Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, The Man Who Would Be King tells the story of two friends; Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) and Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) that go to Kafiristan in order to rule the country as kings and become rich in the process. The tale itself if relatively simple, but through great storytelling, the film is lifted into the realms of the masterpiece. The Man Who Would Be King tells a story on two levels; on the one hand, it's an epic masterpiece, spanning across Asia and embracing the Eastern culture, but on the other hand; it's a simple tale of two friends that are out for all they can get. The film switches between the two sides of it's story with great ease, and the smaller, more intimate side of the story is actually complimented by the epic battle sequences that run alongside it.

This movie is headed by two of the very finest actors of all time - Sean Connery and Michael Caine (both British too, I might add). The two have a great chemistry, and seeing them on screen together is an absolute treat. Both actors have a very defined style as to how they act and how their lines are delivered; in fact, they're perhaps two of the most defined styles ever, and they play off each brilliantly to give fantastic performances in this movie. Michael Caine always seems to be more willing to give a better performance when he is on screen with another fine actor, and they don't come much finer than Sean Connery. The great John Huston directs the movie, and this is easily one of his best movies. In fact, I rate it as his number one colour film. He's got a good story to work with, and he makes the best of it, not to mention that he gets the best from his cast. Many of the locations are fabulous and the battle sequences, although not on the same scale as some other films of the same nature, are well choreographed and an epic sense is captured through the utilisation of many extras.

This film is a masterpiece. All the players have come together to create a film that is both intimate, intelligent, interesting and on a massive scale all at the same time. A must see.

Ruyard Kipling's epic of splendor , spectacle and high adventure at the top of a legendary world. It begins with some words which Rudyard Kipling pens in the opening scene are the opening lines to an actual Kipling poem, "The Ballad of Boh da Thone" that contains several elements which feature in the movie . The flick tells the tale of Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery's favorite film character , though John Huston also considered Richard Burton) and Peachy Carnahan (Michael Caine , though also was deemed Peter O'Toole) , two ex-soldiers in India when it was under British rule. Kipling (Christopher Plummer would have been dismissed early on by the producers but for Sean Connery's insistence that Plummer stay) who is seen as an important role that was there at the beginning and the ending , he advised about a dangerous journey . They decide to resign from the Army and set themselves up as deities in Kafiristan , a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander . There Daniel becomes a king and attempts to marry a princess (Shakira Caine, this is the only feature film to co-star Michael Caine and wife) under High Priest Kafu Selim (Karroom Ben Bouih was 103 years old when he made his first and only film appearance , when he saw some of the footage he declared that now he would live on forever.

Long live and spectacular adventure with an extraordinary duo , Connery and Caine , they form the best pair of all time . A glorious tale with two heroes who head off to Kafiristan in order to become Kings in their own right . John Huston tried to launch the film version of "The Man Who Would Be King" many times before completing it . It was originally conceived as a vehicle for Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the fifties, and later as a vehicle for Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. When it was considered as a vehicle for Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Newman suggested Sean Connery and Michael Caine . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Oswald Morris filmed in Pinewood studios with magnificent production design by Alexandre Trauner and shot on location Glen Canyon, Utah, USA , Grande Montée, Mont-Blanc, Chamonix , France ,Atlas Mountains, Morocco and at the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, just north of the southern Moroccan city of Ouarzazate ; this site was used in Gladiator as the North-African arena where Maximus first fights. Ouarzazate is known as "Morocco's Hollywood" since many international productions - such as Kingdom of Heaven and The Hills Have Eyes - were shot in the area. Imaginative as well as sensitive musical score composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre .

The motion picture well produced by John Foreman was stunningly by the great John Huston at his best . The picture was made in a good time of the 70s and 80s when Huston resurged as a director of quality films with Fat City, (1972),The man who would be king (1975) and Wise blood (1979). He ended his career on a high note with Under volcano (1984),the afore-mentioned Honor of Prizzi (1985) and Dublineses (1987). Rating : Above average , this is one of John Huston's best films , a model of his kind , definitely a must see if you are aficionado to adventure film . Huston broke a new ground with this landmark movie , providing classic scenes and unforgettable dialogs .

'The Man Who Would Be King' takes us back to Queen Victoria's India and the ambitions of two former sergeants in Her Majesty's army to set up their own empire... The story begins as a crippled old beggar gets into Kipling's editorial office at the Northern Star in Lahore late one night and unfolds an incredible story...

The pitiful beggar is actually Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine),or rather, what is left of Peachy, now so disfigured and a little insane...

Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer),after the shock of recognition, recalls their first meeting, when Peachy stole his watch several years earlier on a crowded train station... He introduces his friend Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) to him and explains their plans to conquer the primitive areas of northern India and set themselves up as rulers...

Later, the two likable Army buddies tell Kipling something of themselves: "The less said about our professions, the better, for we have been most things in our time. We have been all over India. We know her cities and her jungles, her palaces and her jails." To which Peachy adds: "Therefore we're going away to another place where a man isn't crowded and can come into his own. We're not little men and there's nothing we're afraid of."

'The Man Who Would Be King' is an ambitious fable, with superb cinematography, a sweeping score, an Oscar-nominated script and great acting...

Caine's wife, Shakira, makes her screen debut, playing a beautiful maiden who turns the head of Connery...