Anna & The King of Siam [DVD] [1946] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I always loved The King and I film with Yul Brynner then years later watched the version with Chow Yun- fat. The whole story is fascinating so I bought this version with Rex Harrison. I had read some reviews which said he was mis cast but I enjoyed it. The films led me to reading about the real Anna. What a fascinating person she was.

Very good film to watch exciting story and excellent actors/actresses appearing.

OK, it's an old film, so it's in Black and White. The story is OK, and it's well acted. I don't think I will watch it very often, but it's nice to know i've got it. I will recommend it.

Very slow to start but watchable

This popular, rather frighteningly naive story is known mainly on film by the musical 'The King & I' and the later straight period feature from 1999, with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat, directed by Andy Tennant. Both these are in glorious colour with lavish sets and high production values.In comparison, this 1946 'original' shares the expensive sets and values but is in black & white. Unlike the 1999 one, which seems to be on TV, somewhere, several times a year, this one is rarely shown. The showing I saw on TCM was, as far as I recall, the only time I've known it to be screened in the UK in recent years. It won Oscars for both Art Direction and Cinematography - in black & white.As a middle aged bloke who prefers Tarantino, I still quite enjoy the tale of culture clash, though time itself is eating away at that charming naivety. Irene Dunne, an American playing the English schoolmistress is fine, her accent clipped and clear, her poise elegant and attentive. However, Rex Harrison, as the King, simply looks and sounds ridiculous. Yul Brynner passed himself off well in this role as he looked the part and had the necessary sense of measured authority. Yun-Fat is, of course, Far Eastern (born in Hong Kong), so he has this part covered. Harrison is jokey, awkward and looks more like our King George VI than anything oriental. His pronounciation of the now famous phrases - etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (etc!) - are rushed and their resonances lost.This is probably why I'm lowering my score to 3 stars. We know Harrison is usually brilliant, but in this, he's hopelessly miscast and he is such an obviously key character. Knowing the colour versions also robs us of what we know can be - and this is probably why it's seldom shown.For followers of either Harrison or Dunne, or of the actual story itself, it has merit, but for others, I'm afraid, more a historical novelty.

This is the first film of several based upon the writings of Anna Leonowens. This and other films used as source material a biography written by Margaret Landon who used the original writings and made her own amendments. Anna wrote about her time as a governess in Siam (Thailand) and some of what she wrote may not be fully historically accurate - she was writing for publication - and as each film was issued so the tale moved further away from reality, retaining the basic story only.This version of the film is the closest to the book, and many of the decisions made in production were to be seen reflected in later versions, including the musical on stage and film. Admittedly Rex Harrison is barely oriental, but the manner in which he plays the role of the king was certainly an influence on later actors.It is probably worth starting the series of films with this one to appreciate how the productions evolved, but if you have already seen the later versions, come back to this black and white classic and see where it started. It is much harder when you are the first, you have no-one to inspire you. It is a tribute to this film that it so inspired the later releases.The most famous version of the tale is probably the stage and film musical, The King and I.A 12 certificate for a 1946 film is unusual - given for moderate violence (once). The BBFC insisted on an obligatory two second cut where a horse was tripped (in 1946 quite common in Westerns but now widely banned).