It’s beautifully shot, acted and designed, but there’s little cohesion in the story. Maybe one day we’ll see a better cut, but for now this is a sadly fumbled opportunity.
All The King's Men (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:150
Fresh:17
Rotten:133
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: With its star-studded cast and hallowed source material (the novel of the same name won the Pulitzer Prize, and the 1949 original film took home a best picture Oscar), All the King's Men has the pedigree of a prestige picture. Don't be fooled. With a scenery-chewing performance from Sean Penn, an absence of political insight, and an overall lack of narrative cohesiveness, Men gives Oscar bait a bad name.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for an intense sequence of violence, sexual content and partial nudity
Runtime: 2 hrs 21 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:27-10-2006
Synopsis: Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King's Men tells the story of an idealist's rise to power in the world of Louisiana politics and the corruption that leads... Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King's Men tells the story of an idealist's rise to power in the world of Louisiana politics and the corruption that leads to his ultimate downfall. Written for the screen, directed and produced by Steven Zaillian, who won an Academy Award® for his adaptation of Schindler's List, All the King's Men features an all-star cast, including Oscar® winner Sean Penn (Mystic River, The Interpreter), Jude Law (Closer), Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland), James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”), Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April) and Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs). All the King's Men is a complex saga of human nature, power, corruption, idealism, romance and betrayal. Using politics as a framework to delve into the more profound dilemmas of human existence — sin, guilt and redemption — it explores the nature of corruption in a way that is timely and relevant today. Warren's acclaimed exploration of morality was inspired by the career Louisiana governor Huey P. Long and other political demagogues, and has profound effect on contemporary literature. Zaillian's stylized treatment captures the essence of Warren's novel, infusing it with classic noir elements. Columbia Pictures Presents in association with Relativity Media a Phoenix Pictures Production a VIP 3A/VIP 4A Production in association with Rising Star All the King's Men starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Anthony Hopkins. The film was written for the screen and directed by Steven Zaillian based on the book by Robert Penn Warren. The producers are Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Ken Lemberger and Steven Zaillian. The executive producers are Michael Hausman, David Thwaites, James Carville, Todd Phillips, Andreas Schmid, Andy Grosch and Ryan Kavanaugh. The director of photography is Pawel Edelman. The production designer is Patrizia Von Brandenstein. The film editor is Wayne Wahrman, A.C.E. The costume designer is Marit Allen. The executive music producer is T Bone Burnett. The music is by James Horner. All the King's Men has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for An Intense Sequence of Violence, Sexual Content and Partial Nudity. All the King's Men will be released by Columbia Pictures on September 22, 2006. -- © Sony Pictures [More]
Starring: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Patricia Clarkson, Kate Winslet
Starring: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Patricia Clarkson, Kate Winslet, Kathy Baker, Talia Balsam, James Gandolfini, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Frederic Forrest
Director: Steven Zallian
Director: Steven Zallian
Producer: Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Ken Lemberger, Michael Hausman
Composer: James Horner, T-Bone Burnett
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for All The King's Men
What should have been an incisive study of the American political scene turns out a lumbering celluloid white elephant.
Penn is terrific and the production values are impressive, but All the King's Men gets lost in a poorly-structured, overly complicated plot that fails to engage.
It's a slickly produced film that drowns in convoluted plotting and clumsy characterisations.
Static and dreary, drained of juice and drenched in "respectable" lighting
Mesmo que năo o comparemos ao clássico de 49, este filme constrange pelo roteiro confuso, pela montagem artificial, pelas atuaçőes decepcionantes e pela trilha excessiva, salvando-se apenas a bela fotografia.
Leaves out too much of the story to really work. Why are these people doing what they're doing? If I hadn't seen the 1949 version first, I would not have known.
As much an old-fashioned potboiler as it is a political morality tale.
We have a series of beautiful threads weaved together in such haphazard fashion that, despite their potential, form a surprisingly ugly quilt.
Plays as a veritable autopsy of itself; to watch the movie is to watch it go wrong, to observe the tempting gleam of the film that might have been grow ever dimmer.
What's worse -- a bad remake of a classic film, or just a bad literary adaptation with delusions of grandeur?
This is a misfire of almost epic proportions, a lavishly produced but wholly hollow and nonsensical adaptation of a magnificently constructed novel.
a powerful story in real life, but it just doesn’t come across on film.
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