Anna and the King (1999)

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

Director:

Andy Tennant

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Yun-Fat Chow, Bai Ling

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Anna Leonowens
Yun-Fat Chow	...	King Mongkut (as Chow Yun-Fat)
Bai Ling	...	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.

Storyline

This is the story of Anna Leonowens, the English schoolteacher who came to Siam in the 1860s to teach the children of King Mongkut. She becomes involved in his affairs, from the tragic plight of a young concubine to trying to forge an alliance with Britain to a war with Burma that is orchestrated by Britain. In the meantime, a subtle romance develops between them.

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Plot Keywords:

king | 1860s | schoolteacher | siam | children | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense violent sequences

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Movies

Country:

USA

Language:

English Thai French

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anna

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£317,621 (UK) (17 December 1999)

Gross:

$39,251,128 (USA) (7 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Lawrence Bender Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

148 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

3 months into filming an outbreak of Japanese encephalitis hampered the filming. Some sets had to be relocated because they were too close to pig farms (the main source, transmitted by mosquitoes). All the cast and crew were given a vaccine by the set doctor, and some sets were sprayed with insecticide before crew turned up to start filming.

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Goofs

The King's favorite daughter, Princess Fa-Ying (Melissa Campbell), dies of cholera. Yet she appears after her death with the rest of the royal family briefly aboard the royal steamboat as the King attempts to take the royal family to safety from the insurgents marching toward the palace. Then, after the ship lands, the King and family pray at a shrine to Buddha, and Princess Fa-Ying is again seen with the rest of the children as the insurgents approach from the other side of the river.

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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, but others feared a raging flood. Still she came, unaware of the suspicion that preceded her. But it wasn't until years later, that I began to appreciate how brave she was, and how alone she must have felt. An English woman. The ...

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Connections

References The Last Emperor (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Jade Cong"
Written by Simon Rowland-Jones
Courtesy of Zomba/Firstcom/Chappell Music

User Reviews

Awesome movie but remember it's just a movie

Yes this movies was certainly better than previous musicals and renditions of the Anna Leonowen's adventures in Thailand. It also is more historically accurate than those previous versions. Although this doesn't necessarily make it more culturally accurate as well, so conclusions shouldn't be made concerning how Thailand is today. Of the acting, it is true what everyone else has been saying that both Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat acted extremely well. I've always been a Chow Yun-Fat fan. He's certainly a versatile actor, this I know from his Asian movies, but this is his break-out performance in America. Basically, if you really like great acting, then you'll love this movie. Anna and the King is also a very heart-warming movie mixed with enough excitement to please most people.

This isn't entirely a romance movie either. A history lesson is trying to be told here. Although as documentaries go...well Anna and the King is not 100% correct. However history seems so much more drier if it was told by facts alone. No one would go pay money to see documentaries in movie theaters, but they will go to see a movie especially if it's a good movie. Anna and the King is a good movie. Some people have griped about the theme song, the one scene with explosion, and whether or not the title of the movie appeared in the credits. For those people, keep in mind that what makes a movie a good movie can be found in the story, acting, and directing of the movie, not in the theme song or any other locations in the credit.

Concerning the length of the movie, every movie these days seem to go past the two hour mark, which is some sort of current trend in movies. Personally, I don't mind this as it allows me to let myself go and be sympathetic for the characters as if they had meaning for two hours and nine minutes in my life. Besides the acting was so well done that you won't get bored at anytime during the movie. Anna and the King will be one of the best two hours nine minutes you will spend this year if you see it.