- Also Known As:
- Unknown
- Year:
- 1975
- Country/ies:
- UK
- US
- Predominant Genre:
- Adventure
- Author(s)/Director(s):
- John Huston
- Best Performance(s):
- Michael CAINE
- Sean CONNERY
- Saeed JAFFREY
- Christopher PLUMMER
- Premiss:
- Two soldiers resign from the army and set themselves up as deities.
- Theme(s):
- Alienation
- Destiny
- Loneliness
- White culture
- White supremacy
- Similar (in Plot, Theme or Style) to:
- Apocalypse Now
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Review Format:
- DVD
Are you gods?
Not gods, Englishmen. Which is the next best thing!
The above exchange sums up the entire tenor of this highly entertaining cinematic exercise. Coming from a Scot (Sean CONNERY), this kind of comment makes the movie a superb metaphor for the inherently White supremacist nature of the British Empire in theory, in practice and in the reason for its inevitable decline. Like the two characters vividly-depicted here, this Empire was an essentially opportunistic and parasitic enterprise that eventually ran out of luck as the two – albeit lovable - rogues inevitably do here.
That the bigoted attitudes expressed here are still prevalent in the UK today is a telling commentary on that countries’ current post-colonial melancholia as is Christopher PLUMMER playing that arch-imperialist Rudyard (White Man’s Burden) Kipling.
Yet the political and ethical points that are well made here can easily be ignored in favor of a right rollicking Boys’ Own adventure since this movie never forgets to be an enjoyable and engrossing experience. This is in no small measure the result of Hollywood stalwart John Huston’s excellent direction. He possesses a perfect understanding that the action and dramatic scenes must be balanced with character development and humor – and he pulls off this sleight-of-hand with great aplomb.
The comic timing of Michael CAINE and Saeed JAFFREY is spot on; Connery’s less so. The latter excels instead as the man who comes to believe he actually is destined to rule the kingdom of Kafiristan; brilliantly pointing up the problem for all those with a colonialist mindset and the basic reason for their self-deluded will-to-power. As absolute power corrupts absolutely, it also weakens the mind - absolutely: When you start believing your own hype, hubris is just around the corner. In essence, this is a tragi comic rendering of an imaginary cross-breeding of Apocalypse Now and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
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