The King and I: 50th Anniversary Edition

All the qualities that made Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway smash The King and I a memorable stage experience are faithfully translated to the big screen in this dynamic 1956 film version. Another brilliant musical treatment of a "straight" work (like the duo's State Fair, Oklahoma, and Carousel), The King and I, based on Margaret Landon's book Anna and the King of Siam, tells the story of widowed British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens (winningly played by Deborah Kerr), who accepts a commission to educate the children of the Siamese king (Yul Brynner), a crafty potentate who realizes the need for his offspring's tutelage in Western ways yet resists the resulting liberation from tradition. Kerr, who benefits from Marni Nixon's dubbed-in singing voice, invests Anna with the requisite charm, tact, and subtlety, all the while maintaining a self-assuredness that frequently borders on the defiant. Recreating his stage role, Brynner is outstanding as the petulant but not altogether dictatorial monarch. Among the supporting players, Rita Moreno excels as the King's slave Tuptim, Carlos Rivas commands sympathy as her lover Lun Tha, young Rex Thompson portrays Anna's young son with the proper mixture of youthful exuberance and impishness, and veteran character actor Alan Mowbray steals scenes left and right as a minor functionary befuddled by the teacher's growing influence over the king. Although four of the stage show's numbers were eliminated from the film, the best songs were retained, among them "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You," "Shall We Dance," and "Hello Young Lovers." Exquisitely filmed, dramatically engaging, musically exciting, and altogether glorious, The King and I is presented with a beautiful transfer on this two-disc 50th anniversary edition, with DVD extras including an audio commentary, a sing-along option for the film, the Anna and the King TV pilot, six background featurettes, vintage stage excerpts, and stills and audio from the deleted number “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?” Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: this is also compiled in The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection, together with double-disc editions of Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and State Fair, priced at $99.98.] (E. Hulse)