Farewell to the King (1989)
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55% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
53% of users liked it
(1,331 ratings)
Though officially based on Pierre Schoendoerffer's novel L'Adieu au Roi, Farewell to the King also bears echoes of Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim--with a lot of filmmaker John Milius' own Hemingwayesque slant thrown in. During World War II, American POW Learoyd (Nick Nolte)… More Though officially based on Pierre Schoendoerffer's novel L'Adieu au Roi, Farewell to the King also bears echoes of Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim--with a lot of filmmaker John Milius' own Hemingwayesque slant thrown in. During World War II, American POW Learoyd (Nick Nolte) escapes a Japanese firing squad. Hiding himself in the wilds of Borneo, Learoyd is adopted by a head-hunting tribe of Nyak Indians, who consider him "divine" because of his elaborate tattoos. Before long, Learoyd is the reigning king of the Nyaks. When British soldiers approach him to rejoin the war against the Japanese, Learoyd resists (in language so flowery that it could have been written by Sir Walter Scott). But when his own tribe is threatened by the invaders, the "king" deigns to fight for their rights. Farewell to the King is breathtakingly photographed and quite exciting at times. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Milius
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure
PG-13,
- In Theaters
- Mar 3, 1989 Wide
- Studio
- MGM
Critic Reviews
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
some over-the-top histrionics don't keep it from being worth a look
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Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
The "white man as noble savage and isn't it ironic?" material runs out of steam well before the inexhaustible Nick Nolte does.
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James Plath, Movie Metropolis
As an adventure in paradise, Farewell to the King is paint-by-numbers when it had the potential to be a Gauguin.
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Cast
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Nick Nolte
as Learoyd
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Nigel Havers
as Capt. Fairbourne
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James Fox
as Col. Ferguson
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Marilyn Tokuda
as Yoo
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Frank McRae
as Sgt. Tenga
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Marius Weyers
as Sgt. Conklin
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Aki Aleong
as Col. Mitamura
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William Wise
as Dynamite Dave
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Gerry Lopez
as Gwai
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Elan Oberon
as Vivienne
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Choy Chang Wing
as Lian
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Richard Morgan
as Stretch Lewis
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Michael Nissman
as Gen. Sutherland
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John Bennett Perry
as Gen. MacArthur
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Wayne Pygram
as Bren Armstrong
- Frank MacRae
