Anna and the King

Rating:
Summary: Jodie Foster just gets better and better...
Review: Having read the book and seen several versions of the musical on film and on stage, and being a true lover of the story of Anna Leonowens' experiences as teacher to the children of the King of Siam, I can honestly say that this is the most beautiful rendering of this tale I have yet to see. Whether or not she got the accent right (it really doesn't matter), Jodie Foster delivers a stunning performance as Anna, and the actor (I'm sorry, but I don't remember his name) who portrays the king is every bit as good as Jodie. This film captures the true emotions of the king and Anna as they struggle with the impossible attraction they have for each other and the frustration they feel at trying to comprehend one another's cultures. Definitely worth purchasing on DVD, as this film is visually magnificent.

Rating:
Summary: Exponentially More Intelligent Than The Musical
Review: Writing coach Jerry Cleaver writes that a good story is one that gets to you, one where you identify with the main character, feel what they feel. Well, this story sure got to me. Anna's character was written so that while I couldn't identify with her at the beginning, I certainly could at the end. Unfortunately, I understand the frustrations of a forbidden love only too well.

In spite of the unbearable tension, I personally am glad they never kissed. But even after replaying it several times, it's hard to figure out, though, when the turning point was in their relationship. The King indirectly referred to Anna as "friend" during the banquet, so I knew Anna had his respect by then, but when did it become more? Hm.

This is a movie with incredible sets and an incredible setting, with wonderful costuming, and the CGI work is jawdropping! In the director's commentary, Andy Tennant describes a scene with Chow Yun Fat ("Fattie") and Jodie Foster, noting they weren't even in the same room together because each cutaway shot was done on different days! What a shock, too, to learn that the rocket scene was totally computerized! I love learning about the filmmaking process!

Former child actor Jodie Foster has earned my respect. Tenant said they wanted Kate Winslet to play Anna at first, but there's obviously nothing a voice coach and professionalism can't accomplish with a lot of hard work. That goes for all the actors, none of whom spoke their native languages.

Chow Yun-Fat, being Chinese, spoke neither Thai nor much English, but had to learn both for this movie. To my mind, that's genius. I understand this was his first and thusfar only dramatic role (he's known in his country for comedies and martial arts films). If more non-comedic and non-martial arts roles for Asians ever become available, this should open big doors for him. He's a fantastic leading man -- I thought he was gorgeous, and I'll take him over ANY European-American actor any day.

Bai Ling, who plays the doomed concubine Tuptim, gives just a powerful, powerful performance, and has to perform throughout the movie without any hair.

I have to give director Andy Tennant his props, too. This beautiful film has me interested in his other films. I want to see if he does this kind of work on a regular basis or is this just a wonderful fluke.

The children were just adorable, especially the little one who was the King's favorite. Difficult to watch her die, but such was life back then. There are things even a king can't control.

I couldn't stand The King and I; I found it terribly racist, like a lot of what came out of Hollywood back then. I was hoping for a more intelligently done movie that more realistically depicted what Thailand was like back then, and I personally am grateful to see a king that doesn't look like Mr. Clean, and doesn't kill himself just because he lost a white woman.

I highly recommend watching the outtakes and watching the movie with the director's commentary. It really makes the story make sense after you know some background.

This is one I'd buy in a heartbeat. I understand this didn't do well at the box office, but I'd relish the chance to see it for the first time on the big screen.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Not too accurate with the story. It's nice and dramatic. forgettable movie. Prepare to be bored for long stretches.

Rating:
Summary: Shocking...
Review: Wow...this dvd buries the EPIC genre further with Chow Yun Fat's horrible attempt at charm and Foster's endless delivery of lines through pursed lips....good costumes though...I recommend a rental below is what I think about the origins of this film.

Leonowens will never realize how she has condemned an entire nation with her lies. True, Thais do revere their kings and do not see them as being human. However, in the case of King Mongkut you have a truly remarkable man, do your homework before making judgements, and keep in mind that Leonowens was exposed to common Thai people most of the time but instead chose to write about the royalty to make $$$. I am truly saddened that King Mongkut a highly tolerant and far sighted ruler must stand in the shadow of lies. I challenge you to research western sources regarding this man. I agree that Thailand should not ban these films or books because they reveal how the West (whom they have always admired) regards them in the 19th century and even today. The fact that no modern scholar has come forth to introduce King Mongkut to the world has burdened Thais to rightfully defend themselves and in doing so make Leonowen's account seem hilariously "unbiased".

Rating:
Summary: A gorgeous modern epic of human drama and love
Review: It is a shame that gorgeous, poignant, sweeping epics such as Anna and the King rarely succeed commercially, as they have so much more to offer on so many different levels than your typical box office smash hits. I, of course, will watch anything starring Jodie Foster, and I thought she was brilliant in her portrayal of the controversial nineteenth-century tutor to the children of the king of Siam. I should say that I am judging this movie solely on its own merits as a motion picture; I know nothing about Siamese history and culture, and I have never seen this story as portrayed in The King and I. I do not know if the Siam we see here, most of which was actually filmed on a massive seven-acre lot far from Southeast Asia, provides a true picture of the land in question, but what we see here is undeniably beautiful. The filmmakers obviously went to great lengths, preparing everything down to the last detail, to provide a setting for this powerful drama that impacts the viewer quite forcefully and takes him/her to a place he/she has almost surely never gone before. Not only is the landscape captivating, but the palace, monuments, buildings, and religious icons depicted here are exotically stunning, offering even the most Westernized moviegoer the opportunity of seeing and experiencing an entrancing part of Far Eastern culture. Traditions and actions that seem immoral and unacceptable are at least made understandable, and that is the fulcrum upon which east and west can meet and work together.

