Weekend Showdown: Anna and the King of Siam

I love musicals and I am proud of it. So, when I learned that the story of Anna and the King of Siam was based on a book, I was so very, very excited to feature it here on Fantasy Casting. Here's the truth, though. The musical movie, starring Yul Brynner (probably the most famous version) is based on a Broadway play, the Broadway play is based on a movie made in the 40s, which was based on a semi-biographical novel which was based on a pair of memoirs written in  the 1800s.

You got all that? Book to book to movie to play to movie. Does nobody have an original thought in their head?

 Anyway, I am not here to criticize the inability of authors and producers to create original material in exchange for their seven-figure salaries. I want to talk about which version of this movie was better, particularly the casting. I'm going to stick with the two most famous. OK, the two that I have seen multiple times.

First, we have the 1956 version starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.

Second, we have the 1999 version, titled Anna and the King, starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat.

naergilien.info

The real Anna Leonowens was a widow who had buried not only her husband but two of her four children by the age of 27. She joined the Thai court (Siam) at the age of 31 and spent six years there. Deborah Kerr was 36 when she played Anna, and Jodie Foster was 37. As far as Hollywood standards of age measurement goes, both are pretty darn accurate.

weekinreview.com

The real King Monkut (whose name was actually Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua- betcha didn't know that) was 58 when Anna came to his court. Yul Brynner was 36 when he played the King, Chow Yun Fat was 44. I guess the accuracy vote must go to the newer version in this case, although neither is particularly close.

allmoviephoto.com

Side note: what not-so-subliminal message is sent when women are playing parts significantly younger and men are playing significantly older? I'll let you chew on that...

King Monkut is obviously of Siamese descent. Chow Yun Fat was born in Hong Kong during the British rule, and Yul Brynner is Russian. At least Hong Kong is in the Orient. That one goes to Chow Yun Fat, too.

Anna Leonowens was British, born in India. Neither of the two women who played her were British; Kerr was Scottish- though she lived in England for a good portion of her life- and Foster is American, born and raised in Los Angeles. Uh, I guess that one goes to Kerr.

monkut.com

Remember how I said Hollywood doesn't care much about race or nationality?

In the 1956 version, Kerr and Brynner were BOTH nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes (he won the Oscar; she the Globe) and the film won 8 awards overall. The 1999 version was nominated for two Oscars and neither of which were for the actors. Neither Foster nor Yun Fat were nominated for any awards for their performances. Older version wins this category.

screenrush.co.uk

I have to give one point to the 1956 version because it's a musical, and I love musicals.

On RottenTomatoes.com, the 1956 version is rated 100% fresh and the snippet for the 1999 version (51%) is: Beautiful cinematography can't prevent Anna and the King from being boring and overly lengthy. Ouch.

And, lest we forget that money makes the world go around, the 1999 version recouped only about 50% of its budget, making it a certifiable box-office bomb. The 1956 version made nearly as much money- and 43 years can do a lot to inflation. Yikes.

So, I know this will upset the fanboys and fangirls out there, but Jodie Foster loses. Badly. The win goes to Deborah Kerr and the 1956 version.

Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments.

Les Miserables

I am thoroughly ashamed to say that I have never Les Miserables by Victor Hugo until now. I am working my way through it (slowly... there's a lot going on over here!) and thinking about how much I love the musical.


I know that this story has already been made into a movie. But, I want to see a MUSICAL MOVIE. You know, like Chicago, Moulin Rouge, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, West Side Story and the 742* other musicals that are awesome.


Now, things get a little bit dicey here because we need not only amazing actors, but actors that can sing. And really, really sing. Obviously, it can be done, look at the success of Chicago and Rent in recent years, and nobody knew any of those people could sing! (OK, so Renee Zellweger sang in Empire Records, but that is really not the same)


Here goes nothing...


 Jean Valjean is our main protagonist and is one heck of a character to cast anyway. He's a convict. He's a mayor. He's a businessman. He's a father. The story takes him from a young man all the way through middle age. And he has to be an A-MA-ZING singer. I have the absolute best idea for Valjean. Are you ready?


Hugh Jackman.

I know, perfect, right? Handsome. Rugged. Tall. Strong. Likeable. And, man, can he sing! Anybody who can hold their own on stage with Aretha Franklin gets my vote.





Did you know he could sing like that?


Anyway, next, is a role that is fairly small in the overall reach of the story, but she sings probably the most famous song from this production. Fantine, sings I Dreamed a Dream, and it's the one song that everybody associates with this production, and somehow everyone forgets how little she's actually in the story. But, based on that one song, she needs to be a belter. And she needs to be young. Can Carrie Underwood act? There's really only two scenes plus this song, so maybe she's good enough? 

Next, the Thenardiers. These are some of my favorite characters in the whole story. The best part is that they need to be able to sort of sing, the requirements here are not nearly so high as they are for a couple of the other parts. I recommend Jeremy Irons (he sang in the Lion King, remember?) and Kathy Bates.

"Master of the House" indeed...




For Cosette, I think Emmy Rossum is the perfect choice. And I know that she did Phantom of the Opera and everyone says that actresses don't like to be typecast, but, really, besides looking pretty on a red carpet, what does she have going on these days? Hmmm? Didn't think so. Cosette it is.

For Eponine, there is really only one person: Lea Solonga. She played Eponine on Broadway, and if you've seen the 10th anniversary concert, she's Eponine in that version as well. She's been the singing voice of several Disney princesses, including Mulan. Usually "singing voice" girls are not pretty, but Ms. Solonga is:

I just can't see anybody but her doing it right. I know she's a little old, but I just can't get past her voice.


And the man between Cosette and Eponine, Marius Pontmercy. Would you totally kill me if I said Zac Efron is our man?

And last, Inspector Javert. Alan. Rickman. 

Right? I love him and I hate him and I want him to sing forever! I don't know what he is saying here, but I want it to never stop:







 I know right up front that there is a lot of disagreement about this, people are really, really passionate about this particular musical. So, let's hear it...


Agree? Disagree? Post your thoughts in the comments?
 *This number is completely made up.
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