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King RatRating:
Release Date: 06 May, 2003 Retail Price: $19.94 OUR Price: $17.99 You SAVE: $1.95! Cast: Complete Cast (18 total) |
King Rat Reviews
you are loved whilel you're useful
This film isn't excellent but has quality although I think joints several aspects that are unpopular. Firstly, there are no women, as it happens in a Japanese prisoner camp of Singapore during WW II. Secondly, the plot shows many facets of human miseries and that don't taste much people. The bitter reality in effect, is about after three years of imprisonment, discipline is very relaxed in the camp and a behaviour not very ethic and excessively accommodating reigns there, officers having forgotten many of his duty and when not as in the role played by Tom Courtenay, it attains stupidity. The case is similar of these of "Bridge on the river Kwai", but Japanese soldiers are less brutal here. Sea and jungle makes impossible to escape. So, American corporal King played by George Segal is a businessman king of black market in the camp breaking all rules and ordnances ordinary in military life, trafficking with food, medicines, cigarettes, etc. But King isn't at last so bad or no poor than the others. I think he has recognized the absurdity of the military life and war, as he saves finally the life of a British officer. He's King Rat, a nickname he wins owing he sells rat meat as if it were rabbit o something else, as hunger and lack of all supplies is widespread. All that experiments a brisk turn when war ends. Then, King Rat losses all his power, as military ordnances and laws rule again with full force, and he's rejected by those who during these three years depended on him and his abilities. Today this movie is perhaps seen as made with modest means, but is plenty of good actors and the theme is to reflect about human condition and absurdities of conventions in war and peace.
Kurosawa in Khakis
Something about the cinematography and pacing of King Rat kept making me compare it to Akira Kurosawa. Today, this is a mostly forgotten film, but it ranks with the best of them. Could it be that George Segal's incessant banjo playing on countless Tonight Show appearances degraded his status and by association, this movie? Thankfully, today's movie fans are largely ignorant of Mr. Segal and his infernal banjo. However, I confess, King Rat lingered on my shelf for months while I struggled to overcome the unreasoning dread that he might somehow produce that cursed instrument within the confines of Chang Gi prison. Thankfully, Mr. Segal's character far trancends his late-nite persona.
From the start, King Rat is first-class. John Barry's mesmerizing and surreal score sets the mood as if you are entering a bad dream. James Clavell (who I enjoyed in one of my other Forgotten Favorites-The Last Valley) creates another oriental masterpiece of a story. It is free of stereotypes, even though we are familiar with the personality types in prison movies. The characters are distinct and human-even the Japanese. Edward Fox stands out in an extraordinary Oscar worthy performance. I couldn't help comparing him to Paul Bettany. Put in Edward Norton for George Segal and you've got a remake. Of course, contemporary filmmakers wouldn't come near the quality of this piece. I agree that this is a better movie than Bridge on the River Kwai. It just doesn't have that catchy whistling. Maybe it needed a banjo sequence to make the Academy take notice.
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