George Segal is the mastermind of all black market operations in a Japanese prison camp. He is called "King Rat" because of his breeding of rodents to serve as food for his emaciated fellow prisoners. British officer James Fox helps Segal expand his operation to include trading with the Japanese officers. Though on surface level a thoroughly selfish sort, Segal saves the ailing Fox's life by wangling precious antibiotics from the guards. Stars Academy Award nominee, George Segal (TV's Just Shoot Me). Academy Award nominated film for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography.
High on the list of best POW movies, King Rat bears some comparison to that compound over by the River Kwai... but this is an entirely more cynical exercise. In a Japanese prison camp, a brash American corporal (George Segal) runs a variety of money-making operations, much to the amazement of a young British officer (James Fox). Director Bryan Forbes, who adapted James Clavell's novel, follows different POWs through various strands of plot, each episode seemingly designed to highlight the dog-eat-dog nature of men held in close confinement. (In one pointedly black-comic sequence, it becomes man-eat-dog.) This was one of Segal's breakthrough roles, and his modern style fits the movie's anti-heroic, '60s approach. It was Oscar®-nominated for art direction and cinematography, which may sound odd for such a bleakly confined location, but the lucid starkness of the camp justifies the nods. The John Barry score, while apt, is similarly stark. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Survival under unthinkably brutal conditions:
"King Rat" is a faithful rendition of James Clavell's fine novel of the same name. British soldiers (with a sprinkling of American Gis among them) in Singapore were ordered to surrender, and were placed by the Japanese in the Chinga prison camp. The Japanese completely disrespected the Geneva Convention, and conditions in the camp quickly deteriorated to a very low order of existence in which one's daily caloric intake was at a starvation level, sanitation was nonexistent, and the level of brutality by the... more info
Classic POW film:
This film made a tremendous impact on me when I saw it as a young adult. Many years later, I saw the film again, and it held up quite well. I would rank it with All Quiet on the Western Front as a war movie, although of a different sort. The impressive cast is superb in their roles, and George Segal is outstanding in the lead role of the opportunistic and roguish wheeler/dealer, especially since he was a comparative unknown at the time. In this movie, there are few uplifting lessons to be gleaned amidst the... more info
Very good adaptation:
After reading the wonderful and moving novel by James Clavell, and finding out there was a film based on it, I was intrigued by how someone managed to adapt this complex story for the screen. At first, I thought that the challenge was so daunting that the movie must fall way short of the mark. Luckily, I was mistaken, and even though the film cannot convey the depth the novel has, the final result is more than satisfactory. We definitely get a clear feel for what life in Changi, the POW camp in Singapore... more info
Poor Sods:
Good movie. Follows book very well. Amust see for George Segal fans.
