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Anna and The King  Hot
Reviews DVD Reviews
Written by Staff Writer   
Sunday, 16 January 2005


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Grade

Content Grade: B-
Sound Grade: A
Extras Grade: n/a
Picture Grade: A

Specs

http://www.tcfhe.com/ Directed by Andy Tennant Fox Home Entertainment -MSRP$24.95 Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1), Subtitles in English, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0, French Surround 2.0 147 minutes, Color, 1999 Rated PG-13

Review

This big budget film of 1999 was a remake of Anna and The King Of Siam and the highly successful "King and I". The film takes a serious approach to the relationship between the English school teacher and the leader of Siam in the 19th century. Based on diaries of the real Anna Leonowens, this accounting of her experience also contains political intrigue, but is mostly centers on her relationship with the King.
Anna and her son arrive in Siam, hired by the King through correspondence to teach his son. She experiences great difficulty in dealing with the culture and the protocol set out by the King but through her stubbornness, breaks through to see the King. This impresses him so much she soon is employed to teach all 58 of his children. Foster manages to keep up an English accent for most of the film and plays the most proper lady very well. The king, played with credibility by Chow Yun-Fat, is powerful but also values his family very much. While insisting on Siam customs, he is a real softy with his children, always kissing his little girl goodnight, even during a state dinner. More importantly, he values education and the possibilities it brings to his family, including his daughters and some wives in the classes. Quite a progressive thinker for such a leader in the 19th Century. A backdrop to this scenario is the political unrest that is growing in the country, lead in secret by the King's top general. He wants to overthrow the King, whom he believes is becoming too Western. While this is significant to the ending of the film, most of this slow moving drama concentrates on the Anna-King relationship. This is no "Lord Jim".

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Picture and Sound

Anamorphic widescreen transfer brings out the rich details and grand locale shots in the film. The ornate palace decorations, detailed costumes, and crowded marketplaces all benefit from this transfer. You can tell this was a big budget film, as details were an intricate part in the authenticity of the film. The colorful sets are brought to life by the DVD, with excellent color and sharpness. A great soundtrack in Dolby 5.1 accompanies the film. Separation and imaging is good throughout. Jungle sounds, music, the palace vastness, are all acoustically realistic and well placed. The short battle scenes also deliver great explosions and effects. The DVD also offers Dolby 2.0 in English and French.

Extras

Many extras are included in the DVD, including commentary from director Andy Tennant, 5 featurettes, a television special, six deleted scenes, the music video " How Can I Not Love You" by Joy Enriquez and a theatrical trailer. It's a large package, as promotion was also big budget for this film.

Summary

While not being a romantic love story, this film will appeal to an audience looking for relationships rather than action. This film tries to deliver both but fails in the latter. It is a true story, fictionalized by Hollywood and Broadway that has fascinated audiences for decades. I found it slow moving but exciting enough to keep me interested. A bit long at two and half hours, the film could have been cut a bit to move it along. The acting is high class, as usual for Foster and shows another side to Chow Yun-Fat, as he expands his role possibilities. It is a grand scale production, with lavish sets and intricate details. A word of caution though-don't go looking for high intrigue or action-the few action sequences are short and far too few. It is a yawner at times. Fox has packaged this DVD with many extras making the disc a fine value and Foster fans will certainly enjoy her performance, as once again, she takes on a serious, challenging role.

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