Un Caïd

We all wonder what happens when we die, this movie is about what happens when we live at any cost, put in the context of a Japanese prison of war camp in WWII. A serious film with enough action to keep it alive while delivering a message. You won't be bored.

George Segal plays his greatest role, tough, smart, without shame. How he became a banjo player I don't know. (jmho)

I saw this grainy black and white film sometime in 1967 one steamy evening in a tin hooch Army movie theatre at TSN airfield on the outskirts of Saigon. The movie was punctuated by the sounds of mortars on the perimeter and the occasional flash from an aerial flare. I never forgot it. It rang true there. So true that no-one could say a word after. We just got drunk -- as usual. I haven't talked to many others who saw this movie. It hit right in the middle of the rising tide of despair over Vietnam. And since it wasn't actually an anti-war movie, I think it went nowhere. I believe it's origin is a short novel, possibly autobiographical by J.B. Clavell, author of Tai Pan and other sagas set in the 19th C orient. No matter what George Segal has done since, I have known that he has the heart of a rat. His King was a natural ruler in a perverse state of nature -- and his fate the fate of all maverick rulers in the end. If you can find it and see it, it will take on the character of a lost dream.

I had never heard of this movie. It came on late one night on cable and I watched it. I was very impressed. The performances in the movie are Oscar caliber. George Segal gave probably the best performance of his career. He plays an American stuck in a Japanese POW camp who manages to always make some dough on the side. He is manipulative and arrogant but his performance is credible and appealing. Also, the way the camp itself is projected as a miserable, fly-infested, hot and godawful hellhole is hard to forget.

James Fox also gives an outstanding performance as Segal's British counterpart who come under Segal's spell and begins to do alot of his dirty work for him. This is a movie you will not soon forget. Now, keep in mind that since this movie was made in 1965, it is tame in terms of its depiction of violence but that does not take away from its overall message. Great movie!

I don't know exactly what I expected from "King Rat," but what I got definitely wasn't it, and I liked what I got much more than whatever it was I thought I was going to get.

I guess I thought "King Rat" was going to be something along the lines of "Stalag 17," a serious story in a serious setting, but with a buddy movie vibe and a lot of comedy thrown in. That is most certainly NOT what this movie is. "King Rat" is instead a bleak, haunting, and rather strange film about the simple act of survival in a Japanese prisoner camp during the last days of WWII. It's episodic in nature, detailing one grueling incident after another. It explores the degree to which imprisoned military men will impose a hierarchy one way or another, one that either does or doesn't always match the hierarchy of their military lives when free men. For example, at the top of the pecking order in this prison camp is George Segal, the eponymous king rat, who will stop at nothing to ensure his own comfort and who's an object of awe and even fear to those around him, even officers who outrank him. But then the war ends, the prisoners are set free, and everything goes back to the way it was. Where does that leave things like friendship, community, and just simple camaraderie, and where does that leave the conscience of men like King Rat, who exploited his brothers for all they were worth when times were tough.

The movie is tremendous, the performances are all uniformly fine, and director Bryan Forbes gives everything a naturalistic tone that makes the film feel like a product from a later date.

"King Rat" received Oscar nominations for its truly impressive art direction and cinematography, both in the black and white categories back in the days when distinctions were made between B&W and color films.

Grade: A

"King Rat" is certainly NOT a fun nor enjoyable movie to watch. Now I am not saying it's bad nor should you avoid it...just understand that the film depicts a Japanese POW camp...and there's no way you could make that fun to watch.

The setting is a POW camp near Singapore. There's absolutely no place for the mostly British as well as a few American prisoners to run to and the Japanese keep rather lax security because of this. The prisoners also are dying rapidly due to starvation, no medications and the hellish conditions. However, in the midst of this, Corporal King (George Segal) manages to thrive. This is because he is a schemer and a survivor...operating a black market operation to get food and whatever he really needs. One of the other prisoners, Lt. Grey (Tom Courtenay), is just the opposite. Grey LOVES rules, power and playing a little god in the camp...and he wants to keep order, discipline and King under his control. To Grey, getting King to follow the rules and give up his black market activities seems to be his greatest aim. As for King, he pretty much ignores Grey and does what he does best...survives. And, if that means selling rat meat or eating dog, well, he'll do it in order to live.

As the description would indicate, the film is often rather grim. It's also an interesting character study of several of the inmates...not just Grey and King. Well acted, well made and well worth seeing...provided you can stand watching it. Now this is NOT one of the very worst war films...it's not nearly as bad as "Saving Private Ryan", "Burmese Harp" nor "Fires on the Plain"...but it still is tough. One of Segal's best.