Product Details

• Actors: Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Saeed Jaffrey, Doghmi Larbi
• Directors: John Huston
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: August 6, 1992
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000006GTW
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,671 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

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. --Jim Emerson

Amazon.com

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. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Huston is the real King !, March 3, 2003

By	the wizard of uz (Studio City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Would Be King (DVD)

He began with 'The Maltese Falcon' which one must admit is not too bad for a first film, don't you think?

Then for years he wanted to bring this adventure story by Kipling to the screen. How many years? Well, originally he had Bogie and Gable in mind for the leads, you do the math.

Fortunately for us, he eventually got the green light for his project.

He then found Peachy and Danny in Michael Caine and Sean Connery, movie stars who are also great actors-- of which there ain't many, folks---and who are perfectly cast in the roles.

Moreover, Caine and Connery had been friends for a long time and this undoubtedly helped bring to life the camaraderie between the misfit heroes.

It is the late 19th century and Danny and Peachy, formerly sergeants in Her Majesty's Army, find themselves stranded and penniless in India. Their ungrateful country has no further use for them, although their officers once called them heroes "We fought our way up the pass yard by bloody yard."

Now, bureocrats are running the show "with long skinny noses for looking down on you" and Danny and Peachy are considered 'undesirables'.

So they are faced with three choices: Go back to England and take jobs as a porters or something equally lower class and menial, stay in India and continue to live more or less as petty criminals, or. . .

Well, let's not give the plot away. Suffice it to say that when a reasonable Kipling (wonderfully played by Christopher Plummer) tries to dissuade them from their insane scheme, on the grounds that the odds against them are truly suicidal, Peachy dismisses his concerns with "Well, if a Greek can do it, two Englishman certainly can !"

--The Greek in question being Alexander the Great--

And yes, women as well as men will enjoy this great film. It's a not a "buddy movie", it's a classic.

Thank you, John Huston.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great great film, so so DVD - with one startling omission, October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man Who Would Be King (DVD)

This is, of course, a great film, with every aspect of what makes a great film fully exploited. But I did discover something strange on the DVD - there is an entire scene missing. After Sean Connery falls from the bridge, instead of the process shot that shows him falling in slow-motion and the crown falling from his head (which is in every version of the film I've ever seen) the scene dissolves to Christopher Plummer listening to the final words of Michael Caine's narration. What happened to the scene?? Why would it have been removed?? My only other quibble about the DVD is that the sound is not very full. It is an early release DVD so in subsequent releases they might address that issue, but PUT BACK THE MISSING SCENE!

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masonic Mysteries In The Exotic East ~ In The Footsteps of Alexander The Great, September 8, 2005

By	Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Man Who Would Be King (DVD)

This film has met all the prerequistes necessary for producing a profound and rewarding entertainment experience. One of the greatest directors of all-time (John Huston), an all-star cast: Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer and Saeed jaffrey, and an incredibly original storyline incorporating ancient Masonic mysteries, exotic locations and crisp, witty dialogue. This is a story I wish I had written! Even more delightful, it meets all expectations!

Rudyard Kipling (Plummer) finds an unexpected guest awaiting his presence in his darkened study one night. Without proper introductions the hooded intruder begins to share with Kipling a fantastic tale of adventure and discovery from a faraway land that many thought only existed in myth and legend. The study of the famous writer soon disappears as we are taken along with the mysterious narrator on a fantastic journey to a foreign land.

We are now introduced to Daniel Dravot (Connery) and Peachy Carnehan (Caine), two ex-British soldiers and Masonic brothers turn fortune hunters. Seeking fame and fortune they are about to undertake the adventure of a lifetime. Their destination, the Far East in search of the legendary lost treasure of Alexander the Great.

And what an adventure it is! As Daniel and Peachy work their way across the vast Indian landscape towards the remote region of Kafiristan they encounter the usual severe natural hardships and hostile inhabitants as you might expect. However it's the discovery of an archaic religious cult that happens to share many of the same symbols and beliefs found in their own Masonic brotherhood that really makes them begin to wonder. As they unravel the secret origin of this esoteric connection they are faced with the truth behind a two thousand year old secret concerning Alexander the Great and his mythical lost treasure.

Great film from '75. It may seem a little dated to young viewers, but give it a chance and you won't regret it! Great supporting performance from Saeed Jaffrey ( one of the greatest character actors of all time) the who plays their native guide Billy Fish, along with a brief and rare appearance by the lovely Shakira Caine as Roxanne.