Farewell to the King
| Farewell to the King | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
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| Directed by | John Milius |
| Produced by | Andre Morgan Albert Ruddy |
| Screenplay by | John Milius |
| Based on |
L'Adieu au Roi by Pierre Schoendoerffer |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Basil Poledouris |
| Cinematography | Dean Semler |
| Edited by |
Anne V. Coates Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
|
Production
company |
Ruddy Morgan Productions
|
| Distributed by | Orion Pictures (1988, original) MGM (2006, DVD) |
|
Release date
|
3 March 1989 |
|
Running time
|
115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $16 million |
| Box office | $2,420,917 |
Farewell to the King is a 1989 American action adventure drama film written and directed by John Milius. It stars Nick Nolte, Nigel Havers, Frank McRae, and Gerry Lopez and is loosely based on the 1969 novel L'Adieu au Roi by Pierre Schoendoerffer. Longtime Milius collaborator Basil Poledouris composed the musical score.
During World War II, American deserter Learoyd escapes a Japanese firing squad. Hiding himself in the wilds of Borneo, Learoyd is adopted by a head-hunting tribe of Dayaks, who consider him divine because of his blue eyes. Before long, Learoyd is the reigning king of the Dayaks. When British soldiers approach him to rejoin the war against the Japanese, Learoyd resists. When his own tribe is threatened by the invaders, Learoyd decides to fight for their rights, and to protect their independence.
Pierre Schoendoerffer originally wrote the story as a film script. He then turned it into a novel, which was published in 1969 and became a best seller in France, selling over 300,000 copies in hard back. He made the lead character Irish because "the Irish are mad and I like mad people."
"I was wanting to make a great symphonic book on life and death : on how a man can struggle until the very end, without hope and without reason, just to be alive, even though half dead., even though suffering terribly, because life is so powerful. But on the other hand I was wanting to show that if suddenly a man discovers that he is not fulfilling his dream, then he does not want to live anymore."
The story had some basis in historical fact - a white man did live with the Dayaks during World War II and the Dayaks did fight the Japanese.
The film was originally going to be made in 1972, directed by Schoendoerffer and produced by Robert Dorfman, starring Donald Sutherland. However, it was not made.
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Wikipedia