The Man Who Would Be King
by John Huston, Ed Apfel, Lawrence Tetenbaum
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DVD details
Actor: Don Morrow, John Foreman, John Huston, Michael Caine, Sean ConneryDirector: Ed Apfel, John Huston, Lawrence Tetenbaum
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: John Foreman
Writer: John Huston
Producer: Ed Apfel
Writer: Gladys Hill
Writer: Rudyard Kipling
DVD: 2 Sides, Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, HiFi Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 129 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1997-11-19
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Man Who Would Be King
DVD Review: Kippling at his best.
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic video and a classic epic. I recorded this 20+ years ago on VHS from the Hallmark Classic Channel.
This is an educational story fit for every age group (especially in today's time).
Huston at his best.
DVD Review: thd DVD That would be King
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my all time favorite adventure movies. John Huston still at the top of his game (he waited long enough to make this. the original casting was supposed to be Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart!). Sean Connery and Michael Caine, friends in real life, have an easy and unmistakable chemistry together. Set in exotic locales with twists and turns, laughs and thrills - I highly recommend this film for anyone who loves adventure.DVD Review: The composer is dead -- let's honor him
Summary: 3 Stars
Maurice Jarre, the composer of the marvelous score for The Man Who Would be King (and Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and many other fine films) died yesterday. It is time for Warner's Home Video to honor him by re-mastering The Man Who Would Be King with half way decent sound -- sound that would give his music at least half a chance. I would give this DVD 5 stars if they hadn't sabotaged it with weak and thin sound. Here is an excerpt from my earlier comment comparing the DVD sound to the original theatrical sound mix:
What is going on with the sound? It's not just me! "A Customer," "UncleTom," and Connie M. Ash all wrote about this. In the San Francisco theatrical release, which I saw repeatedly, the sound was magnificent, the orchestra was forward, as it should be with a score like this, and I'd almost swear it was in stereo! I was an audiophile at the time, as were my friends, and it would have been a topic of conversation at the time if a score this magnificent had been in squeaky, thin mono. Indeed, the IMDb entry for "Sound Mix" reads "4-Track Stereo," which would be usual for a 35mm 2.35:1 release in 1975. True, some multichannel films were mixed down to mono for release in the boonies in those days, and sometimes the result was a careless, thin mix. Depending on the recording technique, phase cancellation can come into play making matters even worse; they lost most of the brass section in the chase sequence when they mixed the multitrack A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum into mono. Can I believe that the DVD people would fail to obtain a stereo version of The Man Who Would Be King? I can.
Even if it turns out that the original theatrical version was released in mono only -- but magnificent mono that fooled us all -- the original music elements may have been recorded in stereo. If so, some restorer could go back to those elements as has been done with some other films being prepared for DVD release. Soon, I hope!
So, what if mono is all there is? I believe the elements could be mixed into a relatively rich, full soundtrack by someone with talent, who cares
DVD Review: A very moving and totally engrossing adventure...
Summary: 5 Stars
I love movies that are just a great big bucket full of yet still manage to be very smart in their internal direction. `The Man Who Would Be King' is just that movie. It has the perfect mix of humor, adventure and intelligence that makes for an unbelievably entertaining and rewarding movie experience.
This is a total crowd pleaser.
The film follows two British soldiers, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, who are on the lookout for fame, fortune and power. After they devise a plan to acquire great wealth they make their way to Kafiristan in order to con the people into making them kings. While their plan seems to work (through an unintentional accident that gets misinterpreted in all the wrong ways) it also starts to take its toll, especially on Daniel, the presumed deity.
It's within the final section of the film where the smart scripting plays well into the hands of the two leads, especially Connery, who embellishes his characters power driven madness in ways that bring the film to a whole other level. It transcends the boundaries of your typical comedy/buddy flick and becomes a strong political statement to the burdens of that `quest for power'.
There is rarely an on screen pairing as delightfully fulfilled as the pairing of Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Both actors are divine in their own right, but here, together, they deliver such complete performances; strong in comedy as well as human drama. They capture both sides of their characters so well; the drive to succeed and the fear of that said success. In that final stretch we see whole new sides to these two men as they are pitted against one another in ways they didn't expect; and as Daniel's head begins to swell with his newfound power we see Peachy finally understanding the weight of their foolishness. These two actors capture these emotions so well and deliver such laughs that I'm moved to label this quite possibly the greatest on screen duo ever, but that is always subject to change.
Just note that they are amazing together.
Director John Huston does a smart and effective job of bringing Rudyard Kipling's short story to life, filling it with a life all its own. This is funny, sweet, poignant and totally unforgettable. With impressive cinematography, witty banter and a meaningful tale, `The Man Who Would Be King' is nothing short of complete.
DVD Review: excellent adventure for today's audience
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is timeless in it's content. It is very well made with references to the middle east which are important for today's audience. The acting is excellent, with two major stars that will never be forgotten. This is some of their best work. Action and Adventure lovers will love this one. Highly recommended.
Description of The Man Who Would Be King
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: 09/26/2006 Starring: Sean Connery Christopher Plummer Run time: 129 minutes Rating: Pg Director: John HustonA 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. It 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. It's a rollicking tale, an epic satire of imperialism, and the good-natured repartee shared by Caine and Connery is pure gold. In 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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