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Movies / On DVD / Anna and the King
Anna and the King

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Anna and the King (1999)

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Reviews Counted:96

Fresh:49

Rotten:47

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: Beautiful cinematography can't prevent Anna and the King from being boring and overly lengthy.

Runtime: 2 hrs 27 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens has done something that women of the Victorian age simply never do: The young widow has traveled thousands of miles with her son to a land that is largely... English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens has done something that women of the Victorian age simply never do: The young widow has traveled thousands of miles with her son to a land that is largely unknown to the Western world. She arrives in Siam with adventure in her eyes and a Siamese primer in her hand. Whatever awaits her in this strange new world, there is no turning back.

Anna has been employed to educate the king’s fifty-eight children. She knows very little of King Mongkut, apart from the fact that his people revere him as a god. She brings with her an "East vs. West" prejudice against the king, considering him to be uncivilized. She soon realizes that her views are more than matched by the ruler’s own preconceptions about the West and particularly this impertinent English woman.

But over time, Anna and the King share a growing connection. Anna discovers that Mongkut is a true man of vision who is leading Siam to take its place among the nations of the modern world. And the King recognizes that Anna has shined a light not only on him and his family, but on Siam itself. -- © 1999 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton

Starring: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton, Randall Duk Kim, Keith Chin, Syed Alwi

Director: Andy Tennant

Director: Andy Tennant
Screenwriter: Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes
Producer: Lawrence Bender, Ed Elbert
Composer: George Fenton

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Anna and the King

  • T-Meter Critics
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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/03/02
Pamela Church Gibson
Pamela Church Gibson
Sight and Sound

Yun-Fat is charismatic, and Foster's comfortable in a British accent.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forget what you've heard - this is something special

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/01/01
Andrew Howe
Andrew Howe
eFilmCritic.com

the sort of film that would have contended for a Best Picture Oscar in the mid-80s and handily won in the early 60s

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Carlo Cavagna
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com

A grand retelling of an iconic story.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
10/06/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CinemaSense.Com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cornell & Petricelli
Cornell & Petricelli
CinemaSense.Com

A great family movie!

comment Comment
01/01/00
Daysun Chang
Daysun Chang
TNT's Rough Cut

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

This is one spectacle that's worth the nine bucks.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

Here is an old-fashioned costume drama with sumptuous sets, stirring music, and beguiling landscapes.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/04/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gary Mairs
Gary Mairs
culturevulture.net

Anna and the King is an old-fashioned valentine for all those people who say they don't make movies like they used to.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Guy MacPherson
Guy MacPherson
Apollo Guide

Classic tale gets a beautiful -- and unnecessary -- retelling.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

This is precisely the kind of "cast of thousands" extravaganza Hollywood rarely produces anymore and the movie's seductive visuals, charismatic performances and glorious scenery make for two and a half hours of immensely pleasurable viewing.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Sanford
James Sanford
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Anna and the King is nothing but old-fashioned but it's old-fashioned in a glorious way.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe

Surprisingly engaging.

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jim Chastain
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

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