The Man Who Would King (1975): The story behind the film & the conflicts behind the establishment of the British Empire, 1830-1901
The film The Man Who Would be King is director John Huston’s interpretation of British Imperial policy and the idealized exploits of the adventurers and soldiers of Queen Victoria ’s Empire in the late 19th century inspired by the original short novel. In particular the movie concerns the exploits of two former British army officers’ adventures in Kafiristan, a remote part of the wild and open mountain ranges of Afghanistan . Based on the novel of the same name by famed Imperial era author Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), The Man Who Would Be King is an historical inspired if ultimately idealize portrait of the imperial age and spirit. The real life adventures of James Brooke, the White Rajah of Brunei , mentioned very briefly in the original story, is most certainly an inspiration for Kipling's original 1888 novel. The story begins as the reminisces of Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, two former soldiers in the British Army who are planning an expedition to the remote region of Kaf...