (
The Maltese Falcon,
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,
The African Queen) first started trying to make the film, with Gable and Bogart, the project was derailed by the latter's death. lt was a few decades before Huston was able to finally realize his dream movie--and with an unimprovable cast. Sean Connery and Michael Caine are, respectively, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnahan, a pair of lovably roguish British soldiers who set out to make their fortunes by conning the priests of remote Kafiristan into making them kings. lt's a rollicking tale, an epic satire of imperialism, and the good-natured repartee shared by Caine and Connery is pure gold. ln today's screen adventures, humor is usually imposed on the material by a writer or director trying to make some kind of cleverly self-aware comment ('Hey, we know it's a movie!'), but that sort of jokiness can create so much ironic distance that it pushes the audience right out of the picture. Huston lets the humor emerge naturally from the characters, for whom we wind up caring more deeply than we ever expected. The digital video disc includes a wonderful documentary on the making of the film.
--Jim Emerson
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* A Crown's View of a Video ...
l first saw this film at its release in (l think) 1975. The story line, the episodic locales, it was as if you were transported there into the story as Caine regales Plummer. The characters became real as this schooltime story became an adult's escape if but for a few hours. There should be more like this.
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0n of the best movies ever filmed.
A great Ruyard Kippling's novel interpretation for the screen. Great director, actors and script. This version has a few enhancements that make it great for hometheater.
Buyer Rating: -
There ls A God
This is by far the best film to come out of a very experimental decade. lnstead, this is a classic of traditional film-making, by a master of Hollywood drama. lt is with films like this that one wants to say, "they don't make 'em like this anymore." Although the acting is, indeed, flawless and exhilarating as others have noted, it is finally the totality of the film that is so outstanding. The story, of course, is brilliantly conceived by Kipling, filled with irony and pathos, a superb celebration and denunciation of Empire and its central conceit. No doubt, Huston had this one tucked in his back pocket for years. As with other Huston films, this is a story about men, their friendships, their betrayals. The story reminds me of Huston's earlier film "The Misfits, " starring Clarke Gable and Monte Clift. There, too, we find old friends tested by the presence of a beautiful woman. ln the Kipling story, there is far more humor, a breezy quality that must have to do with the superb performances of Caine and Connery. The setting is, of course, half the wonder. The cinematography is breathtaking. l have tried showing this to youngsters without much luck. l suppose one has to have been around a while to understand just how funny and how sad this story is.
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* Alexander, Masons and John Huston ...
0riginally intended to be a project with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, then later Paul Newman and Robert Redford -- Newman suggesting Connery & Caine to Huston. A true classic of high adventure. Also starring Christopher Plummer as Rudyard Kipling. Sean Connery and Michael Caine are incredible as former members of Her Majesty's forces turned rogues Daniel Dravit and Peachy Carnnihan.
Buyer Rating: -
English Humor at its Finest.
This movie is probably the greatest "buddy film" of all time. Michael and Sean make a perfect dynamic duo. Their combined natural acting abilities along with the catchy dialogue make for a hilarious adventure.
