1975 Directed by John Huston
A robust adventure about two British adventurers who take over primitive Kafiristan as "godlike" rulers, meeting a tragic end through their desire for a native girl. Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling.
Seikkailujen sankarit, El hombre que pudo reinar, El hombre que sería Rey, 왕이 되려던 사나이
The monarch has no clothes, and power is won through the same gamesmanship as employed in a polo match in John Huston’s “The Man Who Would be King.”
Based on a seminal Rudyard Kipling short story (the same that would eventually be the basis for “Road to El Dorado”), the Michael Caine-Sean Connery double act about two former British soldiers out to rob a secluded tribal kingdom is rife with the malicious mischief of imperialism.
Huston had been efforting the project for decades, with team-ups that could have included Bogart/Gable and Douglas/Lancaster. While any of these titans of acting would likely have made a decent variable version of the now classic film, it is the almost pitiable self-glorification of Connery…
"Well if a Greek can do it, we can do it."
Two scoundrelly British mercenaries (Sean Connery and Michael Caine) sally forth from India to the historical Kafiristan region of northeast Afghanistan with the intention of training local military forces before subverting their leaders and installing themselves as godheads.
Despite nearly being made a couple of times, John Huston's The Man Who Would Be King lingered in production limbo for more than two decades—an earlier iteration was meant to star Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable. Adapted from an 1888 Rudyard Kipling story by Huston and longtime collaborator Gladys Hill, the film is often cited as a passion project. And so it is I guess, in the sense that Huston clung…
The Man Who Would Be King. 1975. Directed by John Huston.
John Huston lived for adventure and to break ground so that other genres could flourish. The Man Who Would Be King (1975) is an adventure written by Rudyard Kipling’s novella and John Huston and Gladys Hill adapted the novella into a screeenplay. This is a true adventure like the Indiana Jones (19984) series. Sean Connery (Daniel Dravot) and Michael Caine (Peachy Carnehan) serve up the majority of adventure as the con their way to Kafiristan (modern day Afghanistan). The ignorance of local tribes is exploited as Peachy assists Dravot in becoming a King/God.
The adventure genre was made better due to John Huston’s desire to travel and break ground…
"God's holy trousers!"
Sumptuous entertainment, wonderful chemistry between Michael Caine and Sean Connery, majestic locations and photography. The film has the expansiveness of 'Lawrence of Arabia' at times and also has much in common with John Huston's own, 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre' in regards to the cautionary tale of pursuing treasures and gold. There is fine banter in the script and much fine adventuring is had along the way, it is just so damn easy to watch and enjoy. 'The Man Who Would Be King' is entertainment fit for deities and Englishmen alike.
Based on a Kipling short story, The Man Who Would Be King definitely has short story vibes, but the magnificent sets and on location shooting make it pretty glorious despite its limited scope.
I haven't ever seen Connery have this much fun in a movie. It often feels like he's kind of phoning it in, but he really gives himself to this role, and plays well opposite Michael Caine.
The concept of white people going to less developed communities to play god is somewhat problematic, but I go back and forth because the film seems to be at least somewhat aware of this, never quite letting us like our lead characters.
It took some of the glory from the 60s epics, yet it feels like it incorporated some of the 70s counterculture, so it strikes an interesting tone.
Huston was a jack of all trades, tackling many genres throughout his lustrous career. However, if one had to place him into a box, into one genre, there's no doubt "adventure" would be it, as even his much dramatic endeavors always have that sense of adventure and this film in no exception. In many ways, it actually feels as the ultimate John Huston movie as it captures many of the elements he became known for and still remembered to this date from the sheer epic scope that also calls back in many ways to David Lean to the often thrills that lies even on the much dramatic moments.
Caine and Connery are really good as these two rogue ex-soldiers who…
The Man Who Would Be King is a film that fits nicely into my preference for films which take real life people and meld them into an utterly fictional story.
Of course, when I say that, I do so at the risk of ignoring the fact that this is a film that fucking well has Sean Connery and Michael Caine in the lead roles. It's frankly amazing to me that this film isn't talked about more these days for that reason alone, especially as they are still two of the more famous actors in the world.
But I do like the factual / fictional thing very much indeed. I don't think this one quite matches the wonderful Time After Time…
Part of:
5 Directors x 5 Unseen Films – Round 1
You are going to become soldiers. A soldier does not think. He only obeys. Do you really think that if a soldier thought twice he'd give his life for queen and country? Not bloody likely.
-Daniel Dravot
Brilliant adventure film staring the even more brilliant pairing of Sean Connery and Michael Caine. As impossible as this sounds, this is the only film they starred together in and only shared a credit in one other film. That other film is A Bridge Too Far though, so I think that doesn't really count since practically every working actor in Hollywood had a bit part in it.
Danny (Connery) and Peachy (Caine)…
What a delight! The chemistry between Connery and Caine is fantastic, the script is smart, the dialogue is a banter bounty, and the photography is glorious. A great adventure and morality tale - John Huston is really good showing the rise and fall of greed-induced ego.
Catching up on Classics | List
Film #5: The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
John Huston's epic adventure comedy The Man Who Would Be King is as joyously entertaining as it is hilariously tragic to watch unfold. It's a satirical look at the British Empire, as we follow two foolish British officers, played by Michael Caine and Sean Connery, on their attempt to search for gold and adventure in Kafiristan, a historical region in Afghanistan, only for Connery's character to be mistakenly crowned as king.
Allegedly, this has been a passion project of John Huston for several decades, and both Connery and Caine cited this as one of their favorite filming experiences, and that should really come as no…
The odds were slim that I wouldn't enjoy a
grand, sweeping adventure film directed by John Huston that stars Sean Connery, Michael Caine and Christopher Plummer. And so it's no shock that I did. Of course, there is an asterisk that comes with adapting Rudyard Kipling material in that it includes some colonial sentiments and racist attitudes in the depiction of the locals. I would be remiss in not mentioning to be prepared for that going in.
That being said, the film incorporates a
spirit of frontier pushing adventure and camaraderie between two friends, Peachy Carnehan (Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Connery) who wish to make their way to far off Kafiristan and exploit the locals for their own gain. As…
