King of Hearts
|
Our Price: $83.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $42.50 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of King of Hearts
Movie Review: The madness and madcap-ness of war
Summary: 4 Stars
The madness of war makes the members of the asylum seem sane. Such is the theme of this anti-war comedy directed by France's Philippe de Broca, starring the English actor Alan Bates wearing a jaunty crown, and featuring a young and delectable Genevieve Bujold in a yellow tutu.
She's insane. A virgin who believes she's a prostitute. Her madame is also insane, or so the townsmen of Marville believe. But theirs is such a pleasant insanity that we in the audience are persuaded to ask what is sanity and who needs it? Can nerve gas and rat-infested trenches with bloated, rotting bodies be sane?
But hold on there, that last sentence better describes some other anti-war movies from the time of The Great War, perhaps "All Quiet on the Western Front" or Kubrick's "Paths of Glory." Here the tone is light, the treatment burlesque, the plot absurdly amusing.
Bates plays Private Charles Plumpick (in Scottish kilt) a keeper of messenger pigeons who has "volunteered" to find and defuse a bomb left in Marville by the retreating Jerrys. It's set to go off at the stroke of midnight. The townspeople learn of the bomb and desert the town, leaving the inmates at the sanitarium and the circus animals to fend for themselves. So when Plumpick arrives he finds only a detachment of Germans who spot him and chase him into the asylum. Inside as cover he joins a game of cards with two of the inmates. The Jerrys confront the inmates who identify themselves in absurd ways. Plumpick, with some on the spot inspiration, calls himself "the king of hearts."
And so we have our premise. When the Jerrys retreat to the countryside to await the explosion, and while the English watch for the return of one of Plumpick's pigeons with news that the bomb has been defused, the inmates stream out of the asylum. They take over the town, dressing up in various costumes: this one becomes the mayor, another the priest, and little Mademoiselle "Poppy" (Bujold) awaits her first trick.
This the kind of movie that Monty Python fans would adore, and I suspect it had some effect on the directorial style of Terry Gilliam.
Anyway I wrote a little ditty to anticipate the ending (BEWARE SPOILER!):
I'll have no more of war
Such a craven whore!
I will to the asylum go
To be my true love's beau.
Movie Review: Is there something extra on this DVD?
Summary: 4 Stars
King of Hearts was, in my younger and more vulnerable years, one of my favorite movies, but I had not seen it in many years. In fact, I'd rather forgotten about it. Then I came across the DVD and bought it and watched it again. Still a great movie, but I was puzzled. My recollection was the final scene of the movie is Plumpick (Alan Bates) appearing at the gate of the asylum naked. Then the credits began (rather abruptly as I recollect). In the DVD, however, there is a short scene after this where Bates has joined the inmates and there is a brief exchange of dialog. I don't recall ever seeing this before, but maybe my memory is foggy. No one else seems to have mentioned this either in ... of IMDB, nor does the DVD tout a restored scene. Can anyone tell me if they recall this scene?Movie Review: The King of Hearts
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of the greatest films ever made. It has depth, without being pretentious, with a light, amusing, and touching style. It gently questions without pedantry some of the more dehumanizing aspects of social institutions and false values. It helps restore our faith in human beings without being naive or sanitizing. It offers a wonderful blend of irony, compassion, and deft underlying tragedy with humorous overtones. It has a memorable cast and superb directing and music. However, PLEASE NO LETTER BOX. The 10% or so gain in screen width is more than offset by the loss of the whole movie in terms of clarity and intimacy.Movie Review: The King of Hearts
Summary: 4 Stars
This is one of the greatest films ever made and has a charming, subtle non-pedantic way of questioning oppressive and dehumanizing social values and institutions. It is magnificently acted - a stellar cast - and deeply moving. It endears human beings to us without being pollyanish. However, I recommend only the original French with subtitles. I saw a dubbed VHS version which destroyed the character of the film with its mechanical, lifeless dubbed voices. Also, PLEASE NO LETTER-BOX, which gives us 10% wider screen but a loss of the whole movie. It destroys intimacy and clarity.Movie Review: Beautiful transfer
Summary: 4 Stars
I remember the movie from when I was in college and it has always been one of my favorites. Look at the trailer if you want to see what it looked on the movie screen, very nice transfer to DVD. Too bad the only 'extra' is the trailer.