Anna and the King (1999)

Director:

Andy Tennant

Writers (WGA):

Anna Leonowens (diaries)
Steve Meerson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | History | Romance

Plot:

The story of the romance between the King of Siam and the widowed British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens during the 1860's.

Plot Keywords:

1860s | Schoolteacher | Concubine | Children | Music Box

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 nominations

Cast

Jodie Foster	...	Anna Leonowens
Yun-Fat Chow	...	King Mongkut (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Ling Bai	...	Tuptim
Tom Felton	...	Louis Leonowens
Syed Alwi	...	The Kralahome, Prime Minister
Randall Duk Kim	...	General Alak
Kay Siu Lim	...	Prince Chowfa, King Mongkut's Brother
Melissa Campbell	...	Princess Fa-Ying
Keith Chin	...	Prince Chulalongkorn
Mano Maniam	...	Moonshee, Leonowens' Indian Servant
Shanthini Venugopal	...	Beebe, Leonowens' Indian Servant
Deanna Yusoff	...	Lady Thiang, Head Wife
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Lord John Bradley
Ann Firbank	...	Lady Bradley
Bill Stewart	...	Mycroft Kincaid, East India Trading Co.

Also Known As:

Anna (USA) (working title)
Anna et le roi (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Анна и король (Russia) [ru]
Ana e o Rei (Portugal) [pt]
Ana y el rey (Spain) [es]
Anna V'Ha-Melech (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Anna and the King (Italy) [it]
Anna ja kuningas (Finland) [fi]
Anna och kungen (Sweden) [sv]
Anna og Kongen (Norway) [no]
Anna og kongen (Denmark) [da]
Anna si regele (Romania) [ro]
Anna und der König (Germany) [de]
Anna y el rey (Argentina) [es]
Genç kiz ve kral (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
I Anna kai o vasilias (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense violent sequences.

Runtime:

148 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Thai | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Thailand:(Banned) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37063) | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

Coloma, California, USA

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

The King doesn't have a queen who would have been the mother of the Crown Prince. Rama IV's queen died young, and after her death the King never raised another consort to be the queen.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The violins in the orchestra at the anniversary celebration are obviously not in sync with the music they are "playing".

Quotes:

[first lines]
King Chulalongkorn: She was the first English woman I had ever met. And it seemed to me she knew more about the world than anyone. But it was a world Siam was afraid would consume them. The monsoon winds had whispered her arrival like a coming storm. Some welcomed the rain...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Anna and the King: A Modern Epic (#6.13)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Daisy, Daisy

Superbly acted and photographed

Going in I had expected a solid performance by Jodie Foster and some nicely photographed scenes; what I got was much more. Chow Yun-Fat commands the viewers' attention whenever he is on the screen, fairly radiating a regal and aloof presence. There is a palpable chemistry between Jodie and Chow, something not seen in the actresses films since she squared off with Anthony Hopkins' Lecter. The script is solid and generally well-paced. Keen attention is paid to the dialog and interplay between the principals and the secondary characters, too. That they didn't actually film in Thailand, but in Malaysia never shows on the screen. The photography and costumes should be automatic nominees for Oscar. For that matter, both Jodie and Chow could comfortably fit in their respective nominee lists for Best Actor and Best Actress. Overall, a wonderful film and I'm really looking forward to the DVD in June!