The King and I (Blu-ray) Single Available for Preorder (2 Viewers)

[GlennF]

Well, Mr. Maher will be happy to know that George Cukor would agree somewhat. In the Gavin Lambert book of 1972, which is a series of interviews with Cukor, one thing Cukor does say, "My only criticism of what we did is that some of the choreography might have been bolder".However, he also mentions that..."People are very possessive about this one. If you don't do it as well as it was done on the stage, they said, we'll shoot you." (Which supports what Byron in Australia said.)And reading another thread on this site, people are already up in arms about changes to INTO THE WOODS and it hasn't even come out yet. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.Audrey is not a good cockney. Agreed. But she is very good in the second half in my opinion.

 

[Thomas T]

I'll miss the thrilling first act finale from Into The Woods but since there will be no intermission in the film, I can see why it's been eliminated. Also, the narrator unless done as a voice over has no place in the film either. My biggest worry is Rob Marshall whose razzle dazzle editing may have been appropriate for Chicago (less so for Nine) is all wrong for Into The Woods. I love the Sondheim show but I'll be watching it with an open mind. I'm sure Sondheim retained approval on all changes made (and James Lapine who did the stage book also wrote the screenplay) so ......

 

[MatthewA]

Audrey is not a good cockney. Agreed. But she is very good in the second half in my opinion.

Compared to Dick Van Dyke's gratingly, offensively bad mockney in that movie about the nanny who only got the job because she murdered the competition (even his Midwestern speech patterns seem less jarring in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang despite his family and girlfriend being English; can you imagine "Hushabye Mountain" with that accent?), she might as well have been born and raised in the East End. She handles the comedic bits just fine in Act 1, but my mind goes back and forth between which act she's better in each time I watch the film. The pearlies in the stage production were not integral to the plot, so they were dropped. I, for one, do not miss them.

 

[rsmithjr]

My goodness, a lot of complaining about a lot of very famous movies that I and most people I know like very much. Hmm.

What about The King and I Blu-ray?

If you are reading this thread to learn about the quality of this Blu-ray, chances are you want to look at the previous threads about the box set in which the now-infamous color balance is discussed.

Caveat emptor!

 

[Mark-P]

Well, we don't KNOW yet whether Fox fixed their mistake....Er, do we?

The Digital Bits which has insider information confirms that it will be the same disc.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Well, Mr. Maher will be happy to know that George Cukor would agree somewhat. In the Gavin Lambert book of 1972, which is a series of interviews with Cukor, one thing Cukor does say, "My only criticism of what we did is that some of the choreography might have been bolder".However, he also mentions that..."People are very possessive about this one. If you don't do it as well as it was done on the stage, they said, we'll shoot you." (Which supports what Byron in Australia said.)And reading another thread on this site, people are already up in arms about changes to INTO THE WOODS and it hasn't even come out yet. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.Audrey is not a good cockney. Agreed. But she is very good in the second half in my opinion.

Everything about the film is anemic. Of course, they weren't even in the same universe as the stage version, so they all should have been shot. I hated INTO THE WOODS on stage, so I'll be skipping it, completely. As for Audrey, she possessed none of the talent required to pull off the role, and was let down by her director, in every single scene. I see no information to make me believe that THE KING AND I isn't still blue. By the way, every time I come to this site, my virus protection goes crazy and tells me it's blocking something harmful. What's up with that?

 

[classicmovieguy]

Compared to Dick Van Dyke's gratingly, offensively bad mockney in that movie about the nanny who only got the job because she murdered the competition (even his Midwestern speech patterns seem less jarring in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang despite his family and girlfriend being English), she might as well have been born and raised in the East End. She handles the comedic bits just fine in Act 1, but my mind goes back and forth between which act she's better in each time I watch the film. The pearlies in the stage production were not integral to the plot, so they were dropped. I, for one, do not miss them.

I think Audrey is charming in the part, my favourite part of her dialogue is "He's off his jump, he is!".

 

[classicmovieguy]

Julie herself has always maintained that she believes her "Mary Poppins" Oscar win was purely 'sentiment' on the Academy's part - a proxy award for the role she should have played, Eliza in "My Fair Lady".

 

[MatthewA]

Julie herself has always maintained that she believes her "Mary Poppins" Oscar win was purely 'sentiment' on the Academy's part - a proxy award for the role she should have played, Eliza in "My Fair Lady".

Audrey tried to get Jack Warner to cast Julie. She wanted her to get the part, too. That was the quality of "fairness" Jack Warner was looking for, and why they both earned the right to be called fair ladies.

 

[Thomas T]

The 1964 Oscar should have gone to Anne Bancroft for The Pumpkin Eater, her 1962 win should have gone to Geraldine Page for Sweet Bird Of Youth. Andrews should have gotten hers the following year for The Sound Of Music while that year's winner Julie Christie should have won hers for Away From Her. Are we all clear?

 

[David Weicker]

Can the moderators please step in and cut down some of the HATE in this thread. Please.


We've had discussions that some people HATE Mary Poppins. Some people HATE My Fair Lady. Some people HATE Camelot. Some people HATE Disney. Some people HATE George Cukor. Some people HATE Josh Logan. Some people HATE the Oscars. Some people HATE the color blue. Some people HATE the performances/accents of Audrey Hepburn, Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, etc.

It just is tiresome. And has little to nothing to do with The King And I.



I happened to have actually watched The King And I Blu-Ray and had an enjoyable evening.

 

[bujaki]

Agree with all your assessments, but not with Andrews winning for Sound of Music. Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools is so much better. She and Oskar Werner are unforgettable in this movie, which unfortunately doesn't have the popularity of SoM.

 

[bujaki]

Oh, I like The King and I; just wish they'd kept all the songs.

 

[Thomas T]

Lighten up a bit, David! Surely if we can discuss the films we love freely, why not the films we dislike? Granted, the conversation has veered slightly off topic but sometimes the turn a conversation takes can be more interesting than the topic at hand. Barring personal attacks or objectionable language, I see no need in restricting conversation but then again ... I'm not a moderator.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

There's a lot of spirited discussion going on but I can't detect any hate ... it's all good fun.
I did say earlier I would have preferred Julie Andrews as Eliza to Audrey .. but Audrey's not too bad and she certainly looks a treat .. and definitely improves once she drops the Cockney intonations. The film does creak a bit but still has the Lerner and Loewe magic which made the stage show such a sensation in its day.
And ps -- if you want to hear how it should be acted/sung, then get the Sony Broadway series cast recording .. there are three seperate cast recordings featuring Harrison and Andrews; the original Broadway, a remake recorded in stereo about a year later, and then a stereo London cast recording.
Make sure you get the original MONO recording. It has never ever been bettered.

 

[Thomas T]

but not with Andrews winning for Sound of Music. Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools is so much better.

Signoret already has an Oscar for Room At The Top and I didn't want anyone to go Oscarless. In my alternate Oscar universe, if Andrews doesn't win for TSOM, she goes without an Oscar!

 

[classicmovieguy]

Agree with all your assessments, but not with Andrews winning for Sound of Music. Simone Signoret in Ship of Fools is so much better. She and Oskar Werner are unforgettable in this movie, which unfortunately doesn't have the popularity of SoM.

Signoret and Werner are the heartbeat of "Ship of Fools"... my goodness, both of them absolutely tear my heart out in that film.

 

[Mark-P]

Film criticism is hate speech?

 

[MatthewA]

Film criticism is hate speech?

No, it's merely a means by which one rationalizes one's likes and dislikes.

 

[rsmithjr]

I didn't mind anything anyone said really other than disagreeing with a lot of it. Somewhat OT as well.