The King and I (1956)

VHS COVER/SIDE

Length of film:  133 Minutes (Roadshow Edition: 143 Minutes)

Rated: U (G)

Genre: Musical, Biography, Drama

Director: Walter Lang

Starring: Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Bensen, Terry Saunders, Rex Thompson

IMDB Rank: 7.4/10

***Originally released in roadshow format having an overture, intermission and exit music. These features were not included in the VHS, DVD or Blu-ray versions.

Part 1 Time:  77 Minutes (Roadshow Edition: 84 Minutes)

Part 2 Time:  56 Minutes (Roadshow Edition: 59 Minutes)

Where does the first part end? King Mongkut of Siam (Yul Brynner), his wives, children and Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr) pray to a giant statue of Buddha inside the palace.

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “et cetera,” King Mongkut’s wives and children sing in unison.

First line of dialogue on the second part: “The napkins finally arrived. Would you lace them on the table please?” Anna Leonowens speaks to Lady Thiang (Terry Saunders).

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal, with a British envoy on route to Bangkok. Anna persuades King Mongkut to host the British envoy in a European style banquet. Will the banquet be successful in keeping reconciliation between the British and the Siam royal family?

Which part is better? Like many of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals the King and I can be clearly split into two parts. Part one has most of the songs and sets the overall mood, while the second part contains a dramatic turn of events that leads to a crisis. Although most of the songs are presented in the first part, a slight edge goes to part two of the film where we are able to see the 14 minute banquet dance scene and the amazing onscreen chemistry between Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

Academy Awards: Best Leading Actor (Yul Brynner), Best Art Diresction- Set Decoration Colour, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Recording, Best Music Socring of a Musical Picture, Best Picture (Nominated), Best Leading Actress (Nominated- Deborah Kerr), Best Director (Nominated), Best Cinematography Colour (Nominated).