Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and international action star Chow Yun-Fat bring to life the epic true story of a woman who challenged the heart of a king and inspired the destiny of a nation. English school teacher Anna Leonowens has traveled to Siam to educate the fifty-eight children of King Mongkut. If she has preconceived notions about the East, the King has similar notions about the West. But amid the danger of growing political unrest, their respect for each other slowly turns into something more.

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This movie in all its entirety affected me very deeply. The intense emotions of the characters are so expertly performed and directed that they feel incredibly real. These emotions, which course through "Anna and the King," create a moving, exciting, and anticipatory experience. I am very grateful to all of those involved in the making of "Anna and the King" for producing such a beautiful and extraordinary film. Anyone who is contemplating viewing this movie... do it. I only hope that you, too will have the pleasure of being able to fully indulge in this feast for the senses.

31 of 33 found the following review helpful:

Extra FeaturesNov 02, 2000
By Charity Bishop "charitysplace dot com"
(....) really doesn't mention all the extra "goodies" that they've encluded in this Special Edition of Anna and the King, so I was thrilled to discover a good two hours of behind-the-scenes features, a trailor, music video, and more! The DVD quality is excellent, very sharp and clear, with a very well-done enter-menu feature, and deleted scenes, including an extention of the "White Elephant" sequence, and the "Prologue" and "Epilogue" scenes. The six featurettes are pretty repetative - if you've seen one, you've seen them all, but the interviews with Foster and Yun-Fat are pretty darn cool. All in all, a wonderful DVD from Fox... and an excellent film. If you enjoy epic romances, simple tales made exceptional by breathing romance and a passionate, gorgeous backdrop, with sets made perfect down to the tiniest detail, a film that will make you laugh, and make you cry... Anna and the King is it! The movie of the year! Don't miss it... and don't miss this edition!

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

Captivating story of history, societal change, love.Aug 13, 2000
By KH
As a younger person who's missed many of the "older" movies (like "The King and I") I can only see movies for the works they are -- I do not have older works in my repertoire through which to compare, contrast and filter my viewing experience.

Having just viewed Anna & the King both in letterbox and cropped views (I prefer letterbox, though smaller on a screen, the camera work and screenplay are absolutely stunning, and missing these outer details does detract from the mood of the picture), I greatly enjoyed the storyline, the actors, and the cinematography.

Admittedly Jodie Foster's English accent is a bit forced, but I commend her ability to retain it consistently throughout the picture (as opposed to some actors who've been unable to do so, regardless, they did receive outstanding reviews for their performance, nonnative accent notwithstanding). I felt Jodie's portrayal as being prim and well-educated was very accurate given the time period -- what is considered acceptable today would have been considered absolutely abhorrent in Anna's time. We seem to forget that so many things considered perfectly fine today, simply weren't done in the mid-1800's, particularly in the ultra-traditionalized societies like those of England and Siam (to name two). American attitudes have been long considered far fringe by non-Western societies around the world, both then and today.

I found the choice of actors for Siam characters to be appropriate and believable. The character portrayals were deep and true. I felt as though I was watching people, getting to know them, not watching actors playing roles. The transitions of time and space were effective and I didn't find myself yearning for "missed pieces."

The love story caught me by surprise. I found it deeply moving and the tension between Anna, and the King, and the careful play of the King's other wives, to be wonderful. I strained to hear every word and catch every expression. I appreciated the dialog and found the scenes well-written, appropriately succinct and yet adequately played to offer a "newcomer" like me an appreciation of the many issues which underlay the story.

This movie tugged at my heartstrings, as I watched these people and families grow and come to love together, and I was moved to tears repeatedly. Watching a deep love grow between Anna and the King, a love borne of respect and intelligence and attraction, watching them balance their societal dictates with the concerns of country, politics and their feelings for one another -- and of course all those beautiful children -- was like watching a gentle dance of butterflies on a summer's breeze. I felt it was beautifully written and beautifully played.

I give it a "thumbs up" for the actors, directorship, costuming and cinematography. Definitely a movie worth seeing!

