King Rat
by Bryan Forbes
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Product details
Actor: Denholm Elliott, George Segal, James Fox, Patrick O'Neal, Tom CourtenayDirector: Bryan Forbes
Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey
Writer: Bryan Forbes
Editor: Walter Thompson
Producer: James Woolf
Producer: Marvin Miller
Writer: James Clavell
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Running Time: 134 minutes
Release Date: 1994-06-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Studio: Sony Pictures
VHS Movie Reviews of King Rat
Movie Review: Survival under unthinkably brutal conditions
Summary: 5 Stars
"King Rat" is a faithful rendition of James Clavell's fine novel of the same name. British soldiers (with a sprinkling of American Gis among them) in Singapore were ordered to surrender, and were placed by the Japanese in the Chinga prison camp. The Japanese completely disrespected the Geneva Convention, and conditions in the camp quickly deteriorated to a very low order of existence in which one's daily caloric intake was at a starvation level, sanitation was nonexistent, and the level of brutality by the Japanese against the Allied prisoners was unconscionable.
Within the camp, an American corporal, against all odds, has managed, through his savvy, intelligence, and trading prowess, to survive and thrive. He has the officers in the camp on his "payroll" and he seeks to survive by pitting his wits against the Japanese, the officers in the camp, and his fellow prisoners. "Corporal King" ("the King") comes to dominate the camp, and this is the story of his struggle.
And a great story it is. George Segal is unforgettable as Corporal King. This is an engaging film that deserves more recognition than it has received. Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Classic POW film
Summary: 5 Stars
This film made a tremendous impact on me when I saw it as a young adult. Many years later, I saw the film again, and it held up quite well. I would rank it with All Quiet on the Western Front as a war movie, although of a different sort. The impressive cast is superb in their roles, and George Segal is outstanding in the lead role of the opportunistic and roguish wheeler/dealer, especially since he was a comparative unknown at the time. In this movie, there are few uplifting lessons to be gleaned amidst the interminable ennui and misery of prison camp life, in contrast to The Bridge Over the River Kwai, with which it shares some similarities. But in the latter movie, the prisoners triumph through sheer discipline, hard work, and stiff-upper-lip stoicality (to coin a horrible neologism, but I couldn't think of any other way to put it) over their power-crazed, cruel, venal, and lazier Japanese captors, in contrast to King Rat, where all we have are the ignoble oppressors and the miserable oppressed, and the brutal reality of prison camp life is omnipresent. Overall, one of the best POW movies and one which presaged Clavell's later and even greater success with the miniseries, Shogun.Movie Review: Very good adaptation
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading the wonderful and moving novel by James Clavell, and finding out there was a film based on it, I was intrigued by how someone managed to adapt this complex story for the screen. At first, I thought that the challenge was so daunting that the movie must fall way short of the mark. Luckily, I was mistaken, and even though the film cannot convey the depth the novel has, the final result is more than satisfactory. We definitely get a clear feel for what life in Changi, the POW camp in Singapore where Clavell was detained during the war, meant.
Even though there are many characters involved in the story, it clearly focuses on two of them, and their relationship could almost serve as a study in sociology. One is an American, the King, who is a corporal that has the ability to facilitate commerce, which is prohibited by camp rules, and therefore makes a very nice living, especially when compared with everyone else. The other one is Peter Marlowe, a British Lieutenant, whose personality and moral codes clearly contrast with the King's. When they meet, this marks the start of an unusual friendship that will test Marlowe's character and convictions, since he will have to decide between compromising his morals in return for better living conditions for him and his friends, and sticking to his guns and keep on living miserably.
The visual representation of the story in terms of the appearance of the prisoners and the living environment certainly coincides with what I pictured when I was reading the book, and the fact that it is filmed in black and white helps align the mood. The performances of the cast are all at a high level, and you will see many actors here that you know from other later productions. The only shame is that the first edition of the novel did not include the portions that were added years later, dealing with the events that the families and loved ones of the prisoners, were facing. This was a great tool in understanding these men, and could have helped the movie too. Maybe if there is a remake...
Overall, this is a tough story, due to the brutality of the living conditions these men have to endure, but I recommend it wholeheartedly. However, I believe that even if you watch this movie, you should also read the novel, which provides one of the most rewarding experiences you can get from a book.
Movie Review: Poor Sods
Summary: 4 Stars
Good movie. Follows book very well. Amust see for George Segal fans.Movie Review: you are loved whilel you're useful
Summary: 3 Stars
This film isn't excellent but has quality although I think joints several aspects that are unpopular. Firstly, there are no women, as it happens in a Japanese prisoner camp of Singapore during WW II. Secondly, the plot shows many facets of human miseries and that don't taste much people. The bitter reality in effect, is about after three years of imprisonment, discipline is very relaxed in the camp and a behaviour not very ethic and excessively accommodating reigns there, officers having forgotten many of his duty and when not as in the role played by Tom Courtenay, it attains stupidity. The case is similar of these of "Bridge on the river Kwai", but Japanese soldiers are less brutal here. Sea and jungle makes impossible to escape. So, American corporal King played by George Segal is a businessman king of black market in the camp breaking all rules and ordnances ordinary in military life, trafficking with food, medicines, cigarettes, etc. But King isn't at last so bad or no poor than the others. I think he has recognized the absurdity of the military life and war, as he saves finally the life of a British officer. He's King Rat, a nickname he wins owing he sells rat meat as if it were rabbit o something else, as hunger and lack of all supplies is widespread. All that experiments a brisk turn when war ends. Then, King Rat losses all his power, as military ordnances and laws rule again with full force, and he's rejected by those who during these three years depended on him and his abilities. Today this movie is perhaps seen as made with modest means, but is plenty of good actors and the theme is to reflect about human condition and absurdities of conventions in war and peace.
Summary of King Rat
High on the list of best POW movies, King Rat bears some comparison to that compound over by the River Kwai... but this is an entirely more cynical exercise. In a Japanese prison camp, a brash American corporal (George Segal) runs a variety of money-making operations, much to the amazement of a young British officer (James Fox). Director Bryan Forbes, who adapted James Clavell's novel, follows different POWs through various strands of plot, each episode seemingly designed to highlight the dog-eat-dog nature of men held in close confinement. (In one pointedly black-comic sequence, it becomes man-eat-dog.) This was one of Segal's breakthrough roles, and his modern style fits the movie's anti-heroic, '60s approach. It was Oscar?-nominated for art direction and cinematography, which may sound odd for such a bleakly confined location, but the lucid starkness of the camp justifies the nods. The John Barry score, while apt, is similarly stark. --Robert HortonClassics Video
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