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Movies / Upcoming / 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

US Box Office: $0

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Click to read the article

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

... the pacing of the film is slow enough to make the typical Merchant-Ivory production feel like a Nine Inch Nails video

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/23/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Holds its own against the beloved 1956 musical The King and I.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

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)

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
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A live-action family film with brains.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Wade Major
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

Even folks familiar with the original accounts will find much to enjoy in the new one.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

Foster, I believe, sees right through this material and out the other side, and doesn't believe in a bit of it.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The new movie offers old-fashioned kinds of pleasures.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark Caro
Mark Caro
Chicago Tribune
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
10/14/06
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

Class personified.

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
01/01/00
Nick Nunziata
Nick Nunziata
CHUD
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

So unbelievably bloated that staring at Don King's hair is likely to have a more plausible payoff.

Full Review Source: Cinemaphile.org | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Keyes
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org

Click to read the article

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Anna and the King's most interesting aspect is the portrayal of the ritualistic world of the King and his royal family.

Full Review Source: Cinephiles | comment Comment
01/01/00
Yazmin Ghonaim
Yazmin Ghonaim
Cinephiles
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
all

Latest News for Anna and the King

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