Rating: 
Summary: "God's Holy Trousers!"
Review: 4.5 stars. This is my favorite film from director John Huston. Running a close second is his classic film "Treasure of the Sierra Madre." What sets this adventure film apart from most is the extraordinary production value. There are lavish costumes and huge, colorful sets; and the great photography captures it all in fine detail. Also, the two lead actors played by Michael Caine and Sean Connery give two of their best performances ever. That is praise, indeed, for two future Oscar winners. Sean Connery won for "The Untouchables," and Michael Caine won twice, once for "Hannah and Her Sisters" and another for "The Cider House Rules." Both actors are superb here, using subtelty and terrific use of a grand screenplay. Also, Christopher Plummer gives another professional performance as the correspondent of The Northern Star, Rudyard Kipling. This movie is based on the story of the same name written by Rudyard Kipling and is, in effect, a period film from a more naive era. There was a plot flaw, albeit minor. Sean Connery, for a good portion of the film is revered as a god because his subjects did not see him bleed when struck in the chest by an arrow. The reason is explained soonafter for the audience, but I have a question: Do gods not have other bodily functions, such as relieving oneself? Wouldn't that have made him seem less like a god and more like the rest of his followers? I know I'm nitpicking an otherwise great film, and this small flaw is easy to ignore. This is a fantastic movie with fine acting, and is one of the last truly epic works of the legendary John Huston.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning
Review: The film itself deserves a 5 star rating. It's great and deserves to be everyone's collection. However, be warned. This is an early DVD release (1997) and although the movie is only 129 minutes in length, at approximately the 73 minute mark the disc stops and you must eject the disc and manually flip it over to see the second half. If any movie deserves a re-release, "The Man Who Would Be King" does. A double layered, newly remastered edition with a few extras would be wonderful. (Almost all of the extras on this edition are script only, and the print is difficult to read.)
Rating: 
Summary: The man who would be king
Review: I have seen, shown and loaned this movie so many times I had to buy a new one. I seen it long before becomming a mason but truely understood it only after becomming one. Remember you have to ASK12B1 we do not recruit. I would bet that this movie did not do so good when it was made but is truely a classic. P. Jones PMx2
Wayfarers No. 1001 A.F.& A.M.
Evanston, IL. USA
Rating:
Summary: Meeting on the level...
Review: No, they don't make 'em like this anymore -- a rousing, entertaining adventure with a superb performances and a fantastic story. It's an honest movie, too, funny and tastefully devoid of Hollywood over-production. If they were to make this today (and that's highly unlikely for any Kipling story) it would have to have more skin, more gore, and less talking. Oh and some sort of massive explosion or two. The wonderful Masonic references -- which give the story it's color and wry tone -- would've been expunged on the first round. It's also a much more thoughtful film than you might think, and almost turns the whole British Empire-building era on its ear. Peachy and Dravot may come from the seedy underbelly of Empire, but they show how, in their day, even thieves became kings -- but never gods. Regarding this DVD transfer: yes it's unusual to still find single-layer encoding; having to flip the disc wasn't a major inconvenience, though. But it could've been done more logically. Instead it's an abrupt, arbitrary break that makes it annoying. Otherwise, the picture and sound is quite good. Wishful thinking here, but I'd welcome a proper dual layer transfer and some extras, too. Oh well. Parting on the square...
Rating:
Summary: "If a Greek can do it, we can do it!"
Review: Ah, "The Man Who Would Be King"... one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it for the first time two years ago last July, after purchasing it site unseen based on its reputation alone. The critics and everyone else I heard speaking about it were right... this is a wonderful movie, one of the greatest ever made. Though I've never read the short story this film is based on (in spite of being an avid Kipling fan since reading "Just So Stories" while I was a wee lad in second grade and "The Jungle Books" finally two months ago) I definitely want to now, but I really can't imagine the story being told any more perfectly than it is here. Let me just tell you what I knew before I saw it. Connery and Caine are British soldiers who devise a plan that will enable them to get stinking rich. Up north of India, there's an isolated kingdom unvisited by white men since Alexander the Great. Their plan? Go to the kingdom, take it over (they've got guns), and loot the country... only things end up happening a little differently than they'd planned them to, and some tension starts to grow between the two men once they've seemingly got it all. That's it, that's all you need to know. It was enough to make me curious enough to buy it, and I'm really glad I did. Since that first time I've seen it several more (the night before last being the most recent), and it never gets old. Check it out... you'll love it too. The silence of the last five minutes, which we hear between the whispered words of the two conversing characters before the film ends, is just amazing... Check out "TMWWBK" immediately. The DVD's reasonably priced, and comes with a highly interesting "the making of" featurette. A word of warning, though: don't watch the making of until after you've finished the movie, as it will spoil the end for you otherwise. Carry on carry on, MN
Rating:
Summary: Another Classic from John Houston
Review: I saw this movie in the theater when it was first released. I was totally caught up in it then and I am still very impressed every time I get a chance to see it again (I have it on tape but it's a beta tape). There is a lot of adventure, mystery, action, humor and drama wrapped up in this movie. The sets, scenery and photography are terrific as well. Best of all, there is also a lot of great acting and directing. Michael Caine and Sean Connery are both excellent actors who seem to elevate their preformances a notch by working together. There is also an excellent supporting cast. I was fascinated with the story and the concept of a tribe that had had no contact with the Western world since the time of Alexander the Great. These two British soldiers were going to go to this land that was only rumored to exist and become their kings. How they planned it, how they went there, how they attempted to acheive their goal (and how "they" came back). makes for a riveting and entertaining movie. "The Man Who Would be King" has become something of a cult favorite over the years. However, don't let that mislead you. This is no "Rocky Horror Picture Show" that appeals only to fringe groups of movie goers. This movie was made for all audiences and can still be enjoyed by all. Something or other has left it off the "A" list of movies for the Late Show which makes it hard to find on TV. Maybe it's because movies set in India don't seem to last long in the public view Whatever, This movie is worth buying because it's worth seeing more than once
Rating:
Summary: Spot on!