This is a special love story, one that is enfolded within a complex vista of much larger, sweeping human dramas. Some might say the romance falls short, but I believe that the type of romance explored in this movie represents perhaps the toughest form of true love, and what it lacks in demonstrable passion, it more than makes up for in depth of feeling. English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (Jodie Foster) has come to Siam (via India) to instruct the king's oldest son in English, but quite clearly she is not the type of schoolteacher the king expected, as she refuses to fully embrace the protocols of Siam. She is committed to showing King Mongkut (Yun-Fat Chow) the respect he deserves, but she stands in his presence, seeks him out rather than waiting to be summoned, and expresses her feelings and beliefs in a manner that would never be tolerated by a Siamese subject of the king. The king obviously admires her spirit, asking her to teach not only his eldest son but all fifty-eight of his children, one of his wives, and one of his concubines. The children do not respond to her very well at first, a fact which is not helped in the short run by her own son's spirit of independence, but her compassionate disciplinary ways soon make of her the kind of teacher Mongkut wants for his children. In time, she and King Mongkut develop a fairly close yet perfectly innocent relationship of their own, sharing a mutual bond of love for the children. Anna is never afraid to tell Mongkut what she thinks or to get involved in situations her conscience will not allow her to ignore, and a mutual understanding and respect is forged among these paragons of culturally different virtues. All the while, revolution is stirring in the land, and the king's throne and life itself are placed in great danger, yet Anna's presence and fierce spirit of goodness emerge as a secret weapon that stands to change the very fabric of Siam itself.

As wonderful and Oscar-worthy as Jodie Foster's performance is here, Chow-Yun Fat's is even better. King Mongkut is a complicated man, one who cares deeply about his family and his country, seeking to connect with the western world in order to promote the betterment of both. He does a magical job of balancing the burdens of a difficult kingship with those of a loving father and a very human man. Tom Felton is also very good as Anna's son Louis, although it took me a few minutes to see him in this new light once I realized I was watching Harry Potter's nemesis Draco Malfoy playing this role, and the children of King Mongkut are all portrayed masterfully by the whole cast of child actors and actresses. How this movie did not sweep the Academy Awards for 1999 is a mystery to me.

Anna and the King is a movie you can easily and happily immerse yourself in, journeying to a very different world and fully investing yourself emotionally in the drama focused on Anna and King Mongkut. The behind the scenes features afford a way of appreciating even more fully the job everyone associated with this motion picture did, and the deleted scenes offer a most interesting extended opening and ending to a wondrous picture stretched across two and a half hours in its finished form. If you have a heart, Anna and the King will speak to it, and you will feel touched in a very special way after watching it.

Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful surprise!
Review: I missed this movie when it was released in the theater and only bought the DVD after seeing the last few moments of the movie when it aired on television in our area recently.
At a running time of two and a half hours I thought it was perfect. There was never a point during the movie where I felt the need to look at my watch.
One of the many things that made this movie so easy to watch was Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. I had recently read some of the critics reviews at the time this picture was originally released and one of the comments was that there was no chemistry. I would disagree strongly because some of the best moments of the movie are when they are on the screen together.
The cinematography is another reason this was such a good movie. The scope of many of the scenes with the sweeping vistas, color and pagentry makes me wish that I had seen it in the theater because it really is something to see.
But none of this would have worked as it did if it had not been for George Fenton's score to tie everything together.
As for the extra's, once you've watched this movie, watch it again with director Andy Tennant's commentary. It's always interesting to hear about things from the director's point of view and the experience they had filming the movie.
There is also director's commentary for the deleted and extended scenes. I would highly recommend using this option because Mr. Tennant explains why he made the decisions he did about these particular scenes.

The last thing I would recommend is to view this movie in widescreen format.

Rating:
Summary: This time it is the King who teaches Anna a thing or two
Review: Whatever creative links truly exist we think of the 1999 film "Anna the King" as a dramatic version of "The King and I," which was a musical version of the 1946 film "Anna and the King of Siam," which was inspired by the diaries of Anna Leonowens. Now, it turns out that Anna Leonowens, who was hired to tutor the children of the king of Siam in 1862, greatly embellished her adventures in her celebrated book. She was neither a governess nor an advisor to the king, her late husband was a desk clerk and not a military officer, and she made up the lurid stories about the king throwing wives into dugeons and the public torture and burning of a consort and the monk she loved. Of course, history rarely matters to Hollywood and in this case the idea of a romance between Anna and the King overwhelms everything else.

