THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975) C widescreen 129m dir: John Huston

w/Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Saeed Jaffrey, Karroum Ben Bouih, Jack May, Doghmi Larbi, Shakira Caine, Mohammed Shamsi, Paul Antrim

Excellent, rousing treatment of Rudyard Kipling's tale of greed and ambition in India, circa 1880. Connery and Caine are pals who decide to resign from the army and set themselves up as deities in Kafiristan, a province in Eastern Afghanistan.

From The Movie Guide: "This was writer-director John Huston's dream project for decades. He originally wanted to film the Rudyard Kipling short story in the 1940s with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart. Later he envisioned Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. However the long wait paid off: Michael Caine, Sean Connery, and Christopher Plummer deliver outstanding performances in a classic adventure that delivers thrills even as it mediates on issues of power and imperialism. ...

"This is a grand adventure tale that does not stint on characterization. Connery and Caine join the ranks of Huston's classic overachievers, most notably Bogart's Fred C. Dobbs in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Caine may have gone a wee bit over-the-top but that helped the audience distinguish between the natures of the two men. The film was shot on location in Morocco because of the costs and dangers of working in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the score by the celebrated [Maurice] Jarre (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) failed to match the evocative power of the setting. However these are minor flaws in a delightful and memorable film."

The film was nominated for Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay (Huston and Gladys Hill), Editing, Art Direction, and Costume Design (Edith Head).