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Amazon.co.uk Review
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 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 finally able to realise 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. Huston lets the humour emerge naturally from the characters, for whom we wind up caring more deeply than we ever expected. --Jim Emerson
Stills from The Man Who Would Be King (click for larger image)
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DVD Description
Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Feature Run Time: 124 minutes
Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Feature Run Time: 124 minutes
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
After watching Oliver Stone's truly awful film "Alexander the directors cut" where credulity was well and truly stretched with the Irish accents and an overdose of male bonding, I was in dire need of an antidote. I decided to reacquaint myself with John Huston's "The Man who would be King". I was not disappointed. The film has aged very well in the thirty odd years since it was made.
It is based on a story by the very British Rudyard Kipling who had lived and worked in India. It is a simple adventure story in the tradition of "Kim" and "Gunga Din", two other stories he wrote that were set in India during the time of the raj. Both these books were made into films by Hollywood. Huston had wanted to make a film of the book since the fifties and originally wanted Gable and Bogart, then as time wore on it was Lancaster and Douglas then Redford and Newman. Finally sense prevailed when Newman suggested the two very British actors Sean Connery and Michael Caine. A very good choice they are too, playing roles made for them. In stark contrast to "Alexander" their accents fit in seamlessly.
The film follows the fortunes of two rogues, Daniel Dravet played by Connery and Peachey Carnehan played by Caine. These two colourful characters are time served soldiers of the British Raj. Their nefarious activities bring them into contact with Rudyard Kipling, played by Christopher Plummer, and they hatch a daring plan to make a fortune by becoming the first white men since Alexander the Great to enter the kingdom of Kafiristan in the remote Hindu Kush. After an epic journey they reach their destination where Danny after a stroke of fortune is revered as a God. Like Alexander he comes under the spell of an alluring woman called Roxanna played by Michael Caine's very beautiful wife Shakira. He decides to wed her which causes much consternation amongst the locals. Gods don't marry mere mortals and they certainly don't bleed. With untold wealth within their grasp will the pair escape before being rumbled?
The essence of the film picks up the quintessential Britishness of Kipling's work remarkably well, in an era when Britain had an empire and Brittania ruled the waves. It has a handsome look and there is much to be admired. The location filming in Morocco and Chamonix was very impressive. I have been to both places but still believed it must have been filmed somewhere on the sub continent around the Himalayas. The dress of the local inhabitants also seemed very authentic to my untrained eye. The music by Michael Jarre is an excellent mix, using music from India and blending it with his own style and some old British stiff upper lip colonial type music. Saeed Jaffrey gives excellent support as the loyal Billy Fish and I believe Connery and Caine were never better. The film is hugely entertaining and is a fine achievement. Highly recommended.
It is based on a story by the very British Rudyard Kipling who had lived and worked in India. It is a simple adventure story in the tradition of "Kim" and "Gunga Din", two other stories he wrote that were set in India during the time of the raj. Both these books were made into films by Hollywood. Huston had wanted to make a film of the book since the fifties and originally wanted Gable and Bogart, then as time wore on it was Lancaster and Douglas then Redford and Newman. Finally sense prevailed when Newman suggested the two very British actors Sean Connery and Michael Caine. A very good choice they are too, playing roles made for them. In stark contrast to "Alexander" their accents fit in seamlessly.
The film follows the fortunes of two rogues, Daniel Dravet played by Connery and Peachey Carnehan played by Caine. These two colourful characters are time served soldiers of the British Raj. Their nefarious activities bring them into contact with Rudyard Kipling, played by Christopher Plummer, and they hatch a daring plan to make a fortune by becoming the first white men since Alexander the Great to enter the kingdom of Kafiristan in the remote Hindu Kush. After an epic journey they reach their destination where Danny after a stroke of fortune is revered as a God. Like Alexander he comes under the spell of an alluring woman called Roxanna played by Michael Caine's very beautiful wife Shakira. He decides to wed her which causes much consternation amongst the locals. Gods don't marry mere mortals and they certainly don't bleed. With untold wealth within their grasp will the pair escape before being rumbled?
The essence of the film picks up the quintessential Britishness of Kipling's work remarkably well, in an era when Britain had an empire and Brittania ruled the waves. It has a handsome look and there is much to be admired. The location filming in Morocco and Chamonix was very impressive. I have been to both places but still believed it must have been filmed somewhere on the sub continent around the Himalayas. The dress of the local inhabitants also seemed very authentic to my untrained eye. The music by Michael Jarre is an excellent mix, using music from India and blending it with his own style and some old British stiff upper lip colonial type music. Saeed Jaffrey gives excellent support as the loyal Billy Fish and I believe Connery and Caine were never better. The film is hugely entertaining and is a fine achievement. Highly recommended.
28 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's hard to see how this could have been improved upon: great director, great cast (Caine and Connery perfect in the roles of Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot) great photography, great music...Huston, in an almost-forgotten (by film directors) tradition of great story-telling, lets the story and the characters speak for themselves. Carnehan and Dravot may be rogues, but they are loveable rogues who, in spite of their open ambition to seek a fortune by looting a country (remember that this kind of ambition was acceptable in the 19th century) still have their own kind of principles and morality. Chief among these is the idea that one never abandons a friend. In spite of the tragic end to which ambition brings them, both show a kind of nobility and depth of character which shines through in the end. And what an end! I defy anyone who is not emotionally dead to watch the final scene without at least a prickle of a tear behind the eyelids. As for me, I've started sniffling just thinkng about it....
For me, one of the greatest films ever made.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Based on a short story by Kipling, I regard this as Micheal Caine and Sean Connery's best work. The film is expanded from the original work, but doesn't suffer as a result. The acting is convincing, quality of the DVD is good and makes an entertaining evenings viewing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Spectacular movie
Still strangely unknown by many, this is a masterpiece of cinema - the acting is of the highest standard (Sean Connery even plays someone who is not Sean Connery, making funny... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lee Harris
The Man who would be King
This was a gift for my 21yr son who had been searching for this movie for a while, As he puts it, it is Michael Caine at his best, a classic.
Published 2 months ago by shopaholic mama
as good as it gets
as my title suggests you cannot get any better service or selection anywhere that i am aware of,you can however order another dvd!!
Published 4 months ago by Adsmith
I love it.
personally I love this film. a magnificent story, written by a magnificent author, played by two magnificent actors. i really cannot think of anything more to say. Read more
Published 9 months ago by C Graffius
Classic Connery and Caine
Here is a dvd that on the first impression looked very 70's but in fact it was very good. Kept you on the edge so to speak. Read more
Published 11 months ago by R. Watson
Great escapist film
Although a dated film, the storyline is great and the main actors Michael Caine and Sean Connery are funny as ex British Army soldiers without a cause. Read more
Published 14 months ago by DGNB
A great British Empire adventure tale
If you like movies about the days when Old Britannia really did rule the waves and the might of Imperial Britain had conquered around the quarter of the globe then you'll love this... Read more
Published 15 months ago by LXIX
Best of the Empire!!!
What a great movie this is! I first watched it on a late night TV slot and fully expected to go to bed after the first ten minutes and was totally riveted to the screen. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Chris L
An old school ripping yarn.
Didn't expect much when I bought this out of curiosity but it's now in my top ten favourite films. Real escapism for the boy who grew up playing with toy soldiers and reading tales... Read more
Published 23 months ago
"D'ye forgive me, Peachey?": A Right Carry-On Up the Marwar Junction
I've had a steadfast if slightly guilty love of this film all my life. Adapted with some (significant but shrewd) changes from Rudyard Kipling's wonderful short story, 'The Man... Read more
Published on 20 May 2010 by Brian Flange
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