Review: Just the sort of movie you'd like to see on a wet sunday afternoon when you have nothing better to do than watch television. Strangely, early reviews of this movie criticise the casting, insisting that Connery should have played Carnahan and Caine Dravot. Why this is, who knows. I think the two actors play superb roles and, as has been said before, the chemistry between them is startlingly obvious. Carnahan and Dravot are ex-British soldiers in 19th century India during the time of the Raj. Deciding that fame and fortune is to found in nearby Kafiristan, they set out to conquor the country. This they do by a quirk of fate when Danny is falsely claimed as a god and son of Alexander the Great. Things are fine until Danny takes a wife (played by Caine's real-life wife, Shakira). She bites him, he bleeds blood- indicating he is an ordinary mortal. Then things really go belly-up. Danny is sent plunging to the bottom of a very deep gorge and Peachy is crucified. Fine acting by Caine, Connery and Plummer. A special mention must go to Saaed Jaffrey who plays the part of Billy Fish, the loyal ex-Ghurka. Huston took his time to make this but, in the end, it was surely worth it.
Rating:
Summary: What's with the flipping?
Review: First, this is a remarkable movie with Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Christopher Plummer. The Kipling story is one of his best and the acting, directing, sets, music, and all other aspects of this movie are first class. Any fan of "Gunga Din" or the "The Four Feathers" will love it.
Our story starts out with Michael Caine, playing Peachy Carnehan, stealing Christopher Plummer's, playing Rudyard Kipling, watch. When he realizes the gold charm attached to it shows him to be a Free Mason he tries to return it. It is interesting how that little Free Mason charm changes the lives of Sean Connery, playing Daniel Dravot, and Peachy.
Daniel and Peachy seek their fortune in a small country across deserts and mountains from India. No one has made the journey and survived to tell about it. They decide they will be kings and not drink or be familiar with women until they have reached that goal. They ask Kipling to witness their contract before their departure. Once the two set off with a couple pack animals and some guns and ammunition, the adventures and dangers the two encounter are amazing. The sprawling landscapes and cultures they see keep us mesmerized. It is not what they expected and so it also is not predictable what will befall them. A wonderful adventure worth seeing. Second, can someone explain why there are a handful of DVDs like this that require you to flip them over halfway into the movie? I absolutely hate that. Fortunately I only have a couple movies that require me to do that but it needs to changed.
There is no excuse for it as far as I can see since I have many movies that are longer that do not require me to flip them over. Furthermore neither of those I own give you any warning that you need to flip them, they just stop and the screen goes black. Consider boycotting this method of releasing movies. I know I intend to write the studio about it.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Colonial Adventure
Review: The short story by Kipling was excquisitely adapted to film by legendary director John Huston (Treasure of the Sierra Madre.) Although it's not a high budget film; with stellar performances by Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Cristopher Plummer, it is a an all time classic. The acting, story line, and superb directing by Huston more than make up for some of the film's budget-related shortcomings. Masonic brothers Danny Dravot (Sean Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine)feel that colonial India isn't big enough for men like them. Unemployed veterans of Her Majesty's Army with royal ambitions, they're out to make their own empire in distant Karfiristan; a gold-laden land of cruel savages who've never seen an Englishman or even less a rifle. The story is a great satire on the subject of imperialism in general and how the classic ploy of divide and conquer comes back to haunt the conqueror in the end. Definitely not a film for bleeding hearts or the politically correct variety. If you're not restricted by the latter points of view, the film is riddled with humor, adventure, and drama: a great one to own.
Rating:
Summary: Class Is Permanent
Review: The Man Who Would Be King is "dated" is it? There was me believing it to be one the the very best action/adventure films ever made. Silly me. I suppose Raiders of The Lost Ark, Blade Runner, Terminator and Back to the Future will be "dated" soon, if they're not already.
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