The real King Mongkut of Siam was about 60 years old when Anna arrived to teach English to the king's children (you can easily find photographs of him on the web), which would be the final blow to thoughts of romance if all those wives, concubines, public executions, and pagan believes did not turn off any widowed Englishwoman employed in his palace. But despite its flaws "The King and I" is a pretty good romance; the scene where Yul Brynner dances with Deborah Kerr is one the sexiest scenes in Hollywood history (watch how they look at each other after the dance finishes) and there is no profit to be made in trying to convince a modern audience that this story is not a romance. We might have a more accurate view of George Custer at the Little Bighorn, but we cling to our romanticized vision of "Anna and the King."

This is a gorgeous film. The story may well distort the cultural history of what is now Thailand, but the film can certainly inspire you to want to visit. Yun-Fat Chow plays the King as a figure refined enough to tempt Anna, who is played by Jodie Foster. Ironically enough, in this version of the tale, which seeks to present King Mongkut as more cultured and civilized than ever, Anna's prejudicial views stand out more than ever. Every time she stands up to the king, ask yourself if she would really do the same thing to Queen Victoria. She might be a woman but she is an Englishwoman, not to mention a Christian, and that pretty much settles everything.

Ultimately, two things distinguish this version of the story. The first is that Anna undergoes much more of a transformation that the King this time around. The person who benefits most from her presence is Prince Chulalongkorn (Keith Chin), heir to the thrown, and most of that education is implied rather than shown. In fact, there are several scenes that make it clear the King is smarter than Anna; his problem is more than of pride than anything else. In the major subplot involving Tuptim (Ling Bai), Anna only makes things worse from start to finish. The second is that the political problems of Mongkut and his kingdom are considerably more serious. Troops from Burma are crossing the border and killing Siamese. This raises the possibility of war, but since Burma is under the protection of the British, the stakes are pretty high. The end result is that more than ever before, Anna gets to be the salvation of the King and the nation of Siam (i.e., Thailand banned "The King and I" and they will ban this film too).

"Anna and the King" is a beautiful film, but does not touch the heart the way a true romance should. In fact, the heart of the film is in the affection of the king for his youngest daughter, Princess Fa-Ying (Melissa Campbell), who truly touches him in a way no other person does. Director Andy Tennant captured magic with "Ever After," but this film ends up missing the mark. It has Anna, the King, and even dancing, but this time around it is not enough.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful movie
Review: I saw this movie when I was eighteen. At that time, I learned about Oriental history, and knew that Thai is the only sovereign nation in Southeast Asia. I wonder how such a small country its independence and it could be solved while I saw Anna & King.
At first, it is malvelous to me that Chinese famous actor and American actress appear on the same movie. But they are very good pair in the movie, and I come to think they're a wonderful couple.
A custom peculiar to Thai is another joy to the viewer. We can also see Malfoy(`Harry Potter')'s childhood.(He is Anna's son.)
^^

Rating:
Summary: THIS KING IS REALLY SOMETHING TO SEE
Review: A lot of flack was heaped on the release of this film in comparison to Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical "The King & I" which is, itself a remake of "Anna & The King of Siam" a 30's film with Rex Harrison and Irene Dunne. I should like to point out that such comparisons are foolish. Though all three movies deal with the subject of an English school teacher coming to Siam to educate the King's children, each has dealt with the topic on it own terms and merit.
In this version Jodie Foster is Anna Leonowens, the head strong British colonialist who sees into the heart of a king and grows perhaps too fond of him for her own stalwart romantic sensibilities.
FOX STUDIOS has done a beautiful job of capturing all the color, glamor and spectacle of Andy Tennant's beautiful film. Colors on this DVD are robust, rich and vibrant. Clarity is remarkable. Though some pixelization and edge enhancement are present they never really intrude on the overall visual experience. The 5.1 sound mix is incredibly lively and well balanced with a natural sounding fidelity that is most complimentary to the film. Extras include a documentary and several featurettes (which are just edited down versions of the documentary - go figure) as well as the film's theatrical trailer and an audio commentary. FINAL WORD: Highly recommended and well worth the money.

Rating:
Summary: Anna Castrates the King
Review: I did NOT watch this film by free will. I was mercilessly FORCED to watch it on an airplane. Three times. From California to Alaska to Japan. I like dramas, but this was a total waste of time. Anna shows up in colonial-era Thailand with her Western ideas concerning human rights, feminism, social mores, etc. And because the gutless King has a thing for her, he's perfectly content with letting centuries of Siam tradition drown in the rice patties to satisfy the ungrateful expatriate that is Anna. The beheading of two dissidents didn't save this film, and couldn't save it even if it showed the two heads rolling down a hill laughing.

By midway through the second viewing, I felt my complimentary peanuts coming up on me. I desperately clawed at the overhead compartment, praying in vain that the oxygen mask would drop down and provide me with a breath of relief. I instead tried to ignore the movie by pursuing a much more fulfilling and interesting deed...relaxing my eyes and watching the patters on the seat fabric in front of me overlap.

I think the U.S. government plays this movie repeatedly over and over and over to al-Qaeda suspects until they finally crack.