King and I

UPC: 024543045144

Studio: Fox Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Adult Situations]

Summary: The King and I, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's 1951 Broadway musical hit, was based on Margaret Landon's book Anna and the King of Siam. Since 20th-Century-Fox had made a film version of the Landon book in 1946, that studio had first dibs on the movie adaptation of The King and I. Deborah Kerr plays English widow Anna Leonowens, who comes to Siam in the 1860s to tutor the many wives and children of the country's progressive King (Yul Brynner, recreating his Broadway role-and winning an Oscar in the process). The culture clash between Anna and the King is but one aspect of their multilayered relationship. Through Anna, the King learns the refineries and responsibilities of "modern" western civilization; Anna meanwhile comes to realize how important it is for an Oriental ruler to maintain his pride and to uphold the customs of his people. After a successful evening entertaining foreign dignitaries, Anna and the King celebrate with an energetic dance, but this is cut short by a bitter quarrel over the cruel punishment of the King's new Burmese wife Tuptim (Rita Moreno), who has dared to fall in love with someone else. Despite the many rifts between them, Anna and the monarch come to respect and (to a degree) love one another. When the King dies, Anna agrees to stay on to offer help and advice to the new ruler of Siam, young Prince Chulalongkhorn (Patrick Adiarte). In general, The King and I tends to be somewhat stagey, with the notable exception of the matchless "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet, which utilizes the Cinemascope 55 format to best advantage (the process also does a nice job of "handling" Deborah Kerr's voluminous hoopskirts). Most of the Broadway version's best songs ("Getting to Know You", "Whistle a Happy Tune", "A Puzzlement", "Shall We Dance" etc.) are retained. None of the omissions are particularly regrettable, save for Anna's solo "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" This feisty attack on the King's chauvinism was specially written to suit the talents of Gertrude Lawrence, who played Anna in the original production; the song was cut from the film because it made Deborah Kerr seem "too bitchy" (Kerr's singing, incidentally, is dubbed for the most part by the ubiquitous Marni Nixon). When all is said and done, the principal attraction of The King and I is Yul Brynner, in the role that made him a star and with which he will forever be identified. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding – null Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Musical Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Color Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor – National Board of Review Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

King and I

Format: DVD

Release Date: 04/27/1999

Brendon Hanley

The King and I typifies the elaborate Broadway musical adaptations with which Hollywood studios often tried to fight the advance of television of 1950s. Shot in an extreme widescreen version of CinemaScope to counter the smallness of the TV screen, the film offers equally grand set design, costumes, and cinematography. The songs and performances are equally impressive: Yul Brynner won an Oscar for his career-best performance as the King of Siam; and Deborah Kerr's singing was dubbed by the capable Marni Nixon, who had been responsible for Natalie Wood's singing voice in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn's in My Fair Lady. Based on the book Anna and the King of Siam, the story has been filmed at least three times: as the 1946 drama Anna and the King of Siam; as an animated musical of the same name, in 1999; and the non-musical Anna and the King, also from that same year. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Thomas and Dennis Bonifla  Actor 
Fuji  Actor 
Marni Nixon  Actor 
Charles Brackett  Producer 
Ken Darby  Composer (Music Score) 
Walter Lang  Director 
Ernest Lehman  Screenwriter 
Alfred Newman  Composer (Music Score) 
Rodgers & Hammerstein  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard Rodgers  Composer (Music Score) 
Deborah Kerr  Actor 
Yul Brynner  Actor 
Rita Moreno  Actor 
Martin Benson  Actor 
Terry Saunders  Actor 
Rex Thompson  Actor 
Carlos Rivas  Actor 
Patrick Adiarte  Actor 
Alan Mowbray  Actor 
Geoffrey Toone  Actor 
Yuriko  Actor 
Marion Jim  Actor 
Robert Banas  Actor 
Dusty Worrall  Actor 
Gernze de Lappe  Actor 
Charles Irwin  Actor 
Leonard Strong  Actor 
Jadin Wong  Actor 
Jean Wong  Actor 
Weaver Levy  Actor 
William Yip  Actor 
Eddie Luke  Actor 
Josephine Smith  Actor 

Country: USA