Best Movie Ever!

[Winslow Leach]

Oooh thats a greate lineup..august 2nd, ill have to remember that...Thanks Winslow

Sure!

 

[Winslow Leach]

No The Lion in Winter?

I call shenanigans.

I know! I was looking for Lion and The Ruling Class. At least What's New, Pussycat?

 

[anytimepally]

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Michael Caine once said that is any of his movies outlive him, it would be John Huston's 1975 epic comedy The Man Who Would Be King because, Caine said, it's the kind of film about which people say (even in 1975), 'no one makes movies like this anymore.' Now since 1975, Caine has added many memorable movies to his already impressive filmography and two Oscars besides, but he is right.. they don't make movies like this anymore.

I think I was in college when I saw it the first time, and when it ended, I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen it before. To think that there was a movie this well-made, well-acted, and well-written out there that I hadn't seen yet amazed me.. and I think it's what started my post-college obsession with films.. I always liked movies, but I'd never felt like I truly had a *problem* before. The reason was I thought that if this movie was out there, there must be others somewhere, hidden gems I'd yet to see, and I've enjoyed searching for them (and even missing more times than I'd care to think about) since. But, enough about me.. on to the movie.

This movie is based on a Rudyard Kipling story of the same name, but Huston's screenplay greatly improves on Kipling's original.. for one thing, it's far less offensive and imperialistic, choosing to poke just as much fun at the British and their empire as at everyone else. John Huston us gives us a first-rate lesson on How to Make a Great Movie. He'd been working on this project since the late 1940s and wrote at least three different adaptations of the story. His original plan was to have Clark Gable & Humphrey Bogart in the lead roles. After that fell through, he decided to try getting Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas. That plan also failed, and by now it was the mid-1960s, so he thought maybe Richard Burton & Peter O'Toole could do it (one hopes he intended to cast O'Toole in the more comical Peachy Carnehan role, as I can't see Burton in that part), but that didn't work out either. Determined to finally make the film, Huston decided to cast Robert Redford & Paul Newman as the leads. The two were just coming off the huge success of The Sting and seemed like box office gold. However, after reading the script, Paul Newman declined the part, saying Brits were needed to do the movie justice. It was Newman who suggested to Huston he cast Michael Caine and Sean Connery. So, yeah, it took Huston nearly 30 years to finally make this movie, but the wait was more than worth it for the audience

So, you've got Caine and Connery as co-leads, with Caine also narrating, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling. Everyone is perfectly cast in their roles.. particular Caine, because though he could've played Connery's role if they'd decided to cast the other way around, I don't think Connery could've done the same with Caine's role.. so he needed to play Peachy Carnehan for the good of the film. Caine's wife even has a moderate-size part as Connery's femme fatal.. and let me just say, some guys have all the luck!

I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't seen it, but Caine and Connery play Peachy Carnehan and Daniel Dravot, arrogant, opressed ex-British soldiers in India who decide to leave for a remote Himalayan (you wouldn't know those are actually Morocco's Atlas Mountains) country, because India "isn't big enough for such as we," to make themselves kings. In order to do this, they sign a contract (witnessed by Kipling) to the effect that they'll have nothing to do with booze or women until such time as they have become Kings. So that's the basic premise. Oh, and everyone's a freemason..that's vitally important to the story. The surprising ending is just great and is much better than how Kipling ends his story.. I have a thing for twists in movies, and the ending here doesn't disappoint.

The score is awesome.. a smooth blending of traditional Indian music with British orchestral music. And Connery and Caine even sing! It's a gorgeous-looking movie, too.. well-filmed and vibrant. The only problem I have is the current DVD is double-sided, so I have to get up halfway through the movie and flip it over. There's supposed to be a new Special Edition DVD release in 2008, so hopefully they'll be able to fit it all on one side.

I could go on all day saying good things about this movie, but I'm starving, so this is all you get.

 

[D'Snowth]

Boy, everybody's posts in these threads keep getting more and more detailed and specific.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Princess Mononoki & Spirited Away.

I really love both of those films! Just brilliant!

 

[lael]

I'm also a fan of Kiki's Delivery Service. Just a cute movie.

 

[Speed Tracer]

I'm not as big an anime guy as I once was (although I'm still quite a big fan, I don't spend nearly as much money on it as I did a few years ago), but Miyazaki is one of my favorite filmmakers of all-time. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a big, big favorite of mine.

 

[D'Snowth]

I don't like anime, period.

 

[Speed Tracer]

A lot of it these days is fairly contrived and convoluted, which is why I sorta fell out of it. Still, every once in a while I'll discover a new series or movie that endlessly fascinates me.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I love it!