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The Man Who Would Be King

The Man Who Would Be King

Adventure · Drama · 1975

Tired of life as soldiers, Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot travel to the isolated land of Kafiristan, where they are ultimately embraced by the people and revered as rulers. After a series of misunderstandings, the natives come to believe that Dravot is a god, but he and Carnehan can't keep up their deception forever.

Movie details

The Man Who Would Be King

“Adventure in all its glory!”

1975 Adventure · Drama 2h 9m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

Tired of life as soldiers, Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot travel to the isolated land of Kafiristan, where they are ultimately embraced by the people and revered as rulers. After a series of misunderstandings, the natives come to believe that Dravot is a god, but he and Carnehan can't keep up their deception forever.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Man Who Would Be King?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Count of Monte-Cristo

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The Count of Monte Cristo

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Flawless

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The Wrong Man

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Huston

Written by

John Huston · Gladys Hill · Rudyard Kipling

Sean Connery

Sean Connery

Daniel Dravot

Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Peachy Carnehan

Christopher Plummer

Christopher Plummer

Rudyard Kipling

Saeed Jaffrey

Saeed Jaffrey

Billy Fish

Doghmi Larbi

Doghmi Larbi

Ootah

Jack May

Jack May

District Commissioner

K

Karroom Ben Bouih

Kafu Selim

Court is in session

Put The Man Who Would Be King on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.