The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Average rating

(75%)

Starring:	Michael Caine \| Sean Connery \| Christopher Plummer \| Saeed Jaffrey \| Shakira Caine \| Paul Antrim \| Doghmi Larbi \| Jack May
Director:	John Huston
Studio:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	123 mins
Genres:	Action/Adventure \| Thriller
Languages:	English
Dubbed:	French, German, Italian, Spanish
Subtitles:	Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Released:	October 28, 2002
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Based on the classic story by novelist Rudyard Kipling, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING follows two British adventurers (Sean Connery and Michael Caine), former soldiers in Her Majesty's Service, as they give up the drudgery of eking out a living, legal and illegal, in poverty Raj-ruled India, and set out for the isolated, desolate land of Kafiristan to become heroes or, perhaps, even kings. Christopher Plummer stars as Kipling himself in John Huston's engaging adventure picture.

Rating of 5 stars out of 5

This movie version of Rudyard Kipling's right royal 19th-century adventure stars Sean Connery and Michael Caine as the veteran army squaddies who bamboozle a remote mountain tribe into accepting Connery's regal credentials. Greed and circumstances topple the comic elements of the tale into a serious fable about the vanity of human endeavour, in keeping with Kipling's original story and the philosophy of director John Huston's greatest movies. Huston matches character to action in masterly fashion, aided by the brief bonus of an aloof commentary on the situation by Christopher Plummer, as Kipling himself.

Rating of 1 stars out of 5
Halliwell's Film Guide

After an ingratiating start this ambitious fable becomes more predictable, and comedy gives way to unpleasantness. Despite its sporadic high quality, one does not remember it with enthusiasm.

Highest rated reviews

3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

richardthroup from BRADFORD, 29th June, 2004

This is a fantastic film which is suitable for everyone to view. Connery and Caine are superb together and you are left with the feeling that there characters have a long and close friendship. The actors really became absorbed in the roles, some of the improvisations that are used in the final edit prove this (e.g. Connery's last drink before the contract).

The film is lighthearted with some very funny moments included, however throughout the whole film (as soon as Caine appears as the crippled scruff at the beginning of the film) you are aware that everybody does not live happily ever after. At the end of the film when we discover the fate of the 2 companions I would be surprised if there is anyone who doesn't feel a stirring of some kind towards the characters.

To summarise; this is one of the most enjoyable films I can remember watching, it definitely does justice to the Rudyard Kipling story and in my opinion improves on it. Thoroughly recommended to everyone!

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Most recent reviews

Ripping (multi-level) yarn

IanStewart from from Melton Mowbray, 10th March, 2007

At first sight, the story of this film seems far-fetched, and it is. But all folk tales are far-fetched, and I think Kipling understood the spirit of a folk tale. So on one level it's a Boy's Own Paper romp, and good fun at that. But on a deeper level it's a story with many echoes - focusing mainly on how Sean Connery's character takes on the persona of the Son of Alexander. Masonic symbolism runs right through the film, adding to the multi-level message. Connery, Caine and Jaffrey are masterly in their acting - the comedy comes through, but so does the deeper-level message. The scene with Connery on the bridge, dressed up as the king (not giving away the story more than that) I found moving as well as ridiculous. I give the film four stars rather than five, because of the clumsy choice of location: Huston could surely have afforded to take the crew to some real location in Central Asia, rather than shooting in a 'Kafiristan' that is obviously Morocco.

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