16 of 17 found the following review helpful:

A true outstanding epic movie.....Jun 22, 2000

This is a true outstanding epic movie. I'm really surprised why it wasn't hailed as greatly as it should have been. I personally hail it as one of the greatest movies of all time, a true classic in every sense. I've seen it totally ignorant of all the versions that preceded it and I've loved it with the very first few lines "She came unaware of all the suspicion that preceded her" " the first English woman I have seen". This story of two unconventional people in conventional times with all its historical facts and lush gorgeous background is capable of sweeping one's off his feet making him feel all that cultural and emotional struggle that Anna and the King seem to go through. Jodie Foster was lovely and extraordinary although I used to think that she is too modern-looking for such movies...I guess I was gravely mistaken. I think the movie's real surprise is Chow Yun-Fat who was truly amazing. He seems to be so much at home with all this kingly charm. He has such grace and overwhelming presence that would make him probably one of the most remembered kings on the screen. I can't help wondering if the original king was as charming as he was....and wouldn't be nice if all kings were like that? We would surly love them. And what of the palace? Do I dare and say more? I was totally amazed to know that they've built a replica of the original one...wow! I envy Jodie and Chow for being in such lofty surroundings. I think I would write a book if I were to describe everything I loved in this movie...but I must take my hat off to Andy Tennant for making such a masterpiece and for all the designers. Of course, I must not forget the movie's music and photography and the beautiful script that seems to linger in the mind forever for I would always remember that "when a woman has so much to say and doesn't say it. Her silence can be deafening.".

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

DESPITE ITS QUIXOTIC VENEER, AN EXQUISITE ODE TO SIAMFeb 13, 2005
By Shashank Tripathi
This modern rendition of the 'The King and I' is not without its cinematic lacunae, but it's so captivating you'll gloss over most of them.

It's 1862 and King Mongkut of Siam (Thailand) has hired a certain Mrs Anna Leonowens to be an English teacher to his 58 children. She stays there for five years and in 1870 publishes a book about her experiences, which predictably scandalizes British high society, and is considered a great betrayal by the Thai government and people.

The film may be based on these diaries but sure it'd have been blasphemy to rely merely on barebone facts, so it liberally splices action, drama, romance, suspense, even fullfledged battles into the fray.

We follow two broad arcs -- the platonic emotional connection that develops between the king and Anna, and the political backdrop against which this bond is set -- but the leitmotiv is one of change. Both our principals find themselves transformed beyond their own contexts by virtue of their acquaintance.

Jodie Foster is clearly uncomfortable with her British accent as she mumbles her way through three-quarters of the movie, but it is probably her customary detachment in expressing emotion that befits Anna's charm in this film (if one could describe it thus) -- a certain air of arrogance, a misplaced conviction in her own superiority, the 'uncommon richness' of the British way of life, so on and so forth. The film doesn't patronize her character and the few crevices in her personality do come across as cultural idiosynchrasies that can now be looked upon as such, with the benefit of distance.

Chow Yun Fat (a popular Hong Kong actor, you may know him from Crouching Tiger) is majestically imperious in his portrayal of the King caught between the throes of attraction and the cross he must bear as a conscientious ruler.

Their romance is zestful but dignified, their chemistry palpable. His rueful admission of her as an equal and his tender submission to his own feelings of love towards her is masterful. There's even a waltz.

One does wonder about his 26 concubines and 58 children though; they come across chiefly as garden props, we see them and they're there and that's all they do, part of the landscape. An unrelated sequence where a young daughter succumbs to ill health is quite plainly a tear-jerker thrown in for that sole purpose.

Things then get dodgier on the political front. Anna's heroic rescue of Siam seems heavily contrived. No king with a couple brain cells or more would find himself mired in the sort of military faux pas that occurs here. Let's not spoil the suspense but there's a goofball insurrection that culminates in a positively cartoonish battle. Little surprise to me that Thai government chose to ban the film, not for groveling love of their monarchy but out of basic self-respect.

These quibbles aside, the film is stunningly produced and well-worth seeing for the rest of us if only for the luxurious mantle in which it comes cloaked. The scenery is spectacular, with lush green mountain fields, grand palatial foyers draped in red silk, pillars etched in gold, even a long sweeping view of the royal steamboat on the river between the banks of a dense rain forest. The set and costume design are so sumptuous they'd have won Bertolucci's grudging admiration.

Without doubt a heartily made epic and recommended with equal intensity if you're willing to go easy on the rigours of historical or cultural accuracy.

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