The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Over The Mountains And Through The Desert

To An Epic Adventure We Go!

- Rudyard Kipling's famous 1888 short story becomes the tremendously entertaining 1975 film through the vision and execution of legendary director John Huston. Captivated and perplexed as soon as the film begins with Michael Caine stumbling in on crutches, you are taken on a great and exciting adventure in The Man Who Would Be King. Two British ex-soldiers and current smugglers, Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, plan to sneak through a land not too keen on white dudes to a far away land, find a village, defeat its foes, become kings and then proceed to "loot the country four ways from Sunday." The film's excellent starring cast is up to their usual high standards - Michael Caine is hilarious and impassioned as Peachy Carnehan, Sean Connery is quirkier than you have ever seen him as Daniel Dravot and Christopher Plummer is as great as always as the affable, intelligent and dry Kipling. Caine and Connery are a great screen duo and the "buddy" relationship that their characters have is great fun to watch and is almost the entire film in and of itself. The other half is the film's brand of epic that you really feel. The Man Who Would Be King is an epic adventure in the purist of senses: ranging from but not limited to larger than life landscapes, exotic cultures, exciting action and great humor. But watch out, you will find a moral at the end of this story that will attack you like, well.... one thousand very angry holy men.


CBC Rating: 10/10