The King and I (50th Anniversary Edition)
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Movie Reviews of The King and I (50th Anniversary Edition)
Movie Review: East vs West.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Can a progressive, but barbaric, King learn the ways of a teacher from a proper upbringing in England? The King has hired her to teach his many wives and children at his palace in Siam. Tempers flare when ideals are questioned and freedom doesn't mean the same thing for the two. Songs abound in this lively musical. You'll leave this movie humming and singing the songs that have become so familiar today. This is one you mustn't miss.Movie Review: "The King and I" holds up well.
Summary: 4 Stars
I hadn't seen this movie in years and thoroughly enjoyed it. The style is a little dated but not enough to hurt. That's one big palace the king lives in and the floors are VERY shiney. Lot of Mop N'Glo in the kingdom.
The story is very similar to "The Sound of Music" when you think about it.
Single woman comes to the home of a very highly placed man to take care of his kids. The forbidden romance: in S of M it's the daughter and the little Nazi protege. In K&I it's the new young wife and her lover. There are even some song parallels. "DoReMe" is "Getting To Know You".
"Something Wonderful" is similar to "Climb Every Mountain". The wife who sings "Something..." is similar to the Reverand Mother. The whole thing is "Romeo and Juliet" becomes "West Side Story".
My only (and great) disappointment was that they cut "I Have Dreamed" from the movie. For my money, that's one of R&H's finest songs. Too bad, too bad.
Movie Review: Shall We THINK...?
Summary: 4 Stars
It's been decades since I was in high school, but I still remember being taken aback by the fact that the script for THE KING AND I was included in my junior year English Lit Anthology. As it happens, it was never actually assigned, but I remember being utterly baffled by its inclusion (could a Broadway musical merit inclusion among more serious works of literature?) and at least skimmed through it at the time. Somehow the notion of members of the Siamese court staging a stylized production of UNCLE TOM'S CABIN just seemed too weird--or maybe just not weird enough-- for my adolescent brain. Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't find that kind of cross-cultural meld more interesting. But it WAS 1968, and ANY Broadway musical (with the possible exception of the then-current HAIR) would have been way too ESTABLISHMENT for my emerging, uh, countercultural tastes.
But giving it the once over, I had to admit that the text embraced at least it one or two serious IDEAS. So maybe it was worthy of inclusion in the anthology. (And, hey, the rest of the book's selections weren't all literary masterpieces either.) Of course, a few years later--or maybe several years later--I would prove to be much more receptive to a work like THE KING AND I. In fact, oddly enough, a few years BEFORE I probably would have embraced it more eagerly too. In my late childhood, early adolescent stage I was just precocious enough that almost ANYTHING that seemed to smack of grown up sophistication would have appealed to me.
So maybe age 16 was just the wrong age to encounter THE KING AND I--especially in 1968. It probably would come as no surprise to anyone reading this that I have seen the film several times as an adult and appreciate it more each time that I do. It does succeed as sheer entertainment and spectacle of course. The "Shall We Dance?" sequence alone is worth the price of admission (or the price of rental or purchase for home view). Visually, that scene--like so much else in the movie--is just gorgeous.
And it's really only been in the past few years that I have come to appreciate the "Little House of Uncle Thomas" production for the masterpiece of interpretive dance that it is.
It may also come as something of a surprise to viewers my age (and younger) just how many of the Rodgers and Hammerstein tunes from the show were musical staples on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW or were radio hits of the day. Aside from the above mentioned "Shall We Dance?" the show also gave rise to such classics as "Whistle A Happy Tune" and "Hello Young Lovers" and the perhaps somewhat lesser known "Something Wonderful." And musically, they really are something wonderful at that. (And yes, I know that that would have been the last thing I would have owned up to at 16.)
Of course, with all that nourishment for the eye and the ear, did it really need much intellectual heft--or even enough of a message to warrant being included in a high school anthology. Well, there are those who would argue that even the most escapist genres in the popular arts still have a social or cultural subtext. And Broadway musicals are certainly no exception to the rule, even in the B.S. era (that is to say, "Before Sondheim"). While no one would look to even the most sophisticated musical for genuine insight into the human condition, they can address important themes as well as or better than other popular arts.
THE KING AND I at least touches upon such important themes as: justice; classism; imperialism; feudalism; cross-cultural influence; the relation of the sexes; the nature of true nobility; intellectual striving...the list goes on and on. Had I been open to it as a teenager, it certainly could have provided me with ideas enough to chew over--certainly as many as most of the other selections in that literary anthology. And had the soundtrack been available to me as well, it would have certainly provided me with a more than a few moments of musical (guilty?) pleasure even then.
Certainly, I appreciate it now!
Movie Review: a great, classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical......
Summary: 5 Stars
THE KING AND I was one of my earlier introductions to the great body of work, from the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. This film showcases Deborah Kerr, as Anna Leonowens (with the singing voice of Marni Nixon--the "ghost singer" for many Hollywood starlets) and Yul Brynner, as the King of Siam, at his bald-headed best. This is the musical remake of ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, made in 1946, starring Irene Dunne (as Anna Leonowens) and Yul Brynner (as The King of Siam).
THE KING AND I brings important social issues, as relevant in 1862 (the year that the story is set) as they are today. Though, dated in nature, this wonderfully engrossing tale examines racism, sexism and misogyny, as experienced through the eyes of British governess Anna Leonowens, who arrives in Siam (now Thailand) to teach the king's brood of children about history and valuable life lessons. One of the most well-known songs from this film is "Getting To Know You," a sweet, upbeat song, where Anna teaches the children to be more open-minded toward people outside of what is comfortable and familiar to them. I think that best illustrates Leonowens' view of the world, and how it vastly contrasts from the views more commonly voiced in the castle of the king. For starters, The King has many, many, many wives. This includes a beautiful new wife, the young Tuptim (Rita Moreno), who is secretly in love with another man--a forbidden romance. The king keeps wives like he would livestock, and Anna is appalled by this common custom. She sets out to break down the kings' machisimo. But, will she succeed?
Some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard from Rodgers and Hammerstein. The songs include "We Kiss In the Shadow," "Shall We Dance" (made famous by the wonderful dancing sequence, involving Deborah Kerr in a beautiful purple gown, shasaying with an enthusiastic king), and "I Have Dreamed." This film is beautifully acted, marvelously directed, and greatly engaging.
Movie Review: The King And I
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is not only a classic but will haunt your memory with it's music and characters. Shall We Dance rings not in only your ears but your heart as you watch this sophisticated English teacher become beguiled with the awsome persona of a real live pagan king, bare feet and all. I normally do not like sad endings but this one I tollerated because of the enormous empact the story line had on me. Your service in bringing the best movies to the public is very much appreciated by this buyer.Thank you again, Patricia A. Adams