Man Who Would Be King

Man Who Would Be King

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 (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

PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Year:
1975
129
5,095 Views

Share your thoughts on Man Who Would Be King's quotes with the community:

0 Comments

    Quote of the Day Today's Quote | Archive

    Would you like us to send you a FREE inspiring quote delivered to your inbox daily?

    Please enter your email address:

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this movie page to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Man Who Would Be King Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Nov. 2024. <https://www.quotes.net/movies/man_who_would_be_king_quotes_7186>.

    Know another quote from Man Who Would Be King?

    Don't let people miss on a great quote from the "Man Who Would Be King" movie - add it here!

    Quiz

    Are you a quotes master?

    »
    Who said:"I have not begun to fight yet!"
    A Alexander the Great
    B John Paul Jones
    C George Washington
    D George